Stockton P. Donley

Duane's take

The way the official marker tells it, here's the story of Stockton P. Donley, and the county that carries his name. Now, Donley County.

You're riding through it right now, and there's a name behind it worth knowing. Stockton P. Donley.

Born in 1821, and by the time his story was done in 1871, he had packed enough hardship into those years to fill a whole chapter of Texas history. He came to Texas from Kentucky in 1846. A young man, a new state, and a lot of road ahead.

By 1853 he was serving as District Attorney. A man building a life, building a reputation. Then 1861 arrived, and everything changed.

Donley enlisted as a private in the 7th Texas Infantry. He didn't stay a private long. He was made Lieutenant.

And that regiment, well, it found itself in one of the harder corners of the war. Fort Donelson, Tennessee. 1862. A bitter fight, the marker calls it, and that phrase does a lot of work.

Because at the end of that bitter fight, Donley and his regiment were captured. Taken prisoner. Now here's where the road gets long and cold.

He was held at Camp Douglas, Illinois. Nine months as a prisoner of war. Nine months.

When he was finally exchanged, his health was so broken that he was assigned only to post duty. The war had taken something from him that it wasn't giving back. But Stockton P.

Donley wasn't finished. In 1866 he was elected to the State Supreme Court of Texas. Think about that arc.

Private. Prisoner. Justice.

And then, in 1867, a United States military order removed him from that court. Because of his Confederate service. The marker doesn't editorialize much.

It doesn't have to. It simply calls Donley a memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy, and notes that the State of Texas erected it in 1963. The county you're crossing right now bears his name.

Make of that what you will. But you know the story now.

What the marker says

County named for Texas Confederate Stockton P. Donley 1821 - 1871 Came to Texas from Kentucky 1846. Dist. Attorney 1853. Enlisted private 7th Tex. Infantry 1861, made Lieutenant. Captured with regiment after bitter fight at Seige Fort Donelson Tenn. 1862. Prisoner war 9 months Camp Douglas Ill. When exchanged health so broken assigned post duty. Elected to State Supreme Court 1866. Because of Confederate service was removed 1867 by U.S. military order. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy Erected by the State of Texas 1963