The Munsons of Texas — an American Saga

Chapter Nineteen

MORDELLO STEPHEN MUNSON AND SARAH K. MUNSON
THE CIVIL WAR YEARS — 1862-1865 [1]

SUMMARY
Mordello enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army in January of 1862 at Galveston. He was discharged in April of that year and re-enlisted as a captain in July. His army service took him through the early campaigns in Louisiana and Mississippi and finally to the decisive campaign at Vicksburg which ended on July 4, 1863. In the Confederate defeat at Vicksburg, Mordello was captured, released, and returned home, having signed a parole agreement that he would never again take up arms against the Union. In the spring of 1864, and again in 1865, he was back in the Confederate army engaged in the late campaigns in Louisiana and Arkansas. On May 23, 1865, he returned to Ridgely Plantation to face a new society and a new life.


On January 23, 1862, Mordello enlisted for six months as a private “in Captain D. D. Atchison’s Company G, Mounted Battalion, Colonel Nichol’s Regiment, under Lieutenant-Colonel T. J. DeBray” at Galveston. He was listed as “36 years old, six feet two inches high, light eyes, dark hair and by profession a planter.” He took his horse, “Reel;” and his brother George P., who had enlisted eight months earlier and was serving on the Texas frontier, received a transfer to the same unit the day after Mordello enlisted. Mordello’s letters from Galveston often mention George’s presence. One can surmise from his early letters that he felt that he was going not very far from home and for a limited stay. The extent of the impending war had probably not been perceived by anyone.

When Mordello left home he left behind his large plantation with many slaves, his five children under the age of eleven, and his 29-year-old wife, Sarah. To her fell the responsibility to manage the whole affair, and manage it she did — all alone, except for the occasional help of relatives, for most of the next three years. Their oldest child, Henry William III, was ten, the youngest, Joseph Waddy, was eight months, and a sixth, Hillen Armour, was to be born during the war years, in 1863.

Most of the information on these Civil War years comes from the papers in Mordello’s own collection. These include the original copies of letters exchanged between Mordello and Sarah during the war, other notes and records from his war files, and a daily diary that Sarah kept in penciled handwriting during some of these years. With knowledge of the military operations of the two armies and the information contained in his letters, one can trace most of his path during the war.

His letters are addressed to “Dear Sarah” or in endearing terms such as “My Beloved Wife,” and always signed M. S. Munson. Her letters are always addressed to “My dear Husband” and signed Sarah, but she always referred to him in her diary and in correspondence to her mother and others as “Mr. Munson.” This was the custom of those times. In correspondence they always referred to oldest son Henry William III as “Son,” to second son George Caldwell as “Bud,” to eldest daughter Emma as “daughter” or “daught,” and to second daughter Sarah as “Dol” or “Doll.” Mordello’s letters always expressed warm love and affection for his wife and children, for his and Sarah’s mothers, and for their brothers, cousins, and neighbors; concern and warmth for the slaves (“remember me to the negroes”); and an inquiring interest about the horses, cattle, dogs, and crops. He often sent instructions for Ralph, who must have been the slave-manager of the plantation.


The Union plan for conquering the Confederacy, formulated in 1861 and 1862, was three-fold: first, to blockade their ports; second, to capture the Mississippi River strongholds and cut the Confederacy in half; and third, to drive upon and capture the Confederate capital at Richmond, Virginia. By April of 1865 all of these goals had been achieved.

On July 2, 1861, the port of Galveston was blockaded, and soon thereafter all of the ports on the Texas coast shared the same fate. Galveston was under constant threat of attack. On February 14, 1862, Mordello wrote to Sarah from Galveston:


     When the enemy will attack, or whether they will do so at all, no one here can tell, though we keep our arms loaded and are ready at a moments warning. I have received every courtesy from Commanding Officers - have had positions offered me, night before last when an engagement was believed inevitable, about 3 o’clock, I received orders to report myself at headquarters - and was retained for the occasion upon the staff of the Commanding Officer. If it can be avoided I will not take office during my present term of enlistment.

In May of 1862 Commodore Eagle of the blockading squadron made a demand for Galveston’s surrender. Knowing that Eagle had no land force to occupy the city, the defending commander refused the demand. In October of 1862 the demand was renewed, and after some delays the city was occupied by Federal forces on December 25. Confederate forces under Major General John B. Magruder attacked on the night of December 31 and recaptured the city on the following day, and Galveston remained in control of the Confederates for the remainder of the war.

