DUANE
Duane's take
The way the marker at Van Zandt County tells it, here's what happened — and I'll give it to you straight. Gen. Joseph O.
Shelby's command refused to surrender at the close of the Civil War. Flat refused. While other Confederate forces were laying down their arms, the First Missouri Cavalry of the Confederate States of America kept right on marching.
They came through Clarksville, moved into Van Zandt County, pressed through Grand Saline, on to Canton, and then to a place called Stone Point — all of this happening soon after word reached them of Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender.
Now think about what that means. The news is out. The war, by any practical measure, is over.
And these men are still moving. From about April 22 to May 29, 1865, Shelby's troops made their camp at Stone Point while their leader rode off to Marshall, Texas to attend a Confederate conference. A conference.
As if there were still decisions left to make. As if the whole thing hadn't already been decided. And when Shelby came back — well, they didn't turn around.
They didn't go home. Determined to continue the war, Shelby's men set their sights on Mexico, and they headed south. Along the way, they stopped where they were needed to enforce the peace in a ravaged postwar Texas.
Men who wouldn't surrender, keeping the peace in a land that had none. That's the kind of story Van Zandt County holds in its ground — and now you know why.
What the marker says
Gen. Joseph O. Shelby's command refused to surrender at the close of the Civil War. Shelby's men, the First Missouri Cavalry of the Confederate States of America, marched via Clarksville to Van Zandt County, proceeding through Grand Saline to Canton and on to Stone Point soon after learning of Gen. Robert E. Lee's surrender. From about April 22 to May 29, 1865, Shelby's troops camped at Stone Point while their leader attended a Confederate conference at Marshall, Texas. Determined to continue the war, Shelby's men journeyed to Mexico, stopping where they were needed to enforce the peace in a ravaged postwar Texas. (1998)