Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke: The First Texas Cavalry in the Civil War (Volume 66)

Williams-Ford Texas A&M University Military History Series #66

by Stanley S. McGowen

The 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 1st Texas Mounted Rifles, was Texas’ first contribution of soldiers to the Civil War. The regiment was the first Confederate unit organized in Texas and the longest to serve, participating in Indian skirmishes on the frontier as well as in full battles against the Union.

In Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke Stanley S. McGowen describes and honors one of the most unique and successful military units in Texas history. He provides the first complete history of the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment, documenting their origins from the Confederate Committee on Public Safety’s request for mounted units to the appointment of Henry McCulloch to colonel of cavalry.

McCulloch, a former Texas Ranger, was swift and effective at motivating his fellow Texans to arms, notably Captains James B. “Buck” Barry and Thomas C. Frost. The regimental commanders, McCulloch, Augustus Buchel, and William Yager, were acknowledged for their emphasis on precise discipline and gentlemanly conduct, and their training methods were valuable in that soldiers learned both cavalry and infantry maneuvers, as well as saber fighting and the proper care of horses and equipment. As many commanders maintained lax rules of propriety and organization, the 1st Texas Mounted Rifles remained a cohesive and loyal unit, disbanding only under the proper orders. Even after, as the Confederacy fell around them, the troops remained steadfastly loyal to their fellow fighters.

McGowen examines the vast range of territory that the unit covered, including Louisiana swamps, the Red River Valley, along the Rio Grande, as well as the Gulf Coast line. He discusses their involvement in the controversial campaign known as the Battle of the Nueces, casting doubts on the common interpretation of the German immigrants, sympathetic to the Union, as defenseless farmers. McGowen asserts that while there was bloodshed on both sides, the Germans were not the innocent victims that many historians have claimed, and that the cavalry was not the bloodthirsty gang many thought.

Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke clearly portrays the heroism and individuality of Texas’ first mounted unit in the Civil War. By combining the history of the unit with profiles of the men who led it and who gave it its unique spirit and character, as well as accounts of the battles, raids, and skirmishes in which the unit participated, McGowen provides a valuable history of men whose recognition is long overdue from those whose homes, values, and way of life were defended by their actions.

248 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1999

Reviews

[Joe Owen]

"Horse Sweat and Powder Smoke" The First Texas Cavalry in the Civil War" by Stanley S. McGowen (Texas A&M University Press, 1999) is a fine book about the history of the first regiment of Cavalry mostly made up from Texas Rangers who fought for Texas and the Confederacy during the Civil War. The regiment was also known as "The First Texas Mounted Rifles" and was the first Confederate Unit organized in Texas and the longest to serve participating from battles with the Kiowas and Comanches inside Texas to participating in battle against Union forces. The author tells the compelling history of the regiment that was first formed in the beginning days of the Civil War right after Texas seceded from the Union. The commanding officer Henry McCulloch was a former Texas Ranger and became its first commanding officer and such notable Texans such as Captains James B. "Buck" Barry, Thomas C. Frost, August Buchel, and William Yager became effective officers who emphasized discipline and chivalry within the regiments.
Throughout the war, the First Texas Cavalry became noted for their discipline in camp life and in battle, even during the harshest of conditions when lack of food, terrible sanitation, and disease took many lives. However, within the regiment, they were always a cohesive and outstandingly effective fighting unit that was both admired and feared by the Union troops they fought against. As the author noted, even when the Confederacy was in its last months, the regiment remained loyal to their fellow soldiers and officers within the regiment.
Mr. McGowen also gives the excellent history of the various battles the regiment fought in and the areas they were encamped in such as the swamps of Louisiana, the Red River Valley and patrolling the Gulf Coast of Texas and the Rio Grande River. The regiment participated in the Red River Campaign which was successful against the Union Army invading Texas and was in other battles and campaigns which the author describes in fascinating detail.
For many decades the exploits of this great regiment remained largely unknown except for those who were in the regiment and those in certain areas of Texas, however, Mr. McGowen did a great service by writing this great history of the regiment and with the passage of time and the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War years, the outstanding history of this outstanding regiment that fought for the Confederacy and the State of Texas is becoming well known. This is an EXCELLENT book about this brave regiment that was the first to fight for Texas during the Civil War and is highly recommended for those who want to know more about Confederate Cavalry history, the Western Theater of the Civil War, Texas History and Civil War History. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!

[Fredrick Danysh]

The First Texas Cavalry was the first and longest serving unit raised in Texas during the American Civil War. They fought both Indians and Union troops mainly in the Western Theater. This is a good read.