Camp McMillan, C.S.A., Texas Civil War Frontier Defense

The camp stood at Hall's Spring at the head of Richland Creek, where James M. Norris established it on March 26, 1862, as a ranger station of the Frontier Regiment. Capt. N. D. McMillan commanded, and scouts served there until the regiment was consolidated in March 1864. San Saba County held relatively few slaves but sided with the Confederacy out of support for states' rights. The 1860 census counted 913 people, eighty-nine of them enslaved, and most San Saba men who served were in Col. James E. McCord's regiment, assigned to guard the frontier.

What the plaque says

Camp McMillan, C.S.A. Texas Civil War Frontier Defense Located 18 mi. West, 6 mi. North, this outpost guarded the Texas frontier during Civil War. One of a chain of outposts a day's horseback ride apart, from the Red River to the Rio Grande manned by the Texas Frontier Regiment. Regular patrols kept Indians in check and rounded up draft evaders. Food, clothing, horses and arms were always needed. They shared few of the glories of the war, but at the cost of the lives of not a few of them, these Confederates gave a measure of protection to a vast frontier area. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963 (Reverse) TEXAS CIVIL WAR FRONTIER DEFENSE 1861-1865 Texas made an all-out effort for the Confederacy after voting over 3 to 1 for secession. 90,000 troops noted for mobility and heroic daring, fought on every battlefront. An important source of supply and gateway to foreign trade thru Mexico, Texas was the storehouse of the South. Camp McMillan and other posts on this line were backed by patrols of State Rangers, organized militia, and citizen posses scouting from nearby "family forts." This was part of a 2000 mile frontier and coastline successfully defended by Texans. (1963)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Colorado Bend State Park — 17 mi
  Old ranch country on the Colorado above Lake Buchanan, where a spring-fed creek drops 70 feet over fern-covered travertine at Gorman Falls.

More markers nearby

• United Confederate Veterans William P. Rogers Camp No. 322 — steps away
• Edmond E. Risien, Pecan Pioneer — steps away
• The Texas Rangers and the San Saba Mob — steps away
• American Legion Wiley B. Murray Post No. 27 — steps away