DUANE
Duane's take
The marker's the authority here, and I'm just the one bringin' it to life — so here's what it has to say about Colonel Richard B. Hubbard. Now there's a name that echoes through East Texas.
Born in Georgia in 1832, Richard B. Hubbard made his way to Texas in 1853, and Tyler is where he planted himself — as a lawyer first, then a politician, then a man the Confederacy would call on when things got serious. He served as a state legislator, but when the war came, Hubbard didn't just watch it unfold from a courthouse.
He raised the 5th Texas Infantry Battalion himself. That outfit merged in 1862 into what became known as Hubbard's Regiment — the 22nd Texas Infantry — and what that regiment was asked to do was no small thing. In 1863, the Confederacy had a nightmare scenario on its hands: the Mississippi River.
Hold it or lose it, and losing it meant splitting the South in two. Hubbard's regiment was thrown into that campaign. They helped relieve the Siege of Vicksburg, interrupted Federal supply lines, and gave military support to drovers pushing cattle across the river to Confederate forces.
Think about that for a moment — soldiers and cattle movers, working the same muddy riverbanks, trying to keep a nation alive. Then came 1864 and the Red River campaign, when Federal forces made a push into Texas itself. Hubbard's regiment fought to stop that invasion too.
When the war was done, the soldier became Governor. Governor R. B.
Hubbard of Texas. He died in 1901, and somewhere in Tyler, a school still carries his name. From battlefield to statehouse — that's the full weight of what this marker is rememberin'.
What the marker says
(Star and Wreath) (1832-1901) School named for Texas Confederate. Georgia-born, came to Texas 1853. Tyler lawyer, politician. State legislator. Raised 5th Tex. Inf. Bn., merged 1862 in Hubbard's Regt., 22nd Tex. Inf. In 1863 campaign to stop split of South on the Mississippi River, unit helped relieve Vicksburg Siege. Interrupted supplies for Federals, gave military support to drovers pushing cattle across river to Confederates. Regt. fought in 1864 Red River campaign to stop invasion Texas. Governor R. B. Hubbard.