Burleson County C.S.A.

A county that voted 422 to 84 for secession was not unanimous. T. H. Mundine, its representative in the Eighth Legislature, published an address urging voters to reject secession, though like most county Unionists he supported the Confederacy once war came. A Knights of the Golden Circle chapter in Caldwell had agitated the other way. The war then drew slaveholders from the lower South with the people they enslaved, or to hire them out. County tax rolls show enslaved people rising almost 50 percent between 1860 and 1864, to 2,905.

What the plaque says

Burleson County C.S.A. On Feb. 23, 1861, citizens voted for secession, 422 to 84. On March 1, the "Burleson Guards" organized and offered its services to the state. Most "Guards" were mustered into Co.G, 2nd Texas Infantry Regt., and others served in Walker's Texas Division, Waul's Legion, Terry's Rangers, and Hood's Brigade. On the home front, the 3rd Regt., 18th Brigade, Texas State Troops, was organized to protect local citizens, and the County Commissioners Court provided funds to supply food and other necessities to the families of soldiers fighting in the war. (1973)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Lake Somerville State Park and Trailway — 18 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 — 21 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.
• Independence and Old Baylor Park — 25 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.
• Milam County Courthouse and Jail — 28 mi
  Cameron's 1892 Renaissance Revival courthouse and the 1895 St. Louis-built jail beside it, now the county museum, are listed together on the National Register.

More markers nearby

• Early Settlers of Burleson County in the Texas War for Independence — steps away
• John Mitchell — steps away
• Burleson County — steps away
• City of Caldwell — steps away