LIKEN’S 35th TEXAS CAVALRY,
CSA
COMPANY G of UPSHUR COUNTY, TEXAS |
Thanks to John
D Stevens for this wonderful information! LIKEN’S 35th TEXAS CAVALRY, CSA COMPANY “G” of UPSHUR COUNTY, TEXAS By J. D. Stevens
The
War Between the States had been in progress for almost two years.
The northern armies were getting larger and stronger. The Federals
were making a concerted effort to regain control of the entire
Mississippi River. If successful, the Trans-Mississippi Department
would be severed from the eastern theater of major operations. In
Texas, General John B. Magruder had taken over as the military
commander and launched a land and gunboat attack that had recaptured
Galveston on New Year’s Day 1863. The
state of Texas expected another Federal invasion at any time
somewhere along the Gulf Coast. The Confederate government was
calling on Texas to furnish more men to replace losses in the armies
east of the Mississippi River. Every able bodied male citizen was
called upon to enlist. The draft ages were expanded to include both
younger teens and older men. Those of draft age who had to be
coerced into joining were called conscripts. Veterans who had been
sent home to recover from wounds, paroled prisoners, and those
discharged previously in the war due to disabilities caused by
illness were pressed back into service. Companies of men began to
assemble at camps around the state. In the spring of 1863 a company
of men were recruited from Upshur County which included today’s
Camp County. A few men also came from neighboring counties. They
were stationed at a camp near Tyler to begin training as a company of
cavalry under Gustavas “Gus” Erickson Warren (1824-189).
Gus owned a grocery store in Gilmer and served as magistrate and
county clerk for Upshur Co. He had previous service as the 1st Lieutenant of Company E, 14th Texas Cavalry earlier in the war. In
June 1863, Colonel James B. Likens, a veteran of the Mexican War and
a lawyer was authorized to raise a regiment of infantry, but was
changed to Calvary because “it was the service universally
preferred by Texians.” Earlier in the war he had raised and
commanded a battalion of state troops along the upper Gulf Coast.
For reasons unknown, Likens’ new regiment was given the number
designation 35th even though another Texas Calvary regiment had already been
designated with the same number. Even today, historians and record
keepers often confuse the two units, but Likens’ and Brown’s
regiments were two different regiments of cavalry with the same
number. After
Vicksburg and Port Hudson fell in July 1863, Federal commanders,
politicians, and cotton speculators began planning how and where they
were going to invade Texas. The effort to organize and supply more
men was stepped up. The size of a standard military company was
supposed to be about 100 men and officers, but seldom reached this
strength. The custom of the day was to elect officers and
non-commissioned officers by the men of each company. In September
1863 Gustavas E. Warren was elected captain of the Upshur County men
and served in that capacity for the remainder of the war. By
late October, companies designated to become Likens’ Regiment,
but still scattered around Texas were ordered to Houston for
assembly. A common practice was for a substitute to serve in place
of older men if they could be found. In the case of Squire Stevens
and G. M. Suggs, both had young sons, John Stevens and Robert Suggs,
who served in their place while at Tyler. When orders came for
Company G to march to Houston, the men replaced their sons and sent
them home. John went home, sold the families best mule, purchased a
horse, and rejoined the regiment. Both boys reenlisted under their
own names. In
early November, Col. Likens had assembled his 10 companies, including
Company G for drill and outfitting at Camp Lubbock about 2 or 3 miles
west of Houston on Buffalo Bayou. Later in the month an inspection
report of the 35th shows Company G had 54 men present, 12 on leave, and none were AWOL.
At this time many of the men in the regiment were not armed. Others
had hunting rifles, shot guns, muskets, or assorted pistols brought
from home. In
September, a Federal invasion had been repulsed at Sabine Pass. In
November, several thousand troops under General N. P. Banks began
operations along the lower Gulf Coast. They established a camp on
the southern tip of Matagorda peninsula. Protected by gunboats,
Confederate forces could do little to dislodge them. Expecting the
Yankee invasion to use the peninsula as a highway so their gunboats
could provide cover, the Rebels built a fort on the northern end of
the peninsula where it connected to the mainland at the mouth of
Caney Creek. In December 1863 the 35th along with several other regiments were ordered south where they
could respond to the expected invasion in that theater. This
regiment’s first winter was bitter cold and all the troops and
their horses suffered from lack of food, forage, camp equipment,
clothes, and medical supplies. The 35th was brigaded with other units and patrolled along the coast from the
Brazos River to Matagorda Bay as Federal feints and probes were
attempted in several locations. The Federal gunboats would move in
close to shore and shell the Confederates in their small earthen
forts and rifle pits. The men made periodic scouts down the
peninsula, always wary of the gunboats. The weather and constant
movement of the regiment began to take its toll not in battle
casualties, but sickness and disease. Most of the men had been
farmers and not accustomed to communal type living. Few had been
exposed to childhood sicknesses such as measles or mumps. They did
not understand the diseases caused by unsanitary conditions created
by so many men living in close proximity or the poor drinking water
found in the stagnant, muddy bayous of the Texas Gulf Coast. Once
started, sickness would spread through a regiment causing many to be
disabled and too often resulted in death. R. J. Davis of Company G
was one of these casualties. In
January 1864 the 35th was ordered to support Colonel Duff’s Regiment at Victoria.
