Chapter 6.

 

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

1861-1865

Just when you think things could not get worse, after they traveled over 600 miles in covered wagons with 11 children, now living in the angry Comanche country and the recent loss of their oldest son, things did get worse.  Called The Civil War

On November 8, 1860, the event dreaded in Texas happened: LINCOLN secured sufficient electoral votes to win the Presidency. As Sam Houston predicted a triumph of sectionalism over sectionalism, rather than a national victory. Lincoln got less than 100,000 votes outside the states he carried, he got none in Texas. Texas voted for John C. Breckenridge for the U.S. President.

On February 1861, Texas voted 171-6 in favor of secession from the United States. Three months later the Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, signaling the start of the Civil War. Governor Sam Houston was replaced when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. Males in Young County Texas served as Rangers or Confederate Soldiers. Henry Anderson’s boys responded in anticipation of a brief war. Only Phillip Jefferson, age 9, would have been left home with his father, mother and sisters to fend for themselves in Comanche country.

Over 1000 settlers joined the Frontier Confederate Regiment. There duty was to patrol northwest Texas, between the Red River and the Rio Grande. The Fort Belknap area, where Henry and Sarah ranched, made up two companies. The Muster Roll, First Frontier District, Young County on February 2, 1864 listed three Privates from the Anderson family, Anderson, M.H. age 25, Anderson, A.J. age 27 and Anderson W.W. age 19. and one Private from the George family, George, J.S. age 35. The 6^th Texas Regiment, Company E, listed Henry M. Anderson as a Private, however it is doubtful that this was our Henry M. in that he would have been 52 and the 6^th was organized in Dallas, not Fort Belknap. Mitchell and John Henry Anderson enlisted in the Texas Rangers in December 1860, along with Phillip S. George and Charles Goodnight.

It was written that Texas was most useful during the Civil War supplying soldiers and horses for the Confederate forces. “Fort Belknap became noted for the exchange of animals. Commerce in animals was lively, especially for Major James Duff, Henry Anderson, James M. Gibbins, Captain W.N.P. Marlin, A.J. McKay and Ben Gooch”. (FORT BELKNAP FRONTIER SAGA BY Barbara Ledbetter)

 

 

 

Arch Ratliff, Lucinda Anderson’s husband, decided to go back to Florence, Texas to enlist along with his kinfolks in that area. According to cousin Eric Hillaker, he found a book a the school library when attending North Texas State in the early 70’s called The Texas Heritage of the Fishers and Clarks, which describes some incidents that happened in Florence, Texas during Civil War times. …..”All the able bodied men had gone off to war in 1861, including teenager George Stroud, who had married my gggrandfather Arch Ratliffs sister Delilah. George got to missing his new bride and took un-excused leave to go see her (which if you read the histories of the Confederate Army was very common…..sometimes half the army would be gone). Unfortunately for George, he got cornered in Florence by Provost guards and there was a shoot-out in which Arch’s little brother John was killed,George was convinced to turn himself in and be escorted back to his unit….except that as soon as they got out of town, they hung him…he was buried at what became the Ratliff cemetery”.

Eric also furnished this interesting war time letter from Arch Ratliff to his wife Lucinda Anderson Ratliff: 

