Richard Coke

The Handbook of Texas says Richard Coke took a law diploma from William and Mary in 1848 and settled in Waco in 1850. In 1859 he sat on the commission that decided the Comanche (Numunuu) people on the Brazos reservation should be removed from Texas. He was wounded at Bayou Bourbeau, Louisiana, on November 3, 1863. As governor he cut spending and vetoed a popular railroad subsidy. Admirers in the Senate called him 'Old Brains,' and at six feet three and 240 pounds he could bellow 'like a prairie bull.' He died in Waco on May 14, 1897.

What the plaque says

(1829-1896) Virginia native. Leader Texas secession movement. Joined army, rose to captain 15th Texas Infantry company serving in Louisiana, Arkansas, chiefly Tennessee campaigns. Elected to state supreme court 1866, removed by Reconstruction military authorities. Defeated Governor E.J. Davis 1873. Bloodless controversy ensued, Davis retired under protest, marking political end Reconstruction in Texas. U.S. Senator 1877-1895. A Memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy Erected by the State of Texas 1963

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Fort Chadbourne — 17 mi
  An 1852 infantry post and Butterfield stage station on a Coke County ranch, its fallen stone buildings rebuilt since 1999 by the descendant of the family that has ranched the land since 1877.

More markers nearby

• Fence-Cutting War — steps away
• Robert Lee Cemetery — 0.7 mi
• Locklin Bartholomew Murray — 0.8 mi
• Coke County — 2.2 mi