Mordello received a furlough from the “15th to the 27th of March [1862] unless sooner recalled” to visit his family and attend to details of business. A letter from Sarah dated only “March 31st” may have been written to him soon after his return to duty at Galveston. It refers frequently to her expectation of his early return. For reasons unknown, he was honorably discharged from the “Army of the Confederate States” on April 25, 1862. His discharge papers read:


     By reason of imperatives of Term of Service and by virtue of Special Order No. 520, Headquarters Dept. of [ ? ] Houston, Apl 17/62. Said M. S. Munson was born in Liberty County in the State of Texas, is thirty-six years of age, six feet two inches high, light complexion, blue eyes, dark hair, and by occupation, when enlisted, a farmer.

On or before July 28, 1862, he had again entered the army with the rank of captain in Waul’s Texas Legion, Colonel T. W. Waul commanding. He possibly had been offered a commission as captain and strongly urged to join the war effort. Major-General John G. Walker was placed in command of the entire Texas Division in the summer or fall of 1862. On this assignment, Mordello took one of his slaves named Henry as his personal servant and orderly. His letters home often mention Henry, for instance, “Henry is fine and is invaluable to me. I could not have a better boy.”

Mordello’s duties with Waul’s Texas Legion were initially as finance officer and later assistant adjutant general in the Quartermaster Department, responsible for ordering and dispersing funds for supplies and payroll. He sometimes mentions taking a gun to the front lines and participating in the battles. Records from his files show vouchers for the purchase of many varied supplies including guns, ammunition, tents, blankets, uniforms, mules, mule collars, harnesses, tar buckets, grain sacks, etc. One voucher for such supplies shows a total value of over $36,000. He also issued payroll checks for the men.

In late July of 1862 Waul’s Legion moved by rail to Louisiana and on to Mississippi to engage the Federal troops attempting to capture the southern strongholds of Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Port Hudson, Louisiana, and thus to split the South. On July 31 Mordello wrote from Alexandria, Louisiana:


. . .reached here this morning at day light, having traveled day and night without intermission since leaving Camp Waul without once undressing or going to bed. . .We leave today at eleven o’clock for Natches, there to try our fortunes at crossing the river. The enemy have broken up all the ferrys, all small boats, etc.

And later in the same letter:


     I never parted with you, My Wife, and with our little ones, under similar circumstances before, nor can I tell what my emotions were, it is difficult to know the future, let us hope them for the best. Should I not return alive, Sarah, have me buried with the rest of my family where my Father and Brother are [i.e. the Peach Point Cemetery near Oakland Plantation].

A letter from “Natches” dated August 2, 1862, reports:


     I reached here this evening crossing the river just as the sun was setting, it was a glorious sun set. . .  The news is cheering every where, our troops in the heart of Kentucky & Tenn. and moving in every direction. There may soon be a fight at Tupelo [Mississippi], if so I may see it.

It is evident that Mordello received a furlough and returned to his home in late October of 1862. His later letters indicate this, and further evidence is that son Hillen Armour was born on July 31, 1863.

Mordello’s next letter is dated “In Camp, North Miss Nov 23rd.” He had apparently just recently returned from Texas by way of Louisiana and had visited with his Pearce relatives at Cheneyville. The letter reports:


. . .the Feds distant but a few miles, separated by a narrow stream, fordable in many places. Our Legion is distant from [our] Chief Command some 20 miles, watching the enemy and protecting his approach in this direction. Our pickets skirmish with them almost daily and prisoners are often brought in. We are in expectation of a battle daily, yet it may not take place for some time. The enemy are in large force greatly outnumbering us and reinforcing all the while. Their object is to take Jackson, flank and take Vicksburg, and unless heavy reinforcements, with a good General, is soon sent here, they will succeed. . .Our Legion occupies a position where the enemy are expected to make their first advance, and we are ordered to hold it. The Command will do good fighting if attacked. I expect to start on a skirmish in a few days and if I am fortunate enough to capture a Fed will write you about it. . .I am glad that Stephen Perry did not come with me. No man should now leave Texas, if the enemy succeeds here we will be entirely cut off, though I will in that event if alive come to you.

On the back of this letter is a note, handwritten by Sarah, reading:


     Dear Ma, Thinking you will be interested in hearing from Mr. Munson, I send you his letter. . .perhaps it may be the last one I’ll get. I expect they have had a great battle since it was written. We are having ugly weather for Christmas. Are not some of you coming over. . .

Mordello’s letter dated “Granada [Mississippi] Jan 1st. 1863" reports:


. . .Our Division have been left to hold this place, an outrage upon us, for I feel that it is our right to be in Vicksburg - for several days fighting has been going on there with uniform success upon our side. . .The news from Tenn. is superb. . . everywhere God has caused our arms to prevail. We will soon be a Nation, free indebted alone to Heaven.

