The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 84, July 1980 - April, 1981 Page: 390
502 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Harrisburg, were larger camps where military instruction was re-
ceived.6
One of the highlights of early military life for most Texas volun-
teers was the presentation of either the Confederate or the unit flag
by local townspeople. This ceremony, which usually occurred when
the company left for training camp or for the eastern theater of mili-
tary operations, was "the last act of the farewell drama" and often was
"a solemn affair." Albert B. Blocker, youthful bugler of the Third
Texas Cavalry, recalled that his company, known as the Texas Hunt-
ers, received its flag at Jonesville on May 1, 1861. Miss Eudora Perry
presented the handsome flag, made by the ladies of Harrison County,
to the company before hundreds of citizens who had come to view the
festivities. Patriotic speeches, parades, and a barbecue made the day
one that young Blocker would not forget.6
An equally enthusiastic flag presentation and send-off was given the
Henderson Guards of the Fourth Texas Infantry. Before leaving for
Camp Van Dorn, the Guards assembled at the town of Fincastle, in
southern Henderson County. Here, before hundreds of onlookers, the
company commander, Captain William K. ("Howdy") Martin, re-
ceived a beautiful homemade Confederate flag presented by Miss Ann
Tindel. The flag was hoisted to the top of a i 2o-foot pine pole while
Martin, a noted stump speaker, delivered a powerful oration with a
"voice like thunder" and with a look like "he was mad enough to eat
a Yankee raw."7
The Texas soldiers who marched off to war in 1861 wore a wide
variety of uniforms. Val C. Giles, of the Fourth Texas Infantry, noted
that no two companies had uniforms alike when his regiment was or-
ganized in the spring of that year. "We were a motley-looking set, but
as a rule comfortably dressed," he later wrote. "In my company we had
5Blll Winsor, Texas in the Confederacy: Military Installations, Economy and People
(Hillsboro, Tex., 1978), 8-38; Harold B. Simpson, Hood's Texas Brigade: Lee's Grenadier
Guard (Waco, Tex., 1970), 20-21, 34-35.
cSimpson, Hood's Texas Brigade. Lee's Grenadier Guard, 27 (quotations); Max S. Lale,
"The Boy-Bugler of the Third Texas Cavalry: The A. B. Blocker Narrative," Military
History of Texas and the Southwest, XIV (No. 2), 73.
7J. J. Faulk, Histoty of Henderson County, Texas (Athens, Tex., 1929), 129. For other
descriptions of flag ceremonies see Charles Spurlin (ed.), West of the Mississippi with
Waller's 13th Texas Cavalry Battalton, CSA (Hillsboro, 1971), 28; Texas Republzcan
(Marshall), Apr 27, June 1, 1861; O. T. Hanks, "History of B. F. Benton's Company, or
Account of Civil War Experiences," 2-3, O. T. Hanks, Reminiscences, 1861-1862 (Ar-390
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 84, July 1980 - April, 1981, periodical, 1980/1981; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101225/m1/450/: accessed May 1, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.