Company C, 4th Texas Mounted Volunteers

"The Victoria Invincibles"

Historical Sketch -- 1861-62

Company C, 4th Texas Mounted Volunteers was formed in Victoria County, Texas, in June 1861, as state militia. In Sept 1861 they were sworn into service of the Confederate States. They were mostly farmers and town-dwellers, though some were undoubtedly drovers and stockmen. They were not rich, but had a great deal of support from their community. They had to bring their own horses, saddles, shoulder weapons, revolvers, knives, and camp equipment. Company C was in Col James Reily's regiment, the 4th Texas Cavalry (the men referred to themselves as mounted volunteers). Col Reily was sent to Mexico by General Sibley, the brigade commander, and missed the entire New Mexico campaign. Lt. Col. William Read Scurry commanded the regiment during the New Mexico campaign. Scurry's nickname was Dirty Shirt. He was a hell of a fighter.

The men of Company C were probably mostly ignorant to the point of illiteracy. Some of them could read and write beautifully, but most were real light on "school learnin." There is a tendency to look on them as untutored savages who had joined the army for the promise of looting, wild drinking, whore-chasing, stealing, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth. One glance at the diaries and letters left by them will show the reader these were decent men. They were poor and ignorant, but they were in the army to serve their nation, and they tried hard to be good soldiers. One glance at their battle record will tell how well they succeeded. Another indicator of the quality of the men of the Sibley Brigade is the nature of the men they elected to lead them.

Most but not all of the diaries were left by officers and NCOs. They were shrewd witnesses, sensitive to the suffering and horror around them. They appreciated the bravery of their enemies, and they were well aware of the political and economic factors that had led them into war against their former countrymen. The men had elected the leaders of their communities, and many of these leaders had seen battle in the Mexican War and the Texas Revolution. The men and their officers shared a desire to look like good soldiers, and they worked hard at it. The diaries tell us the brigade was drilled intensely.

Their uniforms were a mixture of civilian clothing, Texas militia, leftover Mexican War, captured U S, and locally-made copies of regulation Confederate uniforms. Sibley brought some regulation uniforms with him from Richmond, but those would have undoubtedly gone to staff officers. It is reasonable to suppose they were used as patterns for the local manufacture of uniforms. Texas had a lot more cotton than wool, so it is also reasonable to expect that many items would be of cotton. By the time of the battle at Glorieta Pass, March 28, 1862, most of the items the men had worn from home were worn out. Union items and items purchased from civilian stores would have been used as replacements Several prominent and wealthy New Mexican families supported the brigade, and one of the diarists mentioned that shopkeepers were forced at gunpoint to accept Confederate script in exchange for food and clothing (you do what you gotta do to stay alive!).

As for weapons, the double-barreled 12 gauge shotgun was the weapon of the brigade in New Mexico. Later, they were issued 1853 Enfields, but General Sibley wrote of the Battle of Valverde that never before had cannon fallen to shotguns. One of the troopers reported that the brigade should be called the Texas mounted shotguns rather than the Texas mounted rifles. Some men were issued captured U.S. minie' rifles, and there were attempts to standardize the weapons, at least on the company level. Several types of single-shot breech-loading carbines were present in the New Mexico territory, and projectiles matching their caliber and type have been found on the battlefields. Sixty Sharps muskets and accouterment sets, along with 10,000 rounds of ammunition were taken from the supply post at Cubero, near Acoma west of Albuquerque. Also taken were several hundred US infantry great coats, making that garment a valued piece of reenactment clothing. The men of Sibley's Brigade carried a profusion of pistols, too. Especially popular was the 1851 Colt Navy model. Other pistols that would certainly have been in the area are the Colt's dragoons, the 1860 Colt, various pocket Colts and Remingtons, the Sharps derringer, and single-shot military or civilian pistol. Diarists on both sides noted the prominence of revolvers in the brigade, and Federal soldiers mentioned that the Texans were not noticeably shy about using them in battle. It is very doubtful that any of the Confederate copies of Colt revolvers were in the brigade in New Mexico; the campaign started in the late fall of 1861, and these weapons would not have been available until several months later.

Sibley's Brigade lost a tremendous number of horses at the battle of Valverde. Many horses were starving and collapsed in the exertion of battle, but most were killed by Federal fire. The brigade was in danger of becoming foot-bound. General Sibley (or, more likely, Col Tom Green of the 5th regiment) decided to dismount the 4th regiment and elements of the 7th. The surviving horses were to be given to the 5th regiment and the artillery. The elements of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles, under Maj Pyron, that had accompanied the brigade kept their horses. These last men were the spearhead of the campaign, being the first engaged at Valverde, the first into Albuquerque and Santa Fe, and the first engaged at Apache Canyon. Company A of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles invaded present Arizona -- to learn more click here.

The dismounted men of the 4th and 7th regiments marched from Socorro to Glorieta Pass and back to San Antonio, Texas. Sibley's New Mexico campaign was more than twice as long as Napoleon's Moscow campaign about a half century earlier. Click here to view the muster roll of the 4th Texas Mounted Volunteers -- including Company C.

In 1989, on the Glorieta Battlefield the common grave of 30 Confederate enlisted soldiers was discovered. Also, the grave of Maj Shropshire was found -- his grave was located immediately adjacent to the common 30-man grave. The remains of these men (Maj Shropshire excepted) were reburied at the Santa Fe (New Mexico) National Cemetery in 1993. Maj Shropshire was reburied in KY.

As one looks at the current Company C, one will see the diversity of civilian clothing, U.S. uniforms, and homemade or militia garments. One will see the diversity of weapons and accouterments, the bowie knives and revolvers. Since the company is portrayed as it appeared at Glorieta Pass, there are no horses or tack.