Walker's Greyhounds was the popular name for a division of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

under Major-General

John George Walker Major-General John George Walker (July 22, 1821 – July 20, 1893) was a Confederate general in the American Civil War. He served as a brigadier general under Stonewall Jackson and James Longstreet, before commanding the Texas Division unit ...

, composed exclusively of units from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. It fought in the Western Theater and the

Trans-Mississippi Department The Trans-Mississippi Department was a territorial department of the Confederate States Army that embraced Arkansas, Louisiana west of the Mississippi river, Texas (including what is now New Mexico and Arizona), and the Indian Territory. It w ...

, gaining its nickname because the men were able to move long distances rapidly on foot.

Organization

Walker's Greyhounds, also known as Walker's Texas Division, was mustered at Camp Nelson,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, in July 1862. It was placed under the command of Maj. Gen.

in November 1862, and remained under his command until the end of the war. The division served exclusively in the

. When General Walker was given a district command in late 1864 the division was given to Maj. Gen.

John H. Forney John Horace Forney (August 12, 1829 – September 13, 1902) was a farmer, civil engineer, and Major general (CSA), major general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Being promoted to the rank of major general on October ...

Composition

1st Brigade

Col. Overton C. Young
Brig. Gen. James M. Hawes
Brig. Gen. Thomas N. Waul
Brig. Gen. Wilburn H. King
Col.

Richard B. Hubbard Richard Bennett Hubbard Jr. (November 1, 1832July 12, 1901), occasionally referred to by the nickname Jumbo, was the 16th governor of Texas from 1876 to 1879 and United States Envoy to Japan from 1885 to 1889. He was a Confederate veteran of ...

* 12th Texas Infantry Regiment - ''Also known as Young's 8th Regiment.'' * 18th Texas Infantry Regiment - ''Transferred to the 4th Brigade in 1865.'' * 22nd Texas Infantry Regiment * 13th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted) * 29th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted) - ''Joined brigade in 1865.'' * Halderman's Texas Battery

2nd Brigade

Brig. Gen. Horace Randal
Brig. Gen. Robert Plunket Maclay *

11th Texas Infantry Regiment The 11th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment organized in the winter of 1861–1862 and always served west of the Mississippi Ri ...

14th Texas Infantry Regiment The 14th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment organized in the summer of 1862 and spent its entire existence west of the Mississi ...

* 28th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted) - ''Transferred to the 4th Brigade in 1865.'' * 6th (Gould's) Texas Cavalry Battalion (Dismounted) * Daniel's Texas Battery

3rd Brigade

Col. George M. Flournoy
Brig. Gen.

Henry E. McCulloch Henry Eustace McCulloch (December 6, 1816 – March 12, 1895) was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger Division, Texas Ranger, and a Brigadier general (United States), brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States of Amer ...

Brig. Gen. William R. Scurry
Brig. Gen. Richard Waterhouse *

16th Texas Infantry Regiment The 16th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. George Flournoy, the former Attorney General of the state of Texas, organized the regiment at ...

- ''Transferred to the 4th Brigade in 1865.'' * 17th Texas Infantry Regiment *

19th Texas Infantry Regiment The 19th Texas Infantry Regiment was a unit of volunteers recruited in Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment began organizing in February 1862 and elected its officers in May 1862. It spent it ...

16th Texas Cavalry Regiment The 16th Texas Cavalry Regiment was a unit of mounted volunteers from Texas that fought in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. The regiment was recruited in early 1862 and mustered into Confederate service in April 1862. The ...

