Texas: Civil WarABAA
PROCLAMATION TO THE PEOPLE OF TEXAS
1861WRCAM56192Austin 1861. Letterpress broadside 12 1/2 x 8 inches. Docketed in manuscript on verso. Old folds tiny fold separations at edges minor wrinkling. Near fine. A phenomenal Texas Confederate broadside calling for the recruitment of infantry volunteers just two weeks after the attack on Fort Sumter ushered in the Civil War. It is only the second copy of this broadside that we have been able to locate. The proclamation was issued by Texas Governor Edward Clark who arouses the southern patriotism of potential Texas Confederate recruits asking them to join the battle since "the arrogant administration of Abraham Lincoln has proclaimed its intention of invading our soil and conquering our people." Governor Clark "most deeply impressing upon the people of Texas the urgent necessity of combining every effort to effect the immediate organization of our brave men" calls for volunteers for the Confederate Infantry. <br> <br> Clark appeals not only to patriotism and a sense of religious destiny but also evokes an obvious and widely-shared disdain for the northern states of the Union: <br> <br> "Let every young and chivalric man in the State bear in mind that it is a solemn duty to himself and his country which now invokes his action and let the old men gird their armor on the young and inspire them with a holy zeal and an inflexible determination to repel the vandals of the North who have already possessed themselves of our homes and made known their intention of destroying everything that is dear to us." <br> <br> Governor Clark calls for the immediate formation of one or more companies in as many communities as possible in the state of Texas and orders those companies to report to the Adjutant General in Austin. Clark hopes that these companies will soon number "eight thousand men to defend our new-born glorious Confederacy and a reserve force of many thousands to preserve us as we have ever been independent and invincible." <br> <br> The attack on Fort Sumter raged from April 12 to 14 1861 and resulted in a resounding Confederate victory. In the aftermath of the battle both Union and Confederate officials kicked off aggressive recruitment campaigns. The news of Fort Sumter was received by Governor Clark in Austin on April 17; that day Clark issued a directive to establish and instruct volunteer companies dividing the state into six districts Parrish & Willingham 4233 Winkler 1662. The present broadside issued a week later was a response to the Confederate government's request for five thousand more troops for a total of eight thousand new Texas infantry recruits in the two weeks following the outbreak of the war which were promptly furnished by the state. <br> <br> This is an extraordinarily rare Texas Confederate broadside. Parrish & Willingham and Winkler record only a single copy at the University of Texas. PARRISH & WILLINGHAM 4230. WINKLER 1663. unknown books
William Reese Company · États-Unis11 000,00 $US≈ 9 307,10 €
