Texas Confederate General Lawrence "Sul" Ross

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, there are men who pass through history leaving a footnote, and there are men who leave a cavalry brigade. Lawrence Sullivan Ross (born 1838, died 1898) he was the second kind.

The marker that honors him out here in Brewster County says a college was named for this Texas Confederate general, and when you hear what the man did, you start to understand why somebody thought that was appropriate. He entered Confederate service in 1861 as a private. Not a general, not an officer; a private.

By May of 1862, he was Colonel of the 6th Texas Cavalry. That's the kind of arc that gets people's attention. Later that same year, October of 1862, he was commended for an outstanding role in the withdrawal from Corinth, Mississippi.

Now, a withdrawal is one of the hardest things an army can be asked to do; it's not a charge, it's not a triumph, it takes a particular kind of steady nerve. He was commended for it. By December of 1863, he was a Brigadier General, and he was given command of what the marker calls the famed Ross Cavalry Brigade, composed chiefly of Texans.

They rode through Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee in what the marker describes as almost continual action until the war's end. Major battles at Lawrenceburg, at the Harpeth River, at Murfreesboro. One hundred and thirty-five engagements.

Let that number sit with you a moment. One hundred and thirty-five. And in the course of all that riding and fighting, Sul Ross had five horses shot out from under him.

Five. At some point, you stop being surprised the horse is gone and you just start looking for another one. The State of Texas erected this marker in 1963, and the inscription calls it a memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy.

However history chooses to reckon with that cause, the record of the man himself (private to brigadier general, a hundred and thirty-five engagements, five horses) that record is something else entirely. Lawrence Sullivan Ross. The marker doesn't let you forget him, and neither will I.

What the marker says

College named for Texas Confederate General Lawrence "Sul" Ross. Lawrence Sullivan Ross 1838-1898 Entered Confederate service a private in 1861. Made Colonel, 6th Texas Cavalry May 1862. Commended for outstanding role in withdrawal from Corinth, Miss., October 1862. Made Brigadier General December 1863. Led famed Ross Cavalry Brigade composed chiefly of Texans in almost continual action in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee until war's end, with major battles at Lawrenceburg, Harpeth River, Murfreesboro. In 135 engagements, having 5 horses shot from under him. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963