DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker records out in Polk County, Texas — and friend, this one's worth every mile. Now most folks picture the War Between the States as a conflict of blue and gray, fought by men from farms and cities back East. But out in the piney woods of Polk County, Texas, the Alabama and Coushatta Indians had their own chapter in that story — and it was anything but simple.
It started in 1861. Indian Agent Robert R. Neyland took on the task of training Alabama and Coushatta men as cavalrymen, even as the war was still gatherin' its terrible momentum.
Cavalry. That's an important word. Remember it.
Then came April of 1862. Nineteen Alabama and Coushatta men — including Chief John Scott himself — stepped forward and enlisted in the Confederate Army as members of Company G, 24th Texas Cavalry. They trained first in Hempstead, Texas.
Then they were sent on to Arkansas. And that's where things got complicated. Because out in Arkansas, their commander — General Thomas C.
Hindman — made a decision. He converted them from cavalrymen to infantrymen. Now, these men had signed on as cavalry.
They had trained as cavalry. And they were not quiet about their displeasure with that change. They voiced it.
Directly. And here's the part that'll raise an eyebrow — it worked. They were permitted to return to their Polk County homes to await further orders.
But the story doesn't stop there. Not even close. They went on to serve briefly in the Confederate Navy, under Galveston Bay Commander W.
W. Hunter. The Navy.
So now we've got men who started as cavalry, got pushed into infantry, complained their way back home, and ended up on the water. After that naval service, they were reorganized yet again — this time as a cavalry company in the 6th Brigade, 2nd Texas Infantry Division. By 1864, the company roster listed one hundred and thirty-two men.
And what was their primary job by then? Not charging across open fields. Not manning a gunship.
They were building and operating flat-bottomed boats — scows — hauling farm produce and supplies needed by the Confederacy down the Trinity River to the port at Liberty, Texas. Quiet work. Essential work.
The kind of work that doesn't make the glory books but keeps an army fed. The wartime Texas Governors — Francis R. Lubbock and Pendleton Murrah — both left official correspondence on record that speaks to the Alabama and Coushatta Indians' loyalty in their roles as Confederate infantry, cavalry, and navy servicemen.
All three branches. One community. Cavalrymen turned infantrymen turned sailors turned river boatmen.
The Alabama and Coushatta of Polk County showed up, pushed back when they had to, and did the work that was asked of them. That's a story the marker doesn't let you forget.
What the marker says
Alabama and Coushatta Indians of Polk County were trained as cavalrymen in 1861 by Indian Agent Robert R. Neyland as the war between the states advanced. In April 1862, nineteen Alabama and Coushatta, including Chief John Scott, enlisted in the Confederate Army as members of Company G, 24th Texas Cavalry. They trained in Hempstead, Texas, and in Arkansas, where their commander, General Thomas C. Hindman, converted them to infantrymen. After voicing displeasure with the change from cavalry to infantry duties, they were permitted to return to their Polk County homes to await further orders. Following brief service in the Confederate Navy under Galveston Bay Commander W. W. Hunter, they were reorganized as a cavalry company in the 6th Brigade, 2nd Texas Infantry Division. In 1864 the company roster listed 132 men. Their primary job was to build and operate flat-bottomed boats (scows) to transport farm produce and other supplies needed by the confederacy down the Trinity River to the port at Liberty, Texas. Official correspondence of wartime Texas Governors Francis R. Lubbock and Pendleton Murrah refer to the Alabama and Coushatta Indians' loyalty in their role as Confederate infantry, cavalry, and navy servicemen.