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Walker's Greyhounds

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Walker's Texas Division Battle Flag

Walker's Greyhounds was the popular name for a division of the Confederate States Army under Major-General John George Walker, composed exclusively of units from Texas. It fought in the Western Theater and the Trans-Mississippi Department, gaining its nickname because the men were able to move long distances rapidly on foot.

Gen. John George Walker

Organization

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Walker's Greyhounds, also known as Walker's Texas Division, was mustered at Camp Nelson, Arkansas, in July 1862. It was placed under the command of Maj. Gen. John George Walker in November 1862, and remained under his command until the end of the war. The division served exclusively in the Trans-Mississippi Department. When General Walker was given a district command in late 1864 the division was given to Maj. Gen. John H. Forney.

Composition

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1st Brigade

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Col. Overton C. Young
Brig. Gen. James M. Hawes
Brig. Gen. Thomas N. Waul
Brig. Gen. Wilburn H. King
Col. Richard B. Hubbard

2nd Brigade

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Brig. Gen. Horace Randal
Brig. Gen. Robert Plunket Maclay

3rd Brigade

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Col. George M. Flournoy
Brig. Gen. Henry E. McCulloch
Brig. Gen. William R. Scurry
Brig. Gen. Richard Waterhouse

Original 4th Brigade

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Brig. Gen. James Deshler[1]

4th Brigade (1865)

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Brig. Gen. Wilburn H. King

Major engagements

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Vicksburg Campaign

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The Greyhounds fought at the Battle of Milliken's Bend and the Battle of Young's Point, incidental engagements of the Vicksburg Campaign, in June 1863. They remained in northern Louisiana for several months, and then returned to Arkansas in late 1863.

Red River Campaign

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Sent from Arkansas to Louisiana again in April 1864, they served as part of Lt. Gen. Richard Taylor's Army at the significant Confederate victories at the Battle of Mansfield (April 8, 1864), and the Battle of Pleasant Hill (April 9, 1864), critical engagements in the Red River Campaign.

Camden Expedition

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Rushed back to Arkansas by Trans-Mississippi Department Commander Edmund Kirby Smith, they fought at the Battle of Jenkins' Ferry on April 30, 1864, the last engagement of the Camden Expedition.

Mustered out

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In March 1865 the division was ordered to Hempstead, Texas. There it was awaiting the arrival of Confederate President Jefferson Davis in order to make a Last Stand. Davis failed to arrive, and with the main Confederate armies having surrendered and the war essentially being over, the approximately 8,000 soldiers constituting the remnants of the much depleted division simply went home from Hempstead in late May 1865.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The original 4th Brigade was detached and captured at the Battle of Arkansas Post on January 11, 1863.

Bibliography

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  • Lowe, Richard G., Walker's Texas Division, Louisiana State University Press, 2004.
  • Blessington, Joseph P. (1875). The Campaigns of Walker's Texas Division. New York: Lange, Little & Co.
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