June the 21 AD 1862

Dear wife,

I a gane take my pen I hand to let you know that I am well at present and hope when these few lines comes to hand they may find you injoing the same blessing we are encampt at this time at dewvalls bluf in Arkansas white river we left little rock in a hury to get hear expecting to have little fite with the yankise but when we got hear we did not get it but we would like to had a little frolick with them but we did not get it dewvalls bluffs is 60 miles below little rock on white river we was expecting their gun boats up but they got fifteen miles of the bluffs and backed out and went off backed down the river we are just a wating on them when they say the word the wol flies we would like to have a frolick with them awful well we think we could croud them from the ground they stand on I want you to tell Mrs Baker that henry is well and doing first trate in fact we rite to gether if we cold get in a fite or too and live over it we cold come home first satisfied tell Mrs Baker that henry says that if he lives he expect to go home in too or three months they had a little fite down below us on white river at Saint Charles and we whipt them very easy they had five gun boats we sunk on of them and crippled a nother we shot threw on their boilers kild and scolded a bout a hundred and sixty and our los was 8 we don’t know how long we will stay hear we are acting picket gard for kernel neissions regiment I expect to bee a home a bout the first of September if nothing hapins I will let you know that I saw ed bond sick at little rock and ben bond died in the hos pitle a bout week before I saw ed I would like to see you and the children mity well once more I want you to rite as soon as you get this leter and lete me know how you all are getting on and how Tom has got Direct your leters to little rock under the cear of Capt. Vontres company that is Capt. Vontress so I will close my leter   Arch Ratliff to Lucinda Ratliff

It was 9 years from the time Texas seceded from the Union on March 2, 1861 to the date they were re-admitted to the Union on March 30, 1870.

 

 

 

Early pictures of Fort Belknap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                    

Chapter 6.

 

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

1861-1865

Just when you think things could not get worse, after they traveled over 600 miles in covered wagons with 11 children, now living in the angry Comanche country and the recent loss of their oldest son, things did get worse.  Called The Civil War.

 

On November 8, 1860, the event dreaded in Texas happened: LINCOLN secured sufficient electoral votes to win the Presidency. As Sam Houston predicted a triumph of sectionalism over sectionalism, rather than a national victory. Lincoln got less than 100,000 votes outside the states he carried, he got none in Texas. Texas voted for John C. Breckenridge for the U.S. President.

 

On February 1861, Texas voted 171-6 in favor of secession from the United States. Three months later the Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, signaling the start of the Civil War. Governor Sam Houston was replaced when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. Males in Young County Texas served as Rangers or Confederate Soldiers. Henry Anderson’s boys responded in anticipation of a brief war. Only Phillip Jefferson, age 9, would have been left home with his father, mother and sisters to fend for themselves in Comanche country.

 

Over 1000 settlers joined the Frontier Confederate Regiment. There duty was to patrol northwest Texas, between the Red River and the Rio Grande. The Fort Belknap area, where Henry and Sarah ranched, made up two companies. The Muster Roll, First Frontier District, Young County on February 2, 1864 listed three Privates from the Anderson family, Anderson, M.H. age 25, Anderson, A.J. age 27 and Anderson W.W. age 19. and one Private from the George family, George, J.S. age 35. The 6^th Texas Regiment, Company E, listed Henry M. Anderson as a Private, however it is doubtful that this was our Henry M. in that he would have been 52 and the 6^th was organized in Dallas, not Fort Belknap. Mitchell and John Henry Anderson enlisted in the Texas Rangers in December 1860, along with Phillip S. George and Charles Goodnight.

 

It was written that Texas was most useful during the Civil War supplying soldiers and horses for the Confederate forces. “Fort Belknap became noted for the exchange of animals. Commerce in animals was lively, especially for Major James Duff, Henry Anderson, James M. Gibbins, Captain W.N.P. Marlin, A.J. McKay and Ben Gooch”. (FORT BELKNAP FRONTIER SAGA BY Barbara Ledbetter)

 

 

 

Arch Ratliff, Lucinda Anderson’s husband, decided to go back to Florence, Texas to enlist along with his kinfolks in that area. According to cousin Eric Hillaker, he found a book a the school library when attending North Texas State in the early 70’s called The Texas Heritage of the Fishers and Clarks, which describes some incidents that happened in Florence, Texas during Civil War times. …..”All the able bodied men had gone off to war in 1861, including teenager George Stroud, who had married my gggrandfather Arch Ratliffs sister Delilah. George got to missing his new bride and took un-excused leave to go see her (which if you read the histories of the Confederate Army was very common…..sometimes half the army would be

gone). Unfortunately for George, he got cornered in Florence by Provost guards and there was a shoot-out in which Arch’s little brother John was killed,

George was convinced to turn himself in and be escorted back to his unit….except that as soon as they got out of town, they hung him…he was buried at what became the Ratliff cemetery”.