His January 12 letter to brother George reads:


     Here we have been for more than a month, yes two of them, with desperate battles in front and rear of us, but not once have we been permitted to meet the enemy. A six days and nights retreat, harrassed incessantly by the Feds, (whom we could have thrashed at any time). . .Grant with his sixty thousand men has at length quit the chase and himself retreated. . .At Vicksburg our troops thrashed the enemy at every point. . .Many here believe that peace will come with early spring. Our recognition by France is looked for daily. . .

On February 25, he wrote to Sarah:


      are now on the Yazoo River, near Greenwood, in the swamp, our purpose to prevent the enemy from flanking Vicksburg. . .Our Cavalry are below Vicksburg. . . Vicksburg will never be taken.

In March he was in the midst of heavy fighting around Fort Pemberton, Mississippi, from where he wrote:


     Ah, Sarah, when this ever ends I shall have much to live for, other men may seek high places that their ambition may be gratified, but my highest ambition will be to spend the residue of life with you, our little ones, and friends, no temptation can cheat me of this high pleasure. I will not barter it for anything the world can give. . .It seems to me that years have passed since I felt all of you.

In April he wrote from Greenwood, and on May 9 he wrote from Sniders Bluffs, Mississippi, as follows:


     We march early in the morning for a point below Vicksburg in the presence of the enemy and expect a battle very soon. I may not survive it, though I feel that death will not be my sad fate. Sad because I have a Dear Wife and little children - were this not so, it would be almost a pleasure to die in such a cause and for ones country. Should I never meet you again, Sarah, know that I have not ceased for one moment to love you, and of you and our Dear babies I constantly think. Educate our children, give them practical, if possible thorough educations. . .Those silver spurs of my Fathers give to Son when he is grown, not for use. . .teach them to love goodness and abhor vise, to have proper self respect and whilst kind to all to have but few confidants outside of their own family. Write to Mother, tell her if it is necessary for me to die that I will do so as becomes her Son.

Two letters from Vicksburg on May 13 and May 31, 1863, give a vivid, on-the-scene description of the battles raging at Vicksburg. The Confederacy had achieved numerous victories in the various military campaigns until their crushing defeat at Gettysburg on July 3, 1863, and their surrender at Vicksburg on July 4, 1863. After those defeats, in retrospect, their position was hopeless, even though they continued to fight determinedly for another two years.

On May 13 Mordello wrote:


     We left Fort Pemberton on the 6th - have been here several days about 6 miles from Vicksburg. The enemy have taken Grand Gulf, thrown a heavy force across the river, are now moving up Big Black in the direction of Jackson, another effort to flank this place. We hear the roar of artillery from morning until night, heavy skirmishing yesterday. We are without waggons, tents or baggage of any kind, the clothes that I have on is all that is with me. Three days of rations cooked, and expecting marching orders at any moment. Unless the enemy retreat heavy fighting must soon take place. . .I feel confident that we will be victorious. . .Gen Lee’s splendid victory, no question you have heard of [at Chancellorsville, Virginia, May 2-4]. Sad though that we have lost our matchless Stonewall Jackson, he is dead, but died for his country. . .A victory here complete would greatly hasten peace. . .

And on May 31, from “Inside the trenches around Vicksburg,” Mordello wrote this profound letter:


     Whilst I write shot and shell, like hail, is rushing and falling around me. There is one continuous roar of artillery and musketry. Day before yesterday the enemy with much spirit charged our left. They met repulse and heavy loss. On Monday evening last they commenced the assault, this is the fourth day continued fighting. Our loss up to this time has been small in killed and wounded, today they will it is thought make an advance, endeavoring to carry our entire line, in this I feel sure they will fail, for our men will never be driven from their entrenchments. Before reaching this place on Big Black, we met with reverse and heavy loss, which has greatly crippled, but not in the least dispirited the troops. If the enemy succeeds here it will cost him very dear. Gen. Johnston has retaken Jackson. We look for him hourly, his attack upon the enemy’s rear will relieve our men from the trenches, when the safety of Vicksburg will soon be determined. There is a wild sublinity in the storm that now rages on all sides around me. Space as if by enchantment seems filled with the most reckless revelry, the rushing, hissing, screaming, bursting of heavy missils and incessant hum of minnie balls, leads one almost to fancy that nature, not man, was seeking to exhaust all her elements of destruction.

