Confederate Blanket Identified to Travis Hensley Co "E" Captain Woodward Waller's Battalion, 13th Texas Cavalry / SOLD

The 13th Texas Cavalry Battalion of the Confederate States army was organized by Edwin Waller, Jr., in March, 1862, with volunteers from Goliad, Calhoun, Nueches, Falls, and Victoria counties. In July, 1862, the battalion entered Louisiana and soon successfully ambushed a unit of the Eight Vermont Infantry Regiment in the western section 74CIVIL WAR HISTORY of the state. At that juncture Major General Benjamin F. Butler, the Commander of the Department of the Gulf, decided to retaliate and eliminate Waller's Battalion. The Texans were caught by surprise at Bonnet Carre, where they were outmanned, outgunned, and routed. But Waller with the bulk of his command escaped capture by retreating through an almost impenetrable swamp, although the unit had to abandon horses, blankets, and haversacks. Success came in 1863 for Waller's men when they captured the Federal gunboat Diana, and at the sharp engagement at Camp Bisland, at Cheneyville, Fort Buchanan, Morgan's Ferry, and Sterling's Plantation . Waller's Battalion participated in the Federal Red River Campaign in the spring of 1864 and again distinguished itself in harassment and ambush engagements, especially at Moroville and Yellow Bayou. In September, 1864, the battalion moved into Arkansas, attacked a Federal detachment at DeVaIIs Bluff, and early in December was back in the Lone Star State. One final engagement remained, and that came on May 3, 1865, nearly a month after Lee's surrender at Appomattox Court House, when Waller's men surrounded and captured a Federal infantry regiment under the command of S. M. Baird. Thus ended the service of this successful and gallant Confederate cavalry battalion from Texas, a record heretofore untold.

Inventory Number: CON 020 / SOLD