DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to give it to you straight with a little extra road dust on top. Somewhere in Corsicana, Navarro County, Texas, in July of 1861, a group of roughly 87 men looked each other in the eye and decided they were going to war. They called themselves the Navarro Rifles — an infantry company drawn from Navarro and the surrounding counties — and the man who pulled them together was Clinton M.
Winkler, a founder of Navarro County himself, who took on the role of the unit's initial captain. Before they ever fired a shot, these men trained. They drilled near Dresden and Spring Hill, right there in Navarro County, then moved on to Waco up in McLennan County, and then Harrisburg down in Harris County.
Formally, they were designated Company I of the Fourth Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment. That name may sound like paperwork, but what it meant in practice was this: they were heading east. By September of 1861, the Navarro Rifles arrived in Richmond, Virginia.
They were combined with the First and Fifth Texas infantry regiments and folded into the brigade of a man whose name would carry weight for the rest of the war — Texas general John Bell Hood. Their first taste of real action came in the spring of 1862, limited engagements at Yorktown and Eltham's Landing, both in Virginia. Consider that a warm-up.
Their first major battle was near Richmond, at Turkey Hill and Boatswain Swamp. Now, the Union had built themselves something formidable there — sharpshooters, infantry, artillery, layered defensive positions designed to break a charge before it ever got started. But Hood found something the Union commanders maybe didn't want found: a weak link in that line.
He gave the order to fix bayonets. Think about that for a moment. Fix bayonets.
That is not a subtle instruction. Hood then led the charge himself, straight into the Union's first series of breastworks — and the Rifles took them. Moving forward, the Confederates pushed on and seized the Union's second line of defense, climbed to the top of the hill, and there they successfully repulsed a Union cavalry unit's counterattack.
Over the full duration of the war, the Navarro Rifles counted 19 men dead, 59 wounded, and 10 captured. Those numbers represent real people from Navarro and the surrounding counties — men who had trained near Dresden and Spring Hill and gone all the way to Virginia. What they earned for it was this: a special place in the heart of Commanding General Robert E.
Lee, and an honored reputation back home in the state that sent them. Eighty-seven men from Corsicana stepped forward in July of 1861. The story of what they did with that decision is carved in stone, and now it's rolling down the road with you.
What the marker says
During the Civil War, the Navarro Rifles were an infantry company comprised of approximately 87 men from Navarro and surrounding counties. The group formed in Corsicana in July 1861 to join the army of the Confederate States of America. Clinton M. Winkler, a founder of Navarro County, organized the men and served as the unit's initial captain. The group trained near the Navarro County towns of Dresden and Spring Hill, and later Waco (McLennan Co.) and Harrisburg (Harris Co.). Formally designated Company I of the Fourth Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the Rifles soon left for war, arriving in Richmond, Virginia in September 1861. Combined with the First and Fifth Texas infantry regiments, the Rifles were part of the brigade of famed Texas general John Bell Hood. They received their baptism of fire in limited action at Yorktown and Eltham's Landing (Virginia) in the spring of 1862. The unit's first major battle was near Richmond, at Turkey Hill and Boatswain Swamp. The impressive Union defensive positions consisted of sharpshooters, infantry and artillery; however, Hood located a weak link in the line. Having given the order to fix bayonets, Hood led the unit in a charge against the Union's first series of breastworks, which they quickly mastered. Moving forward, the Confederates took the Union's second line of defense and topped the hill where they successfully repulsed a Union cavalry unit's counterattack. The unit's casualties over the duration of the war included 19 dead, 59 wounded, and 10 captured. Due to their bravery throughout the war, the unit earned a special place in the heart of Commanding General Robert E. Lee and an honored reputation in their native state. (2007)