The Union siege on Vicksburg under General Ulysses S. Grant succeeded, and the Confederate forces capitulated on July 4, 1863. The defenders were out of rations, were reduced to eating dogs and mules, and had to surrender or starve. Mordello was taken prisoner, and his parole, dated July 5 and signed by him, contained the following oath:


     That I will not take up arms again against the United States, nor serve in any military, police, or constabulary force in any Fort, Garrison or field work, held by the Confederate States of America, against the United States of America, nor as guard of prisons, depots or stores, nor discharge any duties usually performed by soldiers against the United States of America until duly exchanged by the proper authorities.

It is not known what transpired immediately thereafter, but it appears that Mordello barely missed reaching home to join his beloved wife for the birth of son Hillen Armour on July 31, 1863. An entry in the diary of Sarah’s mother dated July 6 reads, “We have heard of Motts [Mordello] death but sincerely trust it is not so,” and on August 3, 1863, “I went to the cars for Mordello on his return from Vicksburg. I was glad he was permitted to return.” An entry in the diary of Sarah dated July 31, 1864, reads, “The babe’s birthday. A pleasant Sabbath, and on August 4, 1864, “This day a year ago my Husband came from Richmond.”



By the summer of 1863 the Union Army had gained full control of the Mississippi River and had cut the western states of Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas off from the remainder of the Confederacy. With the simultaneous blockade of the gulf ports, the residents of Texas must have been very short of news of the war as well as supplies for war and for living.

It appears that Mordello respected his furlough agreement and remained at his plantation home until early March of 1864. West of the Mississippi River, the Union had occupied all of Missouri, most of Arkansas, and the eastern part of Louisiana. President Abraham Lincoln had personally given an order through Major General Henry W. Halleck directing a two-pronged invasion of East Texas. Union General Nathaniel P. Banks and his army of the “Department of the Gulf” was to proceed from Baton Rouge up the Red River to Shreveport, Louisiana, where he would meet with the forces of General Frederick Steele of the “Department of Arkansas,” who would be moving down from their headquarters in Little Rock. Together they would invade East Texas and neutralize the Texas area. It appears that Mordello answered a call to resist this invasion of Texas.

A letter from Mordello to Sarah from Huntsville [Texas?], dated March 10, 1864, states: “Already I feel as though I had been from home a month.” It is thought that he had been gone only a few days. He had apparently again volunteered to join Waul’s Texas Legion in General J. G. Walker’s Army, as he reports: “Gen. Waul left Navisota the morning of the day that I reached it but I am in advance of him. He will possibly reach here this evening or tomorrow.” He also states: “There is no definite news from across the river though many reports.” This surely refers to the Sabine River, as Union troops at that time controlled much of Louisiana, and the forces of General Banks were moving up the Red River toward Shrevesport. He again took a servant named Ben, whom he refers to in his letters, and his horse named Dick.

On April 6, 1864, Mordello wrote from “Near Mansfield, Desoto Parish.” Mansfield is just south of Shreveport and about ten miles from the Texas border. He had just received word from Sarah of the death of Gerard at Oakland. He wrote:


     Sarah, you may imagine, but cannot know the crushing influence of this sad intelligence upon me. Had Gerard been killed in battle or died a natural death, it would have been severe enough, but to be murdered I know not how, that his murderer still lives almost deprives me of reason. . .My Brother’s murder shall be avenged if I live. Write to Anne tell her how much I feel for her, that she must regard me as her own Brother that Gerards children wilst I live shall be to me as my own. . .Write me for Gods Sake whether the assassin is in custody, it is my duty and should be my privilege to kill him. There is no phisical suffering that I would not gladly endure to accomplish it—.

And further in this letter, regarding the war, he wrote:


     I can give you no intelligence as to the movements of this army. We were in line of battle on the 3rd, but the enemy declined to engage us. We may have a battle any day, the enemy are in strong force, both gun boats and transports have passed the falls above Alexandria. They threaten Shrevesport. The State below this is mostly in their hands. . .This is one of the best armies I have ever seen, almost all of them from our State. Many of my old friends are here. The men are cheerful - the discipline excellent. Whenever you hear that they have engaged the enemy, you may be sure that a victory has been won.

The Confederate Army of the Trans-Mississippi under General E. Kirby Smith did immediately thereafter engage the enemy and win two decisive battles, both very near Mansfield — one at Sabine Cross Roads on April 8 and one at Pleasant Hill on April 9, 1864. The Union forces under General Banks, employing troops and gunboats, had moved up the Red River past Alexandria and Natchitoches and were approaching Shreveport when they were met by the Confederate forces. The reported casualties in these two battles, in dead, injured, and missing, were 4,000 Union soldiers and 3,500 Confederates. These Confederate victories sent General Banks’ forces retreating back toward the Mississippi River, and no further major encounters were to occur in Louisiana.

