DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Titus County, C.S.A. — so let the record show where this story comes from. Now, Titus County was created and organized in 1846, named for a pioneer resident by the name of Andrew Jackson Titus — born 1814, died 1855 — a man who, among other things, opened the county's first road, running all the way to the river port in Jefferson. That road mattered.
In those days, six mail routes moved by horseback, with pack mules following the lead horse — not the most glamorous procession you ever saw, but it got the job done. Mostly. High waters in the creeks and the Sulphur River had a habit of halting travel entirely, because the land out there did not particularly care about your schedule.
And if you wanted to haul cotton all the way to Jefferson, the record time to do it — by ox wagon — was five days. Five days. You can hold that thought and decide for yourself whether that's impressive or just a testament to stubbornness, because in East Texas those two things were often the same.
Until after the Civil War, Titus County also included the areas that would eventually become present-day Franklin and Morris counties. So it was a big piece of ground. In 1860, it held nine thousand six hundred and forty-eight people.
And when the question of secession came before them, the county voted four hundred and eleven to two hundred and seventy-five in favor of leaving the Union. That was not a close vote. What followed was ten military companies sent off to the Civil War.
Ten. And while the men who stayed behind — and the women keeping everything running — drew heavily on game foods at the home table, deer and wild turkeys and pigeons and bear, the county was simultaneously feeding something much larger. Titus County furnished the Confederate commissary with beef, butter, corn, rice, cotton, oats, sweet potatoes, flour, cornmeal, leather, lumber, pottery, tobacco, whiskey, and wool.
Read that list again slowly and let it sink in — that is not a county sitting on its hands. The wartime manufacturing to support all of that included nine sawmills, eight gristmills, tanneries, and a steam-powered distillery. A steam-powered distillery.
In a war. Priorities were maintained. And then there was Mount Pleasant.
The town had a Confederate transportation depot — and this was no small operation. It employed blacksmiths, carpenters, harness makers, and wheelwrights. It procured equipment, horses, and mules.
It made gear, harness, and wagons, all for the purpose of moving men, army supplies, and government-owned cotton. Titus County, in other words, didn't just send soldiers to the Civil War. It sent the boots, the wagons, the harness, the cornmeal, and the whiskey too.
When history came calling on this corner of East Texas, the county answered — in bulk.
What the marker says
Created and organized in 1846. Named for pioneer resident Andrew Jackson Titus (1814-1855), who opened county's first road, to river port in Jefferson. Until after the Civil War, Titus County also included areas of present-day Franklin and Morris counties. Six mail routes going by horseback, had pack mules to follow lead horse. High waters in creeks and Sulphur River often halted travel. Record time to haul cotton to Jefferson was 5 days by ox wagon. In 1860 had 9,648 people. Voted 411 to 275 in favor of secession. Sent 10 military companies to Civil War. While home tables drew heavily on game foods (deer, wild turkeys, pigeons, bear), county furnished Confederate commissary with beef, butter, corn, rice, cotton, oats, sweet potatoes, flour, cornmeal, leather, lumber, pottery, tobacco, whiskey and wool. Wartime manufacturing plants included 9 sawmills, 8 gristmills, tanneries and a steam powered distillery. Mount Pleasant had a Confederate transportation depot employing blacksmiths, carpenters, harness makers, wheelwrights. It procured equipment and horses and mules, and made gear, harness and wagons for the purpose of moving men, army supplies and government owned cotton.