The Texas Home Front

Discover Texas's Civil War home front: soldiers, Unionists, women, and economy.

Texans Go To War When the Civil War began in 1861, about 25,000 Texans volunteered to fight. Tens of thousands of volunteers poured in from other Confederate states, as well. Even so, by the end of the first year of the war more soldiers were needed. Losses of men from battle and disease were high.To meet the ongoing need for soldiers, Confederate president Jefferson Davis called for a law that would require all men between 18 and 35 years old to serve in the Confederate armed forces. The Confederate Congress passed this new law, the Conscription Act, on April 16, 1862. The law was not very popular, but Francis Lubbock, governor of Texas from 1861 to 1863, worked to enforce it. Overall some 70,000 Texans, either volunteers or men who had been drafted under the Conscription Act, served in the war. Based on the passage above, what did the Conscription Act do? Randomly selected men between the ages of 18 and 35 to join the military Required all men between the ages of 18 and 35 to join the military Required all people between the ages of 18 and 35 to join the military Randomly selected any man to join the army How do you think people in Texas felt about the Conscription Act? Support For the Union Although the majority of Texans supported the Confederacy, there were some who did not. Those who supported the federal government were known as Unionists. Over 2,000 Texan Unionists joined the Union army. Some Mexicans fought for the Union because they were bitter about their loss of lands to, and treatment by, Texans.Unionists faced danger, especially if they tried to avoid being forced into service by the Conscription Act. In August 1862, a large group of German settlers was caught as it attempted to flee to Mexico. Confederate cavalry caught up with the settlers and killed many in a fight near the Nueces River.Other Unionists tried to escape conscription by hiding. Some were arrested. Others were forced to join the Confederate Army, and still others were killed by vigilante groups. These groups were citizens who took the law into their own hands. Some vigilante groups had the approval of local authorities. Vigilantes often hanged Unionists without a trial. For example, in 1862 about 40 suspected Unionists were hanged in Gainesville.African Americans supported the Union cause, recognizing that a Northern victory would mean an end to slavery. In other parts of the South, African Americans found a way out of slavery by escaping behind the Union battle lines. Such escape was more difficult in Texas because it was far from the front lines and Union troops.Nevertheless, some African Americans from Texas managed to join the Union army. One, Milton M. Holland, had been freed before the war and was living in Ohio. He was too young to join the army when the war began, but he worked as a shoemaker for the army until he was old enough to enlist. In a battle in Virginia in 1864, he led his unit to victory when all its commanders had been killed. For his courage and leadership, he was awarded the Medal of Honor, the United States' highest military award. Unionists in Texas Match the group of Unionists with their description. Mexican Unionists Joined the Union Army after their loss of lands to and treatment by Texans German Unionsts Large group were killed when trying to cross the border to Mexico trying to escape the Conscription Act African American Unionists Supported the Union because they though a Union victory would lead to the end of slavery Based on how Unionists were treated, would you have wanted to be a Unionist in Texas? Why or why not? Women in the War Effort While men were away in the army, homes, farms, and plantations still had to be maintained. Women, children, and enslaved workers did most of the farm work during the war. Until the war ended, women often had to perform the jobs usually done by men as well as their own household chores.Some women who were better off helped poorer families whose men were serving in the army. Others helped the soldiers themselves. Rosanna Osterman turned her Galveston mansion into a hospital for wounded soldiers returning from the war. Other women cared for soldiers in their homes as well, turning bedsheets into bandages and providing comfort and food to the returning soldiers. According to the passage, what did women do to help the war effort? Check all that apply. Maintained farms and plantations Worked in factories Turned homes into hospitals Helped care for returning soldiers Supplying the Army The economy of Texas changed during the Civil War. Shortages of war supplies and foodstuffs, among other basic necessities, influenced how farmers and industries in the South, including Texas, did their work.Most of the supplies needed by Confederate soldiers had to be manufactured in the Confederacy. Small factories in Austin and Tyler were opened to help manufacture weapons and ammunition needed for the war effort. The South also had to find ways to make cloth, saddles, shoes, tents, and blankets. Women often formed groups to help make supplies. In Austin, the Ladies’ Needle Battalion sewed uniforms and other items for soldiers. How did Texas' economy change to meet the needs of the Civil War? Texans Face Shortages Obtaining cloth was a particular problem. Before the war, much of the cloth sold in the South had been manufactured in the North. When secession occurred, the Southern states were unprepared to manufacture their own cloth. Instead, women wove a coarse, loose-fitting fabric called homespun in their homes and used it to make clothing. This cloth replaced the more tightly woven machine-made fabrics made in the textile mills of the North. Francis Lubbock wore a homespun suit to his inauguration as governor in 1861.Basic foodstuffs such as flour were also in short supply. Instead of growing cotton, farmers were encouraged to plant corn and wheat to feed soldiers and civilians. Some Southerners suffered from malnutrition, becoming sick and weak from the lack of healthful food. There were shortages of coffee and tea. Substitutes were created, but beverages made from parched sweet potatoes and corn tasted little like real coffee. One substitute mixture of peanuts, okra, barley, corn, and sweet potato was known as “Confederate coffee.” Teas made from locally grown plants replaced imported teas.Shortages went beyond food and clothing. Newspapers stopped printing due to a shortage of paper. Medicines were also difficult to obtain on the home front, as most medical supplies went to the military. For example, a drug for fighting fever and the disease malaria, calledquinine,was scarce. While Southerners attempted to find substitutes, the lack of actual medicines and the unhealthy conditions brought about by the war allowed diseases to spread quickly.In contrast to the shortages, Travis County faced an abundance of wild animals. Local populations of deer, squirrels, and rabbits increased dramatically because with more people away fighting the war, fewer people were hunting. Unfortunately, the high number of wild animals fed on farm crops. Officials encouraged families to hunt the wild animals to keep their populations down. Officials even gave away gunpowder to help in this effort. Shortages During the Civil War Shortage What was the Response? Cloth Food Paper Medicine