General Walter Washington Williams

The plaque ends with a proclamation of national mourning; the funeral that followed is preserved in Austin. Williams died in Houston on December 19, 1959, and his body lay in state for 48 hours in the Harris County Civil Courts building, in a copper casket draped with a Confederate flag. A fife and drum corps from the Sons of Union Veterans of Mount Vernon, Ohio, joined the procession. The Rev. S. Stephen McKenney's eulogy on December 23 was cut onto lacquer discs, which the Texas State Library and Archives digitized in 2024.

What the plaque says

General Walter Washington Williams Reputed to have been last surviving soldier of the Civil War (1861-1865). Born in Ittawamba County, Miss., Williams (Nov. 14, 1842 - Dec. 19, 1959) during the war was a forage master for the celebrated Hood's Texas Brigade. Soon after the war he moved to Texas and farmed near here. He was twice married and had a large family, with the descendants numbering over 200 when he died. He had lived very quietly until in extreme old age he gained fame as one of a very few remaining veterans. After the nation lost all other men who had fought in the Civil War, he was given honorary rank of General by President Dwight D. Eisenhower. When Gen. Williams died in Houston at home of a daughter, President Eisenhower proclaimed a period of national mourning. Williams rests here in Mount Pleasant Cemetery among families who migrated to Texas and braved the dangers of the frontier for years before he came. This is one of the oldest public burial grounds in Robertson County, situated within boundaries of colony planted north of El Camo Real by the pioneer Sterling C. Robertson, from Tennessee. The Robertson colony was founded in the 1820s and was a major civilizing influence in East Texas. (1970)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Calvert — 15 mi
  A railroad cotton town of 1868 on State Highway 6 that claimed the largest cotton gin in the world and elected Black men to county and state office during Reconstruction.
• Fort Boggy State Park — 28 mi
  A 1,847-acre park in Leon County named for a settlers' palisade of 1840, with a 15-acre lake, short trails and the story of Tennessee farmers, the Keechi and a Ranger captain.

More markers nearby

• New Baden — 2.0 mi
• Franklin Cemetery — 3.5 mi
• Franklin — 3.7 mi
• Edward McMillan — 4.2 mi