You may find the scope of Texas' military past surprising. When asked to name a military site in Texas, you might naturally remember the Alamo. But there's so much more. For example, the Battle of Palmito Ranch, the last land battle of the American Civil War, took place near Brownsville. Texas has a rich military history just waiting to be discovered. Would you like to help?
In September 2007, the Texas Historical Commission (THC) established the Texas Civil War Monuments Fund to continue the work begun in 1961by the Texas Civil War Centennial Commission and the Texas State Historical Survey Committee (the THC’s predecessor), to honor the contributions and sacrifices of Texas forces during the Civil War.
The First Monument: the Texas State Memorial at Vicksburg
In November 1961, the Texas Civil War Centennial Commission and the Texas State Historical Survey Committee initiated a commemorative series of granite monuments by dedicating the first and largest of the original Centennial monuments at the Vicksburg National Military Park (Mississippi). Over the next three and a half years, these two preservation-minded organizations placed Texas Civil War Monuments on battlefields across the nation, preserving the memories of the contributions made by our state’s military units during the Civil War.
The initial goal of the THC’s Texas Civil War Monuments Fund was to honor Texas soldiers at two Kentucky battlefields: Rowletts Station (2008) and Richmond (2009). Thanks to continued support of the Fund, we have placed three additional monuments: Corinth, Mississippi in 2010, Gaines’ Mill, Virginia in 2012, and most recently, Second Manassas, Virginia dedicated on September 6, 2012.
The Next Monument-Glorieta Pass (NM)
The Texas Historical Commission is working with the Civil War Trust to install and dedicate its next monument, this one for the Battle of Glorieta Pass, New Mexico. For more information on this project or to donate to the overall monuments' fund please contact the Friends of the Texas Historical Commission.
At the following Texas Civil War Monuments, our military heritage is recognized in our state and beyond:
- Vicksburg, Mississippi
- Chickamauga, Georgia
- Kennesaw Mountain, Georgia
- Mansfield, Louisiana
- Antietam, Maryland
- Pea Ridge, Arkansas
- Bentonville, North Carolina
- Gettysburg, Pennsylvania
- Fort Donelson, Tennessee
- Shiloh, Tennessee
- Anthony, Texas (commemorates the overall Arizona-New Mexico Campaign)
- The Wilderness, Virginia
- Galveston, Texas
- Raymond, Mississippi
- Rowletts, Kentucky
- Richmond, Kentucky
- Corinth, Mississippi
- Gaines' Mill, Virginia
- Second Manassas, Virginia
