DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Hempstead, Texas — and if you think it's just a quiet stop along the railroad today, well, the ground beneath your wheels remembers something considerably bigger. During the Civil War, Hempstead was a major center of Confederate activity in Texas.
Railroad, troop training, manufacturing, supply — all of it converging right here in Waller County. Training camps Groce and Hebert kept soldiers in readiness, ready to move by rail to Houston and from there to the coast of Texas, out to Louisiana, up to Arkansas — wherever the threat of invasion called. That railroad wasn't just convenient.
It was the whole point. Now, Camp Groce had a second life, a grimmer one. It became the second largest prisoner of war camp in the state of Texas, receiving its first Union prisoners in 1863.
Think about that for a moment — men from both sides of that terrible war, breathing the same East Texas air, on opposite sides of a fence. Meanwhile, the machinery of the Confederacy kept grinding. A textile mill, a foundry, a grist mill — their products flowing to the Confederate Army.
A field transportation bureau shop right here was makin' and repairing wagons, saddles, harness, the unglamorous work that keeps an army moving. Then came the spring of 1865. Texas troops returning from Louisiana and the coastal defenses began gathering at Camp Groce.
And a rumor reached them — word that General Robert E. Lee had surrendered at Appomattox. Some of those men doubted it.
You can hardly blame them. But soon the news was confirmed. Confederate generals Kirby Smith, John B.
Magruder, and John H. Forney were there at Camp Groce, and they bade their troops farewell. And then — and this is the part that stays with you — comrades-in-arms of the recent conflict left to walk their weary way home.
One of the last sad scenes of the southern Confederacy, playing out right here in Hempstead. The camps went quiet. The foundry cooled.
The war was over. And men who had trained together, fought together, walked away into whatever came next.
What the marker says
Major Civil War center in Texas with railroad, troop training, manufacturing, and supply activity. Training camps Groce and Hebert kept troops in readiness to move by rail to Houston and thence to the coast of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas to prevent invasion of state. Camp Groce became second largest prisoner of War camp in state receiving first Union prisoners in 1863. Textile mill, foundry, grist mill products supplied to Confederate Army. Field transportation bureau shop made and repaired wagons, saddles, harness. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963 [back] Breakup at War's End In the spring of 1865 Texas troops returning from Louisiana and coastal defenses gathered at Camp Groce. Rumor reached them of General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Some doubted, but soon the news was confirmed. Confederate generals Kirby Smith, John B. Magruder, and John H. Forney were there and bade their troops farewell. Comrades-in-arms of the recent conflict left to walk their weary way home in one of the last sad scenes of the southern Confederacy.