El Paso in El Paso County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)
El Paso County
CSA
Photographed By Zacharias Beau T, September 11, 1930
1. El Paso County CSA Memorial-Marker
Inscription.
El Paso County. CSA. Voted 871 to 2 for secession. At start of Civil War Minutemen were organized to provide frontier protection. The San Elizario Spy Company was mustered into Confederate service on July 11, 1861. El Paso was the springboard and supply point for 1861-2 Arizona - New Mexico campaign to give South a Pacific outlet. These troops retired back into Texas and by July 1862, the last Confederate forces left El Paso. Many citizens who favored South went with them, others moved across the river and established a colony in Juarez. In mid-August, Union troops arrived. Martial law was declared and military occupation - longest in any part of Texas - continued until war's end. , (Back): , The number of federal troops occupying El Paso never exceeded 2 or 3 companies. Open pro-southern feeling was squelched during the war. There were recurrent rumors that the Texans were about to return and drive the federals out. Henry Skillman and his band of armed men operated courier service from unoccupied part of state to Confederate colony in Juarez. His men spread invasion rumors and acted as spies, which kept Union forces wary. It took two years before Skillman could be tracked down and killed. Most private property was seized and operated during occupation. Most food and fodder came from Mexican side. Other goods either came down the river from Santa Fe or were manufactured locally. Local elections were watched over by military. El Paso was represented during war in the Texas Legislature by pro-Confederates under a law allowing citizens of occupied areas to vote wherever they resided. Erected by the State of Texas, 1963
Voted 871 to 2 for secession. At start of Civil War Minutemen were organized to provide frontier protection. The San Elizario Spy Company was mustered into Confederate service on July 11, 1861. El Paso was the springboard and supply point for 1861-2 Arizona - New Mexico campaign to give South a Pacific outlet. These troops retired back into Texas and by July 1862, the last Confederate forces left El Paso. Many citizens who favored South went with them, others moved across the river and established a colony in Juarez. In mid-August, Union troops arrived. Martial law was declared and military occupation - longest in any part of Texas - continued until war's end.
(Back): The number of federal troops occupying El Paso never exceeded 2 or 3 companies. Open pro-southern feeling was squelched during the war. There were recurrent rumors that the Texans were about to return and drive the federals out. Henry Skillman and his band of armed men operated courier service from unoccupied part of state to Confederate colony in Juarez. His men spread invasion rumors and acted as spies, which kept Union forces wary. It took two years before Skillman could be tracked down and killed. Most private property was seized and operated during occupation. Most food and fodder came from Mexican side. Other goods either came down the river from
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Santa Fe or were manufactured locally. Local elections were watched over by military. El Paso was represented during war in the Texas Legislature by pro-Confederates under a law allowing citizens of occupied areas to vote wherever they resided. Erected by the State of Texas, 1963
Erected 1963 by State of Texas. (Marker Number 1426.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Civil. A significant historical month for this entry is July 1775.
Location. 31° 45.602′ N, 106° 29.305′ W. Marker is in El Paso, Texas, in El Paso County. Marker is at the intersection of North Mesa Street (State Highway 20) and East Main Street, on the left on North Mesa Street. Memorial-marker is on northeast corner of San Jacinto Square in downtown El Paso. This site is made conspicuously prominent by the fountain sculptures of the El Paso alligators Sally, Oscar, and Minnie. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: El Paso TX 79901, United States of America. Touch for directions.
More about this marker. Sculptured from Texas pink granite and just under five feet, the memorial-marker is typical of those erected by the state during the Confederate Texas centennial era.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. It was originally submitted on October 22, 2011, by Zacharias Beau T of Alpine, Texas. This page has been viewed 1,124 times since then and 95 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on October 22, 2011, by Zacharias Beau T of Alpine, Texas. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