The Union army under General Frederick Steele had departed Little Rock on March 23 and was proceeding toward Shreveport. General Kirby Smith sent a small force under Major General Richard Taylor to pursue Banks, while he lead the major part of his army against Steele. Apparently Steele heard of Banks’ defeats and ordered a retreat, for he reversed his march and was moving back toward Little Rock when the Confederates engaged his forces at Jenkins Ferry on the Saline River south of Little Rock, near Tulip, Arkansas.

The next and last letter from Mordello to Sarah is dated, “In Camp near Tulip, Ark. March 2nd 1864.” For several obvious reasons the date could not have been March 2, but probably May 2, 1864, and this is confirmed by the date of the battle — April 30. The confusing dates plus the message in the letter suggest that Mordello may have been suffering from fatigue. The letter reads in part:


     We have been upon forced march since the 25th of March, fighting thru severe battles [including those at Sabine Cross Roads and Pleasant Hills}, the last one on the 30th of April , marching that day 20 miles in the midst of a heavy rain, then moving upon the enemy whose lines rested upon the west bank of the Saline river [the Saline River in Arkansas]. We fought in fields and a swamp almost impassible, men never fought more obstinate than did the enemy, they were crossing the river, we would drive them, and they rallying would force us back, then the battle raged for most of the day. The enemy crossed the River and fled leaving his train, said to be 4 miles in length, they have gone to Pine Bluff, where I presume we will fight him again.

This was the Battle of Jenkins Ferry, fought on April 26-30, 1864. The reported casualties were, for the Union, 200 killed and 955 wounded; and for the Confederates, 300 killed and 800 wounded. General Steele’s army did not proceed to Pine Bluff, but returned to Little Rock where entrenched fortifications protected them. Mordello’s letter continues:


     Gen Randle I hear this morning is dieing. Our loss in officers was severe indeed. Gen. Scurry was a great loss. Col. Overton Young was wounded in the wrist. . . I will use my utmost efforts to return home, so soon as the present work is fully done. . .God grant the necessity of my being a soldier may soon cease - then the residue of life will be spent with you.

The tone of this last letter indicates that Mordello was ready to return home. General Kirby Smith’s army immediately set out for the Red River to join General Taylor’s forces in an effort to destroy Banks’ army. These forces never joined, and Banks’ army retreated to the Mississippi River and safety. The war continued for another year, but no further significant battles took place in the Louisiana-Arkansas theater.

An entry in Sarah Munson’s diary dated July 24, 1864 reads: “Thanks be to our Heavenly Father, my dear Husband returned today about 12 o’clock, in health and uninjured from the Louisiana Wars. I do thank the Lord for his care over him and all of us.” An entry dated November 22, 1864, reads: “Mr. Munson received orders to leave for the war today.” He departed for General Waul’s army in Louisiana on January 19, 1865.

The more significant aspects of the war in 1864 and 1865 were centered in Virginia and Georgia, where the Confederate cause rapidly deteriorated. On March 9, 1864, General Grant had been given command of all of the Union armies. While Grant undertook the capture of the Confederate capital of Richmond, he assigned General Sherman the task of defeating General Joseph E. Johnson’s troops in northern Georgia. These goals were accomplished as Sherman captured Atlanta and made his famous march of destruction through Georgia in late 1864, and Grant finally defeated General Lee at the Battle of Petersburg, Virginia, on April 1, 1865. Grant took Richmond on April 3 and accepted Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House on April 9, 1865.

A statement in “Home Life on Early Ranches of Southwest Texas” by Myrtle Murray in the November, 1940, edition of The Cattleman Magazine, credited to Mordello Munson (and surely supplied by his son, Judge Milam Stephen Munson, who was interviewed for the article) states, “I started with the war and I was with General Lee at the surrender.” The distance from Texas to Richmond, Virginia, was far and conditions in the South were chaotic, but this writer has no other evidence to support or refute this statement.

Lee’s surrender at Appomattox was on April 9, 1865, and an entry in Sarah’s diary on April 25 reads: “I received a letter from my husband wanting me to meet him in Houston. Joyfully I go, busy getting ready.” Sarah returned home on May 1, and Mordello on May 23, 1865. Throughout his later life Mordello was known as Colonel Munson, so it is likely that during these last months he was promoted to that rank.

Scattered skirmishes in Arkansas and Louisiana continued until the news of Lee’s surrender reached there. The Confederate armies then rapidly dwindled away, and the surrender of the forces of the Trans-Mississippi Department by General Kirby Smith on May 26 and the resulting treaty of peace on June 2, 1865, were mere formalities. The soldiers returned home — discouraged, confused, and worried about the future of their state and their society.

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