 

Eric also furnished this interesting war time letter from Arch Ratliff to his wife Lucinda Anderson Ratliff:

 

June the 21 AD 1862

Dear wife,

I a gane take my pen I hand to let you know that I am well at present and hope when these few lines comes to hand they may find you injoing the same blessing we are encampt at this time at dewvalls bluf in Arkansas white river we left little rock in a hury to get hear expecting to have little fite with the yankise but when we got hear we did not get it but we would like to had a little frolick with them but we did not get it dewvalls bluffs is 60 miles below little rock on white river we was expecting their gun boats up but they got fifteen miles of the bluffs and backed out and went off backed down the river we are just a wating on them when they say the word the wol flies we would like to have a frolick with them awful well we think we could croud them from the ground they stand on I want you to tell Mrs Baker that henry is well and doing first trate in fact we rite to gether if we cold get in a fite or too and live over it we cold come home first satisfied tell Mrs Baker that henry says that if he lives he expect to go home in too or three months they had a little fite down below us on white river at Saint Charles and we whipt them very easy they had five gun boats we sunk on of them and crippled a nother we shot threw on their boilers kild and scolded a bout a hundred and sixty and our los was 8 we don’t know how long we will stay hear we are acting picket gard for kernel neissions regiment I expect to bee a home a bout the first of September if nothing hapins I will let you know that I saw ed bond sick at little rock and ben bond died in the hos pitle a bout week before I saw ed I would like to see you and the children mity well once more I want you to rite as soon as you get this leter and lete me know how you all are getting on and how Tom has got Direct your leters to little rock under the cear of Capt. Vontres company that is Capt. Vontress so I will close my leter   Arch Ratliff to Lucinda Ratliff

 

It was 9 years from the time Texas seceded from the Union on March 2, 1861 to the date they were re-admitted to the Union on March 30, 1870.

 

 

 

Early pictures of Fort Belknap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                    

Chapter 6.

 

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

1861-1865

Just when you think things could not get worse, after they traveled over 600 miles in covered wagons with 11 children, now living in the angry Comanche country and the recent loss of their oldest son, things did get worse.  Called The Civil War.

 

On November 8, 1860, the event dreaded in Texas happened: LINCOLN secured sufficient electoral votes to win the Presidency. As Sam Houston predicted a triumph of sectionalism over sectionalism, rather than a national victory. Lincoln got less than 100,000 votes outside the states he carried, he got none in Texas. Texas voted for John C. Breckenridge for the U.S. President.

 

On February 1861, Texas voted 171-6 in favor of secession from the United States. Three months later the Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, signaling the start of the Civil War. Governor Sam Houston was replaced when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. Males in Young County Texas served as Rangers or Confederate Soldiers. Henry Anderson’s boys responded in anticipation of a brief war. Only Phillip Jefferson, age 9, would have been left home with his father, mother and sisters to fend for themselves in Comanche country.

 

Over 1000 settlers joined the Frontier Confederate Regiment. There duty was to patrol northwest Texas, between the Red River and the Rio Grande. The Fort Belknap area, where Henry and Sarah ranched, made up two companies. The Muster Roll, First Frontier District, Young County on February 2, 1864 listed three Privates from the Anderson family, Anderson, M.H. age 25, Anderson, A.J. age 27 and Anderson W.W. age 19. and one Private from the George family, George, J.S. age 35. The 6^th Texas Regiment, Company E, listed Henry M. Anderson as a Private, however it is doubtful that this was our Henry M. in that he would have been 52 and the 6^th was organized in Dallas, not Fort Belknap. Mitchell and John Henry Anderson enlisted in the Texas Rangers in December 1860, along with Phillip S. George and Charles Goodnight.