They were ordered to picket a section of the coast near the old town
of Texana, Texas. They set up camp on the Lavaca River. This is a
few miles south of today’s Edna, Texas. Since Federal troops
were at Indianola on Lavaca Bay, they patrolled the coast and bay to
prevent Union foragers from ranging inland to steal cattle and other
supplies. They also maintained a vigil for gunboats and troops who
might attempt to steam up the Navidad River to capture or raid the
Texana. By
early 1864, the Federals had set their sights on Shreveport,
Louisiana and possibly east Texas via the Red River. The six
regiments of General Hamilton P. Bee’s Division, including the
35th,
were ordered to report to General Richard Taylor’s army in
Louisiana to defend against the impending invasion. Since the senior
officers of the 35th were on leave, Major William A. Wortham was in command of the 35th on the Lavaca River when he received marching orders on March 18th to proceed immediately to Louisiana with all haste. Major Wortham
left the Lavaca River and made a grueling forced march of over 370
miles to Mansfield, Louisiana. There are no official records to
confirm the presence of Likens’ Regiment at the battle of April
8th.
Most of the regiment and baggage train would not, but a mixture of
facts and statements by at six veterans of the regiment indicate a
contingent of the better mounted troopers may have arrived in time
for the battles at Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, and Blair’s
Landing. After
the battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9th most of General Taylor’s infantry was transferred to Arkansas
to repel another Union army moving south from Little Rock. Taylor’s
remaining small army of 5,000 mostly Texans were in daily contact
with the enemy for six weeks. They made every effort to impede and
force into submission an army of over 20,000 before they could reach
the safety of the Mississippi River. Not only did the Texans oppose
the army, but also attacked Admiral David Porter’s fleet of 26
gunboats, troopships, and support craft on the Red River. In one
action near Montgomery which included the 35th,
the Federal navy was forced to blow up their largest gunboat,
Eastport, which had run aground. Likens’ Regiment was assigned
to Bagby’s Brigade and for six weeks they attacked and impeded
the head of the retreating Union column almost every day. A general
engagement took place at Monet’s Ferry where the Confederates
tried to block Bank’s army before he could reach Alexandria,
but were overwhelmed by numbers. Although unsuccessful in capturing
Banks’ entire army, they did inflict heavy casualties and sank
several gunboats and transports. By May 18th,
the Red River Valley was finally cleared of the invaders.
Confederate troops, including Likens’ Regiment, made
reconnaissance and skirmished against Federal operations while
holding the line along the Atchafalaya River until early 1865. In
February, the 35th was ordered back to Texas and dismounted. On May 2, the the
remaining 232 men and officers of the 35th Regiment, now commanded by Lt. Colonel Wortham, arrived in Galveston.
On May 21, Company G boarded a train taking them to Navasota where
they received honorable discharges on the 25th from the Confederate Army and went home. The following 40 men are the only KNOWN members of Capt. G. E. Warren’s Company G, Liken’s 35th Cavalry Regiment:
Information
concerning Liken’s Regiment and/or Captain Warren’s
Company G is very scarce. The main references for this essay are
listed below, but the numerous books concerning Texas in the
Confederacy and the Red River Campaign are not. Additional sources
of information can be supported on request. The author takes full
responsibility for the accuracy of the information within. Please
contact me if errors, oversight, and/or additional information
regarding Captain Warren’s Company G is known. In turn, it
would be my pleasure to share with additional information not
included in this report. It
would be much appreciated if anyone with letters, diaries, pictures,
etc of veterans of this unit would take time to contact the
great-great and great grandson of veterans of Company “G”,
Likens’ 35th Texas Cavalry Regiment, CSA at jdstevens1@myway.com
Sources used to assemble this brief history of Company “G” are:
John Douglas Stevens 2427 – Pioneer Oaks Dr Fresno,
Texas 77545 |
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