DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna do my best to do it justice. In May of 1861, out at a place called Camp Reeves in Sherman, Texas, somebody decided the frontier needed defending — and nearly nine hundred men and officers raised their hands. Nine hundred.
They came pouring in from eight counties: Cooke, Grayson, Hopkins, Red River, Fannin, Collin, Titus, and Bowie. That is a wide net, friend, and a heavy one. The regiment that formed around those men would go on to earn one of the longer trails of any unit to come out of Texas.
But nobody standing in that camp in May of 1861 could have known just how far that trail would run. Their first commander was Colonel William Cocke Young, a man the marker calls notable — and the record backs that up. Young led them into Indian Territory, present-day Oklahoma, where the regiment fought its earliest engagements and helped secure that territory for the Confederacy.
Then, in October of that same year, the unit was inducted into Confederate service proper, designated the 11th Texas Cavalry, and moved to join other forces in Arkansas. Come March of 1862, they were at Pea Ridge — some called it Elkhorn Tavern — supporting the Confederate Army in one of the harder fights of that campaign. And then the story takes a turn that you don't always see coming.
After Pea Ridge, the 11th Texas was redesignated as an infantry regiment. Still called the 11th Texas Cavalry, but now with one word added that changed everything: Dismounted. No horses.
Just boots and whatever they could carry. For the rest of 1862, those men marched and fought in Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky. Early 1863 brought the fighting around Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and then — a little mercy — the unit was returned to cavalry status.
And that's when the 11th Texas really started to move. Alabama. Georgia.
South Carolina. North Carolina. The marker tallies it up at more than a hundred battles and skirmishes before the whole thing was over.
A hundred. The notable engagements read like a map of the war's hardest years: Chickamauga, Knoxville, Dalton, Resaca, Allatoona Pass, Dallas and New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Savannah — and finally, Bentonville, North Carolina. That last name matters.
Bentonville was the last major Confederate offensive of the war. The 11th Texas was there. And when it ended, a small number of the regiment's men were present at the Confederate surrender at Durham Station, North Carolina, in April of 1865.
A small number. Think about that against those original nine hundred. They had come from eight Texas counties, fought from Indian Territory to the Carolina coast, walked it when they had to and rode when they could, and they didn't stop until the last major offensive had played itself out.
The marker calls the 11th Texas one of the most active Confederate units to come out of this state. After more than a hundred engagements across that much ground, it's hard to argue the point.
What the marker says
In May 1861, a frontier unit was organized at Camp Reeves in Sherman. Drawing volunteers from Cooke, Grayson, Hopkins, Red River, Fannin, Collin, Titus and Bowie counties, the regiment began with nearly 900 men and officers. Initially led by the noted Col. William Cocke Young, the unit fought its first battles in Indian Territory, now Oklahoma, securing the territory for the Confederacy. In October of that year, the unit was inducted into Confederate service as the 11th Texas Cavalry and joined with other forces in Arkansas. Beginning in March 1862, at the Battle of Pea Ridge, or Elkhorn Tavern, the 11th Texas supported the Confederate Army. Following the battle, the unit became an infantry regiment, designated the 11th Texas Cavalry, Dismounted. For the remainder of the year, the troops were active in Mississippi, Tennessee and Kentucky. In early 1863, the 11th Texas fought at Murfreesboro, Tennessee, and shortly thereafter became a cavalry unit again. For the remainder of the war, the cavalry fought in Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina, participating in more than 100 battles and skirmishes. Notable engagements included Chickamauga, Knoxville, Dalton, Resaca, Allatoona Pass, Dallas/New Hope Church, Kennesaw Mountain, Atlanta, Savannah, and, finally, Bentonville, North Carolina. A small number of 11th Texas troops were present at the Confederate surrender at Durham Station, North Carolina, in April 1865. One of the most active Texas Confederate units, the 11th Texas Cavalry served with distinction throughout the Civil War, continuing until the last major Confederate offensive had ended. (2003)