1906 Reunion of Hood's Texas Brigade

Somerville's reunion was one stop in a long ritual of remembrance. The Hood's Brigade Association organized in May 1872 and held sixty-three reunions before the last two able veterans, both ninety-one, met in Houston in 1933. Texas's 1861 declaration of causes defended slavery as beneficial, and these veterans fought for the Confederacy that grew from it. The host, R. A. Brantley, had opened Somerville's second general store in 1898. The brigade's monument rose on the Capitol grounds in 1910, a thirty-five-foot marble shaft.

What the plaque says

1906 Reunion of Hood's Texas Brigade In 1906 Somerville hosted the annual reunion of the Hood's Texas Brigade Association, a group established in 1872 for veterans of the celebrated Confederate unit. For two days, June 27-28, 74 veterans were honored with a celebration which included speeches, a baseball game, and a grand ball. The local events were planned under the direction of the association's president R.A. Brantley, Sr., and his daughter Mrs. Norton B. Wellborn, both of Somerville. Part of a tradition which ended in 1934, the reunion reflected the area's respect for the former Civil War soldiers. (1981)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Independence and Old Baylor Park — 11 mi
  A crossroads north of Brenham that was the richest town in Texas when it won Baylor University in 1845, refused the railroad, and lost the college to Waco and Belton in 1886.
• Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway — 12 mi
  Two park units on an 11,000-acre lake between Austin and College Station, joined by a thirteen-mile trailway for hikers, cyclists and riders with primitive camps along the way.
• George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum — 20 mi
  The library of the forty-first president on the Texas A&M campus, opened in 1997, where George and Barbara Bush and their daughter Robin are buried in a family plot on the grounds.
• Round Top and Festival Hill — 22 mi
  A German village on the old La Bahía Road, named for a house tower, with an 1867 stone church, a Fourth of July kept since 1851 and a concert hall a pianist built without blueprints.

More markers nearby

• Site of the Somerville Harvey House — steps away
• Somerville — steps away
• Thomas J. Gary — 0.4 mi
• Lake Somerville — 1.0 mi