The 5th Texas assembled at Richmond, Virginia, in September 1861. It consisted of 10 companies recruited from the counties of Harris, Colorado, Leon, Walker, Montgomery, Washington, Jefferson, Liberty, Milam, Polk, and Trinity. It was one of only three infantry units from the Lone Star State to fight in the East in what would eventually become the Army of Northern Virginia, more than 1,000 miles from loved ones and home. A significant number of them would never saw home again.
Until now, no detailed account of the 5th Texas—often referred to as “The Bloody Fifth,” a sobriquet earned at Second Manassas—has been written. Harold B. Simpson produced his seminal work on Hood’s Texas Brigade in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and his books remain the guiding light for general information on that outstanding unit. While several personal accounts by members of the 5th Texas exist, all are abbreviated personal memoirs or short histories of individual companies.
Many have long considered the Texas Brigade as the “shock troops” of General Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia, its fighting qualities second to none. Lee recognized the courage and grit of the Texans and thought highly of them. “The Texans are always ready,” he noted. On another occasion the general (speaking of all of Hood’s troops) asserted that “[t]here never were such men in any army before. They will go anywhere and do anything if properly led.” At the Wilderness in May 1864, when he was told that the troops arriving to turn the tide of his overwhelmed front were the Texans, a relieved Lee exclaimed, “The Texans always move them!” And so they did, but at a horrific cost. The Texas Brigade, arguably the most celebrated infantry brigade in the Confederate Army, was to Lee what the Old Guard was to Napoleon and the Imperial Army of France. First in the advance, the Texans were routinely used in the most difficult of circumstances and in retreat, they were always a reliable rear guard. “I have never seen the backs of my Texans,” Lee once said, “except at the charge.”
This book is the first serious attempt to thoroughly detail the history of the 5th Texas Infantry Regiment, one of the three Texas regiments of Hood’s Texas Brigade (the others being the 1st and 4th). During the four years of war, almost 20 percent of the regiment fell victim to the ubiquitous Civil War killers of diseases and their accompanying medical shortcomings. Measles, typhoid fever, pneumonia, rheumatism, tuberculosis, chronic diarrhea, and dysentery winnowed the ranks relentlessly, especially early in the conflict. Disease carried off 137 men in the first winter in Virginia alone, and another 124 were so disabled they were permanently discharged. This rate of loss slowed somewhat as the war progressed, but only because the battlefield was extracting a higher price. Lead and iron also thinned the ranks. The 5th Texas fought in 38 engagements including the Seven Days’ Battles, Second Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and the bloody landmark battles from the Wilderness through the Petersburg campaign. Its official combat casualty rate exceeded 62 percent for the four years of fighting. At Appomattox, the 5th Texas surrendered just 12 officers and 149 men. At least 1,440 men had enlisted in the regiment during the war. For a variety of reasons, close to 81 percent fell away.
Parallels with Simpson’s earlier work are unavoidable in many cases, but the focus of this two-volume study is on the 5th Texas as opposed to the entire brigade. To the extent possible, the activities and battle experiences of the 5th Texas are related through the letters and diaries of its common soldiers. My hope is that the anecdotal tenor of this method enhances the reader’s interest and engagement with these soldiers, and assists in their understanding of the larger aspects and themes of our country’s most devastating war.
I must offer my sincere apologies to South Carolina’s Hampton Legion, the 18th Georgia and 3rd Arkansas infantry regiments. Each of these exceptional commands was at some point or another attached to the Texas Brigade, and each contributed mightily to the brigade’s story. The Georgians of the 18th, during their brief time with the Texans, had so endeared itself to the men of the Lone Star State that they often referred to their regiment as “the 3rd Texas.” This was even more so for the 3rd Arkansas, which fought with the Texans from November 1862, until the end of the war, rendering noble and invaluable service each step of the way. However, since my objective was not to provide a detailed history of Hood’s Brigade, but of the 5th Texas, I simply use the term “Texans” to describe the actions of the entire brigade (which always included at least one unit from another state).
I could not have accomplished this undertaking without the invaluable assistance of many individuals and institutions throughout the country. I must first acknowledge the foundational work of Harold B. Simpson, the trailblazer for any research project involving Hood’s Texas Brigade, whose works were invaluable in my task. My particular gratitude goes out to the staffs at: the History Research Center, Texas Heritage Museum, Hillsboro, Texas; the Pearce Civil War Collection, Navarro College, Corsicana, Texas; the Texas Confederate Museum and Collection, Nita Stewart Haley Memorial Library, Midland, Texas; and the Special Collections Library, University of Texas at San Antonio. In addition to these fine institutions, I am deeply indebted to the Gettysburg National Military Park Library and Research Center; the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, The Alamo, San Antonio, Texas; the Special Collections Department, Mitchell Memorial Library, Mississippi State University; the Texas State Library and Archives, Austin, Texas; the Newton Gresham Library, Sam Houston State University, Huntsville, Texas; the Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin; the Nesbitt Memorial Library, Columbus, Texas; and Chappell Hill Historical Society and Archives, Chappell Hill, Texas. Additionally, the staffs at the Wilson Special Collection Library, Southern Historical Collection, at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; the U. S. Army Military History Institute in Carlisle, Pennsylvania; the Virginia Historical Society, Richmond, Virginia; the South Caroliniana Library Manuscripts Collection, University of South Carolina, Columbia; and the Confederate Miscellany Collection, 1860-1865, at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, all proved to be extremely helpful in my research.
I also thank Robert Alton, Bryce Suderow, Hampton Newsome, Ken Jones, and Rick Eiserman for their valuable advice on this project. My publisher, Theodore P. Savas, managing director of Savas Beatie, reached out at the eleventh hour to National Park Ranger Joe Owens, of Blanco Texas, who knows about as much as anyone about the Texas Brigade. Joe came through with some last-minute amazing photos, for which I am appreciative. It was also Ted’s idea to produce my lengthy study in two volumes rather than arbitrarily whittle down my manuscript to some preconceived length. Thank you. Special acknowledgment is due my editor Tom Schott, whose perseverance, and preeminent abilities honed this work into its final shape. Thank you, Tom. My eternal gratitude goes out to Ted Savas, production manager Lee Merideth, and the entire Savas Beatie team for their tireless effort, dedication, and professionalism in pulling everything together and forging a finished product. Ted, Lee and gang, I could not have been in more capable hands.
And last, but far from least, my sincere thanks to my wife Marie and my family for enduring my constant absorption in the research and writing of this volume.
