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On Jun. 23, 1862, 376 men were enlisted from Lamar and Hunt counties to form the 1st Battalion Texas Sharpshooters, Confederate States Army (also known as Burnet’s Battalion).
At Camp Jackson, Paris, Lamar Co., TX, the battalion was officially organized on 1 Aug 1862 and assigned to Sam Bell Maxey’s Brigade.
Between June and Dec. 29, 1862 the battalion camped and trained in and around Paris. Five companies had been formed. Each company had been recruited in different counties.
Company A Hunt County Company B Fannin County Company C Lamar County Company D Grayson County Company E Hunt County
Soon after being mustered into Confederate Service, the 1st Texas Sharpshooter Battalion was ordered east of the Mississippi River and assigned to the Dept. of the Mississippi and East Louisiana. The Battalion was cut off from the garrison of Vicksburg when that city was invaded by Federal forces & subsequently avoided capture there. Later it saw service in the Dept. of the Gulf.
· March - May, 1863 assigned to Maxey’s Brigade, 3rd Military Dist., Dept. of Trans-Mississippi and East Louisiana. · May - September, 1863, assigned to Maxey’s Brigade, Loring’s Division, Department of the West. · September - November, 1863, assigned to Quarles’ Brigade, Department of the Gulf.
On 17 Dec 1863, the Battalion was transported back across the Mississippi River, the command being ferried across the river by small boats and skiffs between Federal Naval patrols. Once returned to the Trans-Mississippi Dept, the unit served in Arkansas and the Indian Territory. Some time in 1864, the Battalion was mounted.
· February - July, 1864, Unattached, Indian Territory, District of Arkansas, Trans-Mississippi Department. · July - September 1864, Unattached, Indian Territory, District of the Indian Territory, Trans-Mississippi Department.
July 1 - 31, 1864, participated in operations in Arkansas.
· Company C, Left Camp Kin Caid August 1 [1864], arrived at Boggy Depot August 18, 1864, distance 125 miles.
July 14 , 1864, skirmishes at Fair's Mills, AR and Bayou des Arc, AR July 26 - 31, 1864, saw action at Wallace's Ferry, Big Creek, AR (N of Fort Smith), Massard's Prairie near Fort Smith, and Fort Smith, AR.
· Sept., 1864 - May 1865, Unattached, Cooper’s Indian Cavalry Division, Trans-Mississippi Department.
Sept. 11 - 25, 1864, participated in operations in the Indian Territory.
· Sept. 14, 1864, saw action at Pryor Creek, I.T. · Sept. 16 - 18, 1864, saw action at Fort Gibson, I.T. · Sept. 19, 1864, saw action at Cabin Creek, I.T. · Nov., 1864, Co. C received clothing at Boggy Depot, C.N. [I.T.] · Dec. 31, 1864, Capt. A. Wirt Smith’s Company C inspected by Maj. Burnet in camp near Boggy Depot, Choctaw Nation, I.T.
June 23, 1865, the Battalion was surrendered in Indian Territory at Doaksville, I.T.
Another source shows the Battalion was surrendered on May 26, 1865 by Gen. E. K. Smith. |
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History of the 1st Texas Sharpshooters Burnet’s Battalion |