Background

Texas Vital Statistics Before the Civil War Texas During the Civil War

Caddo village scene about 900 years ago (A.D. 1100) as envisioned by artist George S. Nelson.

Arapaho, Texas comes from the Caddo tay-shas meaning friend and then Texas by the Anglo immigrants.

Texas was first explored in the 1530s by the Spanish who established missions throughout the southern and eastern part of the state. The French followed in 1682; however, they did not survive their colonization attempt. Under Spain’s control, Texas saw waves of different peoples enter the province—Apache and Comanche Indians and settlers from the United States, Mexico and Europe came to Texas in the early 1800.

When Mexico won its independence from Spain in 1821, they also won Texas. Mexico initiated policies that would eventually lead to the Texas revolution in 1836 such as banning further immigration from the United States into Texas and changing the laws related to slavery. A breakdown in the state government in Coahuila, the Mexican state with over sight of Texas, and further dictates by Santa Ana led to conflict between the Texians and Mexico in October 1835. The Texas Revolution only lasted until May 1836 when a treaty was signed by David Burnet and Santa Ana agreeing to Texas’ independence and setting the Rio Grande as the Republic’s boundary.

Sam Houston circa 1858

Texians elected Sam Houston as their first president. They also voted overwhelmingly to request annexation to the United States. After much debate and a rejection by the US Congress, Texas was finally admitted as the 28^th state and as a slave state in February 1845.

Texas is large, very large compared to the other states that made up the Confederacy. From El Paso in the west to Nacogdoches in the east it is about 820 miles. North to south is approximately 870 miles. Much of this land was unpopulated in the 19^th century.

Texas’ population almost tripled between 1850 and 1860. On the eve of the Civil War, Texas had a total population of 604,215¹ placing it as the ninth most populous state in the Confederacy ahead of Arkansas and Florida. Some of the new Texans, about 7%, came from other countries such as Germany, Bohemia, Poland, Norway and Sweden. Others came from northern states; however, the majority of those “gone to Texas” came from other southern slave holding states.

Texas’ was also ninth in ranking for the number of slaves (182,566) and slaveholders (21,878). Twenty-five percent of the Texas population owned slaves, about the same proportion as Virginia. Based on the 1860 census, only 6% of Texas slaves belonged to non-farmers. 60% belonged to slaveholders who owned 10 or more slaves, about ¼ of the slaveholding population. The highest proportion of slaveholders was in eastern Texas.²

Pioneer Farms, Austin, TX

At the beginning of the War, Texas was still very rural. The majority of Texans lived in small villages or farming communities on small subsistence farms producing crops such as corn, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, peas, beans, okra, squash, and cabbage. Three-quarters of the free population were involved one way or another in farming.³Cotton was the most important commercial crop in Texas, which ranked fifth in the top ten cotton producing states in 1859; however, corn was cultivated more widely than any other crop in Texas. A smaller number of farms produced sugar and wheat. Cattle and hogs were also raised on Texas farms usually for home consumption.

1 1860 Census
2 Ibid
3 Lowe, Richard G and Randolph B Campbell. Planters & Plain Folk Agriculture in Antebellum Texas. Southern Methodist University Press, 1987, page 9