 

It was written that Texas was most useful during the Civil War supplying soldiers and horses for the Confederate forces. “Fort Belknap became noted for the exchange of animals. Commerce in animals was lively, especially for Major James Duff, Henry Anderson, James M. Gibbins, Captain W.N.P. Marlin, A.J. McKay and Ben Gooch”. (FORT BELKNAP FRONTIER SAGA BY Barbara Ledbetter)

 

 

 

Arch Ratliff, Lucinda Anderson’s husband, decided to go back to Florence, Texas to enlist along with his kinfolks in that area. According to cousin Eric Hillaker, he found a book a the school library when attending North Texas State in the early 70’s called The Texas Heritage of the Fishers and Clarks, which describes some incidents that happened in Florence, Texas during Civil War times. …..”All the able bodied men had gone off to war in 1861, including teenager George Stroud, who had married my gggrandfather Arch Ratliffs sister Delilah. George got to missing his new bride and took un-excused leave to go see her (which if you read the histories of the Confederate Army was very common…..sometimes half the army would be

gone). Unfortunately for George, he got cornered in Florence by Provost guards and there was a shoot-out in which Arch’s little brother John was killed,

George was convinced to turn himself in and be escorted back to his unit….except that as soon as they got out of town, they hung him…he was buried at what became the Ratliff cemetery”.

 

Eric also furnished this interesting war time letter from Arch Ratliff to his wife Lucinda Anderson Ratliff:

 

June the 21 AD 1862

Dear wife,

I a gane take my pen I hand to let you know that I am well at present and hope when these few lines comes to hand they may find you injoing the same blessing we are encampt at this time at dewvalls bluf in Arkansas white river we left little rock in a hury to get hear expecting to have little fite with the yankise but when we got hear we did not get it but we would like to had a little frolick with them but we did not get it dewvalls bluffs is 60 miles below little rock on white river we was expecting their gun boats up but they got fifteen miles of the bluffs and backed out and went off backed down the river we are just a wating on them when they say the word the wol flies we would like to have a frolick with them awful well we think we could croud them from the ground they stand on I want you to tell Mrs Baker that henry is well and doing first trate in fact we rite to gether if we cold get in a fite or too and live over it we cold come home first satisfied tell Mrs Baker that henry says that if he lives he expect to go home in too or three months they had a little fite down below us on white river at Saint Charles and we whipt them very easy they had five gun boats we sunk on of them and crippled a nother we shot threw on their boilers kild and scolded a bout a hundred and sixty and our los was 8 we don’t know how long we will stay hear we are acting picket gard for kernel neissions regiment I expect to bee a home a bout the first of September if nothing hapins I will let you know that I saw ed bond sick at little rock and ben bond died in the hos pitle a bout week before I saw ed I would like to see you and the children mity well once more I want you to rite as soon as you get this leter and lete me know how you all are getting on and how Tom has got Direct your leters to little rock under the cear of Capt. Vontres company that is Capt. Vontress so I will close my leter   Arch Ratliff to Lucinda Ratliff

 

It was 9 years from the time Texas seceded from the Union on March 2, 1861 to the date they were re-admitted to the Union on March 30, 1870.

 

 

 

Early pictures of Fort Belknap

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

                                    

Chapter 6.

 

THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD

1861-1865

Just when you think things could not get worse, after they traveled over 600 miles in covered wagons with 11 children, now living in the angry Comanche country and the recent loss of their oldest son, things did get worse.  Called The Civil War.

 

On November 8, 1860, the event dreaded in Texas happened: LINCOLN secured sufficient electoral votes to win the Presidency. As Sam Houston predicted a triumph of sectionalism over sectionalism, rather than a national victory. Lincoln got less than 100,000 votes outside the states he carried, he got none in Texas. Texas voted for John C. Breckenridge for the U.S. President.

 

On February 1861, Texas voted 171-6 in favor of secession from the United States. Three months later the Confederate batteries opened fire on Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, signaling the start of the Civil War. Governor Sam Houston was replaced when he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the Confederacy. Males in Young County Texas served as Rangers or Confederate Soldiers. Henry Anderson’s boys responded in anticipation of a brief war. Only Phillip Jefferson, age 9, would have been left home with his father, mother and sisters to fend for themselves in Comanche country.

