A soldier's only Civil War letter

There may have been more letters from Lt. William Phillips, but this is the one that has been passed down from the generations.  At one time my grandmother had it, and my sister apparently Xeroxed it, which is the source I have used.  The photo of the copy is at the bottom.

This is the hand written letter on lined paper, by my grandmother’s grandfather to Elizabeth (Lizzie) Granger, (his sister-in-law, and spoke of her sister Lucy Granger who had the care of his 2 daughters in Galveston. He had joined the Confederacy after the death of his wife, Mary Granger Phillips.)

Camp Burnett  Head Quarters

                April 13 1862

Dear Sister Lizzie

        I have been promising myself to write you for some weeks, but without excuse have not.  I have been in camps 2 weeks.  I am better satisfied here than I’ve been for months past.  At home I did nothing but grieve over my misfortunes.  I was no comfort or company to anyone, - it was hard to part with my dear babes.  I have stood the hardest trial man has ever to stand.  Lucy is a dear good sister she does all an aunt can do, she was anxious for me to go to the war, promised to take good care of the dear little ones.  Camps are a great place to see human nature all sorts of men from the grey hairs of 50 years to the stripling youth of 15, the best and the meanest are mess mates.  We are a cavalry Regiment (Alabama Regiment is the name of it).  We expect to march in 15 days.  Col. Burnett has gone to Richmond, expect him back next week.  There is some talk of our being disbanded if so I intend going directly from here to Missouri.  I have the position of

(back of sheet page 2)

Provost Marshall rank of a Lieutenant, a very easy berth – relieves me from all fatigue duty and the responsibility & cares, are right so far –

         
Pa has come up on a visit and will return tomorrow, all well at home.  Zulieka says Papa has gone to kill old Lincoln because he won’t let her have a crying baby.  Ada points to the plantation with her little fat hand whenever my name is called.  Mother & Lucy will visit you as soon as they can.  I will write you soon again, in day light when I can see the lines.  I might get a letter from you directed to Little Rock, Aks. (sic)

                        Your affectionate Brother

                William Phillips

(Editors Note –Pa would be either be his step-father, Samuel Gainer (judge from Georgia now in Texas,) or his father-in-law, George Granger, (from Mass now in Texas.) Aunt Lizzie (Elizabeth Granger, sister to his deceased wife Mary Granger Phillips) is addressed directly here. Grandma may be MIL Mary Granger, or Mary Gainer his own mother. They are all living in Galvestson, or Sabine Pass, where the children of William & Mary Phillips have been taken upon Mary’s death in 1861 and William going into the Confederate army in 1862. Samuel Gainer moved to the Spurger area, Tyler County Texas at some point.)

I share this with my Sepia Saturday friends also this week.

Some additional information about the 13th Texas Cavalry.

THIRTEENTH TEXAS CAVALRY. The Thirteenth Texas Cavalry Regiment was organized in the winter of 1861 at Crockett, Texas, and mustered into service at Camp Burnett in Houston County near Crockett, Texas, on February 22, 1862. The original field officers included: Col. John H. Burnett, Maj. Charles R. Beatty, Lt. Col. Anderson F. Crawford, and Maj. Elias T. Seale. The unit was composed of ten companies that included men who came primarily from Anderson, Angelina, Cherokee, Leon, Henderson, Houston, Hunt, Jasper, Kaufman, Madison, McLennan, Newton, Polk, Trinity, Tyler, and Orange counties. There were originally 1,125 men, however, due to the Confederate Conscription Act of April 16, 1862, the number was reduced to 842. The unit was known by several alternate names including: Burnett's Cavalry, Beatty's Cavalry, Seale's Cavalry, Crawford's Cavalry, Young's Cavalry, Bean's Cavalry, and Smith's Cavalry.

The Thirteenth Texas Cavalry primarily served west of the Mississippi River and was ordered from Camp McCulloch near Tyler, Texas, to Camp Nelson near Little Rock, Arkansas, on July 2, 1862. The regiment was delayed in Lafayette County, Arkansas, due to an epidemic of measles and typhoid fever in which the unit lost thirty men. The Thirteenth Texas Cavalry Regiment camped near Spring Bank but later moved near Walnut Hills. During the winter of 1862 the men suffered from terrible conditions and epidemics of typhoid fever, pneumonia, and tuberculosis at Camp Bayou Metre near Pine Bluff, Arkansas. By the end of February 1863, the unit was reduced to 615 men, and the following harsh winter resulted in twenty-five deaths. They were attached to McCulloch's, Young's, and Waul's Brigade, as well as Gen. John G. Walker's Texas Division and dismounted shortly thereafter for the duration of the war. Thomas J. Rounsaville recalled, "When we dismounted we was sadly disappointed for we was compelled to take it afoot and we walked about two hundred miles and our feet was blistered considerably. Some of our boys gave entirely out."

The Thirteenth Texas Cavalry Regiment helped construct earthworks near Pine Bluff and attempted to relieve Confederate units at the siege of Vicksburg. The unit participated in several engagements in western Louisiana from April 1863 to May 1864, including: Young's Point, Fort Bisland, Bayou Teche, Brashear City, Cox's Plantation, Bayou LaFourche, Teche Country, Bayou Bourbeau, the Camden Expedition, Wilson's Farm, Sabine Cross Roads, Mansfield, Pleasant Hill, Jenkins' Ferry, and Alexandria. In February 1864, the regiment included only 145 men, and it suffered more than fifty losses during the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill that spring. Following the Red River campaign, the unit was stationed in Shreveport for the remainder of the war. Due to chronic health problems Colonel Burnett resigned on April 22, 1864, and returned to Crockett, Texas. In November 1864 the unit moved to winter quarters near Minden, Louisiana, and by January 27, 1865, relocated to Shreveport. On February 18, 1865, the unit was honored by a huge barbeque in Shreveport. The Thirteenth Texas Cavalry Regiment was ordered back to Texas and arrived at Camp Groce near Hempstead on April 15, 1865. They officially surrendered in Galveston, Texas, on June 2, 1865.

BIBLIOGRAPHY: 

Compiled Service Records of Confederate Soldiers Who Served in Organizations from the State of Texas, National Archives and Records Service, Washington. Joseph H. Crute, Jr., Units of the Confederate States Army (Midlothian, Virginia: Derwent, 1987). Richard G. Lowe, Walker's Texas Division, C.S.A.: Greyhounds of the Trans-Mississippi (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 2004). Stewart Sifakis, Compendium of the Confederate Armies: Texas (New York: Facts on File, 1995).Vertical File, Historical Research Center, Texas Heritage Museum, Hill College, Hillsboro, Texas.

Brett J. Derbes

When

Citation

The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this article.

Brett J. Derbes, "THIRTEENTH TEXAS CAVALRY," Handbook of Texas Online(http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qkt17), accessed June 24, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.

 

http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qkt17