When the bell atop Austin’s First Baptist Church began clanging that moonlit Sunday evening of June 11, 1865, the town’s civilian home guardsmen knew it signified trouble, not a call to worship.
With hundreds of battle-hardened ex-Confederate soldiers swarming the town of 4,000, none of the volunteers were surprised that a need for their services had arisen. But the nature of the emergency would rock the war-weary state.
Once the Civil War effectively ended with Gen. Robert E. Lee
Already Signed Up? Log in here.
Read this article now for Free!
Ready for a third free article? Create a free account by entering your email address and a password below.
— OR —
Sign Up Now for $29.95 a year and have immediate access to all of True West content, including the complete True West Archives dating back to 1953!
