...Forward, men, forward! Let it never be said that Texans lag in a fight!  














Organisasjonskart 1861
Table of organization 1861

Strength: 746 officers and men. Company A: 68 officers and men.



RECRUITMENT AND ORGANIZATION 1861

In February 1861, Judge John Gregg of Fairfield, Texas, was chosen to represent Texas in the Provisional Congress of the Confederate States in Richmond, Virginia. When the fighting began in Virginia, the 32-year old Gregg asked the Secretary of War for authority to raise a regiment of Texas volunteers for service east of the Mississippi. His request granted, he immediately wrote his friends in Texas to go ahead and enroll volunteers, notably to Jeremiah M. Clough of Marshall, Texas. Clough had served as Lieutenant in the 2nd Texas Mounted Volunteers during the war with Mexico (1846-48), and would render important assistance in recruiting and organizing the regiment.

Having resigned his seat in Congress, John Gregg returned to Texas in late September. He immediately called upon the volunteers to assemble at Marshall, Texas. During the first week of October, 1861, seven companies reported to Marshall, where they were promptly mustered into the service of the Confederate States for a period of "three years or the war". Gregg then received an urgent order to "proceed to Memphis as soon as possible". Regimental organization had to be postponed, and the first six companies marched away on October 10 for Monroe, Louisiana. From there, the journey continued by railroad east to Vicksburg, Mississippi, then north to Memphis, Tennessee. The seventh company was ready two days later, and the eighth and ninth set out on October 17. Upon reaching Memphis, Gregg's Texans were immediately ordered to Clarksville, Tennessee. Their journey continued by rail, steamboat, and on foot. After a brief stay at Clarksville, the Texans were on the march again, this time to Hopkinsville, in southeastern Kentucky.

By November 7, 1861, all nine companies - numbering 749 men - had arrived at Hopkinsville. Here the Texans reported for duty with Brigadier General Lloyd Tilghman, who commanded a brigade in the Army of Central Kentucky. Two days later, the companies were finally organized into the 7th Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment. It had been a long and arduous journey for the raw Texas recruits. The shortest distance made by any company on foot was nearly 200 miles - one company had to march 400 miles. Rain, cold, exposure and exhaustion had already claimed the lives of five men, and many more were now sick. It was a rough introduction to soldier life, and it was to become rougher still.

The "Waco Guards" - Company A

When judge John Gregg announced his intention to raise a regiment for service east of the Mississippi, Hiram Bronson Granbury, a 30-year old attorney and county official, promptly responded to the call. He proceeded to organize a military company known as the "Waco Guards" in his home town of Waco, McLennan County, Texas.

When Granbury received word that Gregg was on his way back to Texas, the McLennan county volunteers set out for Marshall, their designated assembly point 180 miles to the northeast. The "Waco Guards" were the first company to arrive at and were mustered into the Confederate States army on October 1, 1861. At the regimental organization in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, November 10, the "Waco Guards" became Company A of the 7th Texas Volunteer Infantry Regiment. Hiram Granbury was elected regimental Major, and C. N. Alexander took his place as company commander.


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