DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker's the word here, and here's how I tell it. When the voters of Orange County and Texas approved secession in 1861, this corner of the state wasted no time. Three military companies rose up out of that county almost before the ink was dry — the Orange Light Guard, the Orange Greys, and Hannah's Company.
Three outfits, three names, and a whole lot of young men signing up for something nobody fully understood yet. And that wasn't even the half of it. Additional forces followed — the Orange County Coast Guard and several companies of state troops raised for local defense, because whatever was coming, Orange County meant to be ready for it.
Now, you have to understand where Orange County sat on the map of this war. It was positioned just ten miles south of Niblett's Bluff, Louisiana — home of C.S.A. Camp Pleasant.
That made this stretch of Texas part of an important route for Confederate forces and supplies moving through the region. A C.S.A. post office was operating at Orange as early as 1861. The Texas and New Orleans Railroad had been opened through the county too — though various problems rendered it unserviceable through much of the war.
A railroad that could barely do its job, in the middle of a war that needed everything to work. Then came 1863, and with it, rumors. Rumors of a Federal attack on the coast.
That kind of talk has a way of sharpening minds real quick. Defense preparations were stepped up. In July, a primary supply depot was established to serve nearby Camp Pleasant.
A Confederate hospital opened in Orange. The county was girding itself. And come September of that year, when U.S. troops faced Confederate defenders at the Battle of Sabine Pass, that local preparedness provided an additional deterrent.
The story didn't end there, of course. Stories like this never end clean. After the Confederate surrender in 1865, occupation forces arrived in Orange County — the 37th Illinois Volunteers, leading the way.
And after them came Reconstruction. From three companies of eager volunteers to occupation troops marching in — Orange County had traveled a long, hard road through that war, and the road wasn't done with them yet.
What the marker says
Shortly after the voters of Orange County and Texas approved secession in 1861, three military companies were raised in the county for Confederate service-- The Orange LIght Guard, The Orange Greys, and Hannah's Company. Additional forces, including the Orange County Coast Guard and several companies of state troops, were later raised for local defense. Orange County, ten miles south of the Niblett's Bluff location of C. S. A. Camp Pleasant in Louisiana, was part of an important route for Confederate forces and supplies. A C.S.A. post office was located at Orange in 1861. The Texas and New Orleans Railroad was opened through the county, though various problems rendered it unserviceable through much of the war. Rumors of a Federal attack on the coast in 1863 prompted stepped-up defense preparations. A primary supply depot was established in July to serve nearby Camp Pleasant, and a Confederate hospital opened in Orange. Local preparedness provided an additional deterrent to U. S. troops at the Battle of Sabine Pass in September. After the Confederate surrender in 1865, occupation forces led by the 37th Illinois Volunteers arrived in Orange County, and Reconstruction soon followed. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836-1986