DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker records about Upshur County's role in the Civil War — and about one young woman who became a legend. Now, every county in the Confederacy had a part to play, but Upshur County, Texas, was not content to play a small one. This was a supply and activity center — and when the Confederate war machine needed feeding, Upshur County got to work.
Three military training camps were set up right here. And while the men and boys marched off to serve in the Confederate army on many battlefronts, or stood watch in state troops protecting Texas from invasion, the home front did not go quiet. Not even close.
In Gilmer and Ore City, factories ran day and night turning out hats, shoes, saddles, harness, cloth, iron, and pottery — vital needs for soldiers and civilians alike. A Quartermaster Depot was established, and the women of Upshur County, joined by old men and children and loyal slaves, ran the farms — producing grain, meat, and cotton for the army. Giving much.
Keeping little. That last part bears repeating: giving much, keeping little. But Upshur County also lays claim to something else — a story so vivid it earned a gold medal, a ballad, and a note from one of the most feared cavalry commanders in the entire war.
Her name was Emma Sansom. Born in 1847. This is her home county, and she is buried at Little Mound Cemetery, eleven miles west of this very spot.
Now set the scene. May 2, 1863. General N.
B. Forrest is riding hard with six hundred Confederate cavalry, in pursuit of seventeen hundred Federal troops bent on destroying vital Confederate supplies. Forrest is gaining ground — until he isn't.
Because there, at Black Creek near Gadsden, Alabama, stands a burned bridge. The crossing is gone. Seventeen hundred Federals are slipping away, and every minute counts.
Forrest asked about another crossing. And a fifteen-year-old girl in a calico dress stepped forward. Emma Sansom volunteered to show the way to a little-known ford.
Forrest swung her up behind his saddle. Now, the Federals were not unaware of what was happening — bullets pierced that calico dress. But Emma Sansom, fifteen years old, waved her bonnet defiantly and pointed out the crossing.
Forrest's cavalry crossed. They surprised the Federal force. They captured the enemy.
The Confederacy took notice. Forrest himself sent her a note of recognition. The Confederate Congress awarded her a gold medal.
And someone sat down and wrote "The Ballad of Emma Sansom." The sunbonnet heroine of the Confederacy, they called her — and it stuck. Among the Texans riding with Forrest that day were soldiers of the 1st Legion, Willis Cavalry Battalion, and the 34th, 6th, and 9th Cavalry regiments. Emma Sansom later married a Confederate veteran named C.
B. Johnson, and in 1876, she moved to Texas. Upshur County's own.
She passed in 1900, and she rests eleven miles west, at Little Mound Cemetery, in the county that still carries her story. Giving much, keeping little — and sometimes, pointing the way when everything depends on it.
What the marker says
(Star and Wreath) Civil War supply and activity center. Men and boys served in the Confederate army on many battlefronts and in state troops protecting Texas from invasion. 3 military training camps were set up. Vital needs for military and civilians met with production of hats, shoes, saddles, harness, cloth, iron and pottery in factories in Gilmer and Ore City. A Quartermaster Depot was established on the home front, women, joined by old men, children and loyal slaves, ran the farms producing grain, meat and cotton for army, giving much, keeping little. Home county of southern heroine Emma Sansom Johnson (1847-1900). "Sunbonnet heroine" of the Confederacy. Buried Little Mound Cemetery, 11 miles west. On May 2, 1863 Gen. N. B. Forrest, with 600 C. S. A. Cavalry, in pursuit of 1,700 Federals bent on destroying vital supplies was halted by a burned bridge on Black Creek near Gadsden, Alabama. Forrest asked about another crossing, Emma Sansom volunteered to show way to little-known ford. Forrest swung her up behind his saddle. Bullets pierced here calico dress, but the 15-year-old waved her bonnet defiantly and pointed out the crossing, enabling troops to surprise, capture enemy. Feat recognized by note from Forrest, a gold medal from C. s. A. Congress and "The Ballad of Emma Sansom." She married Confederate veteran C. B. Johnson and moved to Texas in 1876. Texans with Forrest were 1st Legion, Willis Cav. Bn., 34d, 6th, 9th Cav. regts.