(Dismounted) * 2nd Texas Partisan Rangers Regiment - ''Joined brigade in 1865.'' * 3rd Texas Infantry Regiment - ''Served only during the Red River campaign.'' * 1st Texas Field Battery (Edgar's)

Original 4th Brigade

Brig. Gen. James DeshlerThe original 4th Brigade was detached and captured at the

Battle of Arkansas Post Battle of Arkansas Post may refer to the following battles that took place at Arkansas Post The Arkansas Post (; ), officially the Arkansas Post National Memorial, was the first European colonization of the Americas, European settlement locat ...

on January 11, 1863. * 10th Texas Infantry Regiment * 15th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted) * 18th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted) * 25th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted)

4th Brigade (1865)

Brig. Gen. Wilburn H. King * 16th Texas Infantry Regiment * 18th Texas Infantry Regiment * 28th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted) * 34th Texas Cavalry Regiment (Dismounted) * Wells' Texas Cavalry Regiment

Major engagements

Vicksburg Campaign

The Greyhounds fought at the

Battle of Milliken's Bend The Battle of Milliken's Bend was fought on June 7, 1863, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Major General (United States), Major General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army had placed the strategic Mississippi Rive ...

and the

Battle of Young's Point The Battle of Milliken's Bend was fought on June 7, 1863, as part of the Vicksburg Campaign during the American Civil War. Major General (United States), Major General Ulysses S. Grant of the Union Army had placed the strategic Mississippi Rive ...

, incidental engagements of the

Vicksburg Campaign The Vicksburg campaigns were a series of maneuvers and battles in the Western Theater of the American Civil War directed against Vicksburg, Mississippi, a fortress city that dominated the last Confederate-controlled section of the Mississippi ...

, in June 1863. They remained in northern

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

for several months, and then returned to Arkansas in late 1863.

Red River Campaign

Sent from Arkansas to Louisiana again in April 1864, they served as part of Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor's Army at the significant Confederate victories at the

Battle of Mansfield The Battle of Mansfield, also known as the Battle of Sabine Crossroads, on April 8, 1864, in Louisiana formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War, when Union forces were attempting to occupy the Louisiana state capit ...

(April 8, 1864), and the

Battle of Pleasant Hill The Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9, 1864, in Louisiana formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War, when Union Army, Union forces were attempting to occupy the Louisiana state capital, Shreveport, Louisiana, Shrevepo ...

(April 9, 1864), critical engagements in the Red River Campaign.

Camden Expedition

Rushed back to Arkansas by Trans-Mississippi Department Commander

Edmund Kirby Smith Edmund Kirby Smith (May 16, 1824March 28, 1893) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate States Army Four-star rank, general, who oversaw the Trans-Mississippi Department (comprising Arkansas, Missouri, Texas, western L ...

, they fought at the

Battle of Jenkins' Ferry The Battle of Jenkins' Ferry, also known as the Engagement at Jenkins' Ferry, was fought on April 30, 1864, in Hot Spring and Saline counties (present-day Grant County), Arkansas, during the American Civil War The American Civil War ...

on April 30, 1864, the last engagement of the

Camden Expedition The Camden Expedition (March 23 – May 3, 1864) was the final Military campaign, campaign conducted by the Union Army in south Arkansas during the American Civil War, Civil War. The Offensive (military), offensive was designed to cooperate w ...

Mustered out

In March 1865 the division was ordered to

Hempstead, Texas Hempstead is a city in and the county seat of Waller County, Texas, United States. It is part of the metropolitan area. History On December 29, 1856, Richard Rodgers Peebles and James W. McDade organized the Hempstead Town Company to sell lots ...

. There it was awaiting the arrival of Confederate President

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

in order to make a

Last Stand A last stand, or final stand, is a military situation in which a body of troops holds a defensive position in the face of overwhelming and virtually insurmountable odds. Troops may make a last stand due to a sense of duty; because they are d ...

. Davis failed to arrive, and with the main Confederate armies having surrendered and the war essentially being over, the approximately 8,000 soldiers constituting the remnants of the much depleted division simply went home from Hempstead in late May 1865.

References

Bibliography

* Lowe, Richard G., ''Walker's Texas Division'',

Louisiana State University Press The Louisiana State University Press (LSU Press) is a university press at Louisiana State University. Founded in 1935, it publishes works of scholarship as well as general interest books. LSU Press is a member of the Association of University Pres ...

, 2004. *

External links

* {{Texas Confederate units navbox Divisions of the Confederate States Army Texas in the American Civil War 1862 establishments in Arkansas