About Us

Valor

Hood's Texas Brigade was the only Texas Regiment to fight in Virginia under the command of Gen. Robert E. Lee, the Army of Northern Virginia, the Confederate States of America, during the War for Southern Independence.

The Brigade was famous for its valor on the field, and its courageous behavior resulted both in victories for the Confederacy and in a devastating loss of men. Robert E. Lee said of them, at the Battle of the Wilderness, “Texans always move them.”

The Brigade was comprised originally of companies that were raised in Texas in the Spring of 1861 and traveled to Virginia, eager to fight, where they were assigned unit numbers and became Hood's Texas Brigade.

The original units were the 1st, 4th and 5th Texas Infantry. During the course of the war, three more units were attached, at various times, to Hood's Brigade: the 18th Georgia Infantry, Hampton's South Carolina Legion, and the 3rd Arkansas Infantry.

Endurance

Hood's Texans fought at all the major battles, including Seven Pines, Gaines' Mill, 2nd Manassas, Sharpsburg, Gettysburg, Chickamauga, and The Wilderness.

The first commander of the Texas Brigade in Virginia was Louis T. Wigfall; he was followed by James T. Archer, John Bell hood, William T. Wofford, Jerome B. Robertson, John Gregg, Frederick S. Bass, and Robert M. Powell. Although Hood commanded the Brigade for only about six months, the unit bore his name throughout the war and the returning veterans chose to continue that tradition with the Hood's Texas Brigade Association.

The battle flag of the 4th Texas, illustrated on the cover of this brochure, is based on the Texas State Flag and carries the battle honors of Gaines' Farm (Mill) and Seven Pines, representing the Brigade's baptisms of blood. Over the course of the war approximately 4,500 men served in Hood's Brigade. They endured the cruelties of a cruel war, hardships hard to imagine. By the time of the surrender at Appomattox Courthouse, only around 650 were left to return home, and after the long journey, they strove to rebuild their lives and communities.

The veterans of the Confederacy were unbroken, and they worked to erect the State Capitol of Texas, as well as create and strengthen institutions of higher learning, such as The University of Texas, Baylor University, and Texas A&M. They were active in their communities and in ensuring the future of the state. Hood's Texas Brigade, a 4- volume work by Harold B. Simpson (1968-1977), is considered the definitive treatment of the Brigade.

Commitment

Hood's Texans were committed to their State, their families and communities, and to the South. No less committed to the memory of the brigade is Hood's Texas Brigade Association, Re-activated, which was formed in 1967 by Col. Harold B. Simpson, at Hill College in Hillsboro, Texas. Since 2008, the organization has been independent of Hill College.

The organization demonstrates its commitment by a series of yearly activities: a scholarly seminar, a battlefield tour, preservation and conservation of monuments and archival materials and objects, and special projects, such as summer stipends for graduate students in Civil War History, initiated in 2015.

Membership is open to all who are interested in the history and achievements of the Brigade. Regular members have direct or collateral ancestors who fought int the Brigade. Associate Members and Honorary Members are those who have shown their commitment to its history.

Special Achievements of the organization:

• Multi-year record of scholarly seminars, beginning in 2009, in which prominent historians discuss many aspects of the war
• Yearly battlefield tour, “In the Footsteps of the Brave,” which began in 2012 and is organized and led by Historian Rick Eiserman
• Re-dedication of the Hood's Brigade Monument on the Texas State Capitol grounds in 2010, to commemorate the monument's 100th anniversary
• Erection of a monument to Hood's Brigade at Gaines' Mill, part of the Texas Historical Commission's series of battlefield monuments
• Conservation of the 4th Texas banner and the stained glass window to Hood's Brigade, both in the collection of the Museum of the Confederacy, Richmond
• Summer education stipends to worthy graduate students, project directed by Dr. Richard McCaslin and Dr. Susannah J. Ural.

Goals

The goals of Hood's Texas Brigade Association, Re-Activated are to:

• Encourage and foster among the public an understanding of the history of Hood's Texas Brigade and its soldiers
• Advance historical appreciation for the part that the Brigade played in Texas and Confederate history
• Organize and sponsor educational activities such as seminars and symposiums about the Brigade
• Publish information on Hood's Texas Brigade and its achievements
• Create an online database of Hood's Texas Brigade soldiers

In addition, the Association encourages its membership to

• Mark the graves of their Brigade ancestors
• Prepare brief biographies with pictures, if possible, of  Brigade members' ancestors
• Preserve their family archives pertaining to the War Between the States
• Participate on a local level with relevant history and historic preservation activities
• Share comradeship and fellowship

Association Meetings

At Association meetings members have the opportunity to get together, share information about their ancestors, and hear an interesting program pertaining to Hood's Texas Brigade and the wider War for Southern Independence. See Upcoming Events.

Hood's Texas Brigade Association, Re-Activated is a non-profit corporation chartered under the laws of the State of Texas; it has a 501(c)(3) non-profit status by the Internal Revenue Service.