Civil War

Civil War. Secession. Secession was an issue that Hunt County residents did not agree on. The county vote on secession was close, 416 to 339, but ultimately secession won. Once the war started, hundreds of county men joined and fought in the war effort. Greenville raised a company that fought in both Arkansas and eastern Tennessee. Hunt County was part of the 8th military district which consisted of Fannin, Hunt, Grayson, Collin, Dallas, Denton, Tarrant and Cooke counties. Martin D. Hart, a local Hunt County lawyer, representative (1857-1859), senator (1860-1861), and the second richest man in the county (in 1860), led the anti-secession minority, along with his brother Hardin. Martin made several speeches at the County Courthouse in attempts to persuade county residents to the anti-secession side. After Texas seceded from the Union, Hart resigned his seat in the Senate and returned to Hunt County to resume his law practice. Hart was elected captain of the Greenville Guards in 1861 which was a company of mounted volunteers. In 1862, he received a commission from the Confederates to go to NW Arkansas and operate a company but instead went to Missouri and received Union papers. He and his men then went to Arkansas where they attacked Confederate forces and Hart allegedly assassinated two "prominent secessionists." He and some of his men were captured by Confederate troops on January 18, 1863. They were taken to Fort Smith, where he and his first lieutenant, J. W. Hays of Illinois, were court-martialed and hanged on January 23, 1863., By the end of 1861, 25,000 Texans were in the Confederate army with two-thirds of them in the cavalry. By the end of the war an estimated 70,000-90,000 Texans saw military service in the war and fought in every major battle except for First Manassas and Chancellorsville. A much smaller number of people from Texas served in the Union army; approximately 2,132 White and 47 Black. The war transformed life for women across the state. They were encouraged to support the Confederate army by contributing to the war effort. They sewed flags and banners for local regiments and made uniforms, clothing, and tents for soldiers. Many marched in parades, wrote editorials in newspapers, attended political gatherings, raised funds, participated in aid societies, and even organized local militias. The women had to take care of their homes, manage their farms, oversee slaves, plant, sow, harvest, sell their farm products and deal with shortages for an extended period of time while the men were away fighting. The last battle of the war happened in Texas near Brownsville at the battle of Palmito Ranch on May 13, 1865, where the Union troops were defeated. On June 2, 1865, Generals Smith and Magruder signed the formal terms of surrender for their commands. The remaining slaves in Texas achieved freedom with the arrival of General Gordon Granger and Union forces of occupation on June 19, 1865, which is why and when Juneteenth is celebrated., Captions , (Photo #1) General Granger , (Photo #2) Left: Martin D. Hart; Top right: Texas Terry's Rangers; Bottom right: Confederate Soldiers