History of the 5th Texas
"There never were such men in an army before. They will go anywhere and
do anything if properly led." - ( General Robert E. Lee in a letter to
General
John Bell Hood, May 21, 1863)
On October 7, 1864 at 3 A.M., the Texas Brigade marched to attack a strongly
defended Federal entrenchment on the Darbytown Road. The Texas Brigade
formed in a line about 20 yards from a dim road, on which General Lee sat
on his
horse, obviously awaiting reports. After quite alittle while one of his
aides
approached him and saluted, and Lee asked if all the commands were ready
for
the advance. "none but the Texas Brigade, General." said the aide. "The
Texas
Brigade is ALWAYS ready," commented Lee.
The Texas Brigade was to Robert E. Lee and the Army of Northern Virginia
(ANV)
what the Old Guard was to Napoleon and the Imperial Army of France. First
in
advance. Shock troops in battle. The reguard in retreat.
The Brigade was organized on October 22, 1861, per General Order No. 15,
issued
by the Confederate War Department in Richmond, and consisted of the 1st,
4th
and 5th Texas Infantry Regiments.
The first Colonel of the 5th Texas was James J. Archer. He was later placed
in
command of the brigade and Jerome Boneparte Robertson became the new
Colonel of the 5th Texas. On March 8, 1862, John Bell Hood, Colonel of
the 4th
Texas was promoted to Brigadier General and succeeded Archer in command.
From him, the brigade was to recieve its most common name, being known
hereafter as "Hood's Texas Brigade", even though Hood only commanded for
about 6 months. It was J.B. Robertson who was to command the Brigade for
the
longest, from October 1862 to February, 1864.
The battlefield exploits of the Texas Brigade and the 5th Texas span most
of the
career of the ANV. At Second Manassas, the 5th Texas was able to settle
accounts with their counterpart Federal Regiment, the 5th New York (Duryea's
Zouaves). In the winter of 1861-62, the two Regiments were camped across
the
Potomac River from each other and the men were able to get close enough
on
the ice to hurl threats and insults at one another, vowing to take it further
in
battle later. Now, on the plains of Manassas, it was later! After the brigade
drove
off the 10th New York, deployed as skirmishers, and sent them through the
5th
New York, the 5th Texas emerged from a wood and found themselves face to
face with this same 5th New York. The New Yorkers, across a creek and on
higher ground, fired first, their volley going over the Texans heads. The
Texans
then closed to within a few paces and fired a devastating volley, leaving
hundreds dead and wounded, then pursued the dazed and disorganized New
Yorkers until, as one report put it, "there werenot 50 unwounded men in
the
Regiment." Flushed with this victorythe 5th Texas continued to advance,
tearing
through the disintegrating Federal flank,out-distancing not only the rest
of the
Brigade but the rest of the Confederate Army. In his official report, Hood
said the
5th Texas had "slipped the briddle" and earned themselves the name "The
Bloody
Fifth."
The Wilderness has been called the Texas Brigade's finest hour. On May
6, 1864,
as A.P.Hill's Corps crumbled under the hammering of Union General Hancock's
2nd
Corps, Lee's Army was in danger of being completely overwhelmed. The Texas
Brigade, in the van of Longstreet's Corps, arrived at the double quick,
pushing
through the streams of men heading to the rear. As the Brigade formed for
battle,
Lee arrived and upon learning that this was the Texas Brigade, attempted
to
personally lead them against Hancock's veterans. The cry of "Lee to the
rear"
went up and members of the Brigade escorted Lee away from the front. Knowing
that "the eyes of General Lee were upon them" the Texans, 800 strong, fell
ferociously upon the advancing Federals with a thunderous roar of yells
and
musketry. Though half their number fell dead of wounded in the first 10
minutes,
Hood's Old Brigade not only stopped Hancock's men cold, they forced the
Federals back to their oringial line. With Lee's eyes upon them, the Texans
were
so eager to carry out his orders that they would not have stopped until
they
were completely annihilated, had not Longstreet recalled them.
The sacrificial devotion to duty of the Texas Brigade is borne witness
by the fact
that only 473 men remained to lay down their arms at Appomattox Court House.
Even then, defiant to the last, some Texans broke their muskets rather
than
surrender a useable arm to the Federals
5th Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment
The very title is a brag. The Texans in Virginia were volunteers. No conscription
was necessary to man the ranks. They were there because Texans loved a
good
fight and were committed to a fight for freedom.
The 5th Texas Infantry was organized at Richmond, Virginia during October
1861.
Over thirty companies of Texas Infantry had arrived independently in that
city.
The 1st Texas formed with twelve companies. Another ten companies were
combined to make up the 5th Texas. The companies were:
A - The BAYOU CITY GUARDS, from Harris County.
B - Unnamed, from Colorado County.
C - The LEON HUNTERS, from Leon County.
D - The WAVERLY CONFEDERATES, from Waverly, Walker, and Montgomerry
Counties.
E - The DIXIE BLUES, from Washington County.
F - The COMPANY INVINCIBLES, from Washington, Jefferson, and Liberty
Counties.
G - The MILAM COUNTY GREYS, from Milam County.
H - The POLK RIFLES, from Polk, Trinity, Liberty and Walker Counties.
I - The TEXAS AIDES. from Washington County.
K - The POLK COUNTY FLYING ARTILLERY, from Polk and Liberty Counties.
While most of the companies had formed as infanty, one had formed and drilled
as
artillery. With a greater demand for infantry, and fearing they would miss
the
fighting, K Company became infantry too.