 

Over 1000 settlers joined the Frontier Confederate Regiment. There duty was to patrol northwest Texas, between the Red River and the Rio Grande. The Fort Belknap area, where Henry and Sarah ranched, made up two companies. The Muster Roll, First Frontier District, Young County on February 2, 1864 listed three Privates from the Anderson family, Anderson, M.H. age 25, Anderson, A.J. age 27 and Anderson W.W. age 19. and one Private from the George family, George, J.S. age 35. The 6^th Texas Regiment, Company E, listed Henry M. Anderson as a Private, however it is doubtful that this was our Henry M. in that he would have been 52 and the 6^th was organized in Dallas, not Fort Belknap. Mitchell and John Henry Anderson enlisted in the Texas Rangers in December 1860, along with Phillip S. George and Charles Goodnight.

 

It was written that Texas was most useful during the Civil War supplying soldiers and horses for the Confederate forces. “Fort Belknap became noted for the exchange of animals. Commerce in animals was lively, especially for Major James Duff, Henry Anderson, James M. Gibbins, Captain W.N.P. Marlin, A.J. McKay and Ben Gooch”. (FORT BELKNAP FRONTIER SAGA BY Barbara Ledbetter)

 

 

 

Arch Ratliff, Lucinda Anderson’s husband, decided to go back to Florence, Texas to enlist along with his kinfolks in that area. According to cousin Eric Hillaker, he found a book a the school library when attending North Texas State in the early 70’s called The Texas Heritage of the Fishers and Clarks, which describes some incidents that happened in Florence, Texas during Civil War times. …..”All the able bodied men had gone off to war in 1861, including teenager George Stroud, who had married my gggrandfather Arch Ratliffs sister Delilah. George got to missing his new bride and took un-excused leave to go see her (which if you read the histories of the Confederate Army was very common…..sometimes half the army would be

gone). Unfortunately for George, he got cornered in Florence by Provost guards and there was a shoot-out in which Arch’s little brother John was killed,

George was convinced to turn himself in and be escorted back to his unit….except that as soon as they got out of town, they hung him…he was buried at what became the Ratliff cemetery”.

 

Eric also furnished this interesting war time letter from Arch Ratliff to his wife Lucinda Anderson Ratliff:

 

June the 21 AD 1862

Dear wife,

I a gane take my pen I hand to let you know that I am well at present and hope when these few lines comes to hand they may find you injoing the same blessing we are encampt at this time at dewvalls bluf in Arkansas white river we left little rock in a hury to get hear expecting to have little fite with the yankise but when we got hear we did not get it but we would like to had a little frolick with them but we did not get it dewvalls bluffs is 60 miles below little rock on white river we was expecting their gun boats up but they got fifteen miles of the bluffs and backed out and went off backed down the river we are just a wating on them when they say the word the wol flies we would like to have a frolick with them awful well we think we could croud them from the ground they stand on I want you to tell Mrs Baker that henry is well and doing first trate in fact we rite to gether if we cold get in a fite or too and live over it we cold come home first satisfied tell Mrs Baker that henry says that if he lives he expect to go home in too or three months they had a little fite down below us on white river at Saint Charles and we whipt them very easy they had five gun boats we sunk on of them and crippled a nother we shot threw on their boilers kild and scolded a bout a hundred and sixty and our los was 8 we don’t know how long we will stay hear we are acting picket gard for kernel neissions regiment I expect to bee a home a bout the first of September if nothing hapins I will let you know that I saw ed bond sick at little rock and ben bond died in the hos pitle a bout week before I saw ed I would like to see you and the children mity well once more I want you to rite as soon as you get this leter and lete me know how you all are getting on and how Tom has got Direct your leters to little rock under the cear of Capt. Vontres company that is Capt. Vontress so I will close my leter   Arch Ratliff to Lucinda Ratliff

 

It was 9 years from the time Texas seceded from the Union on March 2, 1861 to the date they were re-admitted to the Union on March 30, 1870.

 

 

 

Early pictures of Fort Belknap