CONFEDERATE BIOGRAPHY: A GOOD LETTER - C. H. JACKSON ***************************************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm Submitted by Mary Love Berryman - marylove@tyler.net 10 September 2001 ***************************************************************** TEXANS WHO WORE THE GRAY by Sid S. Johnson A GOOD LETTER. This letter should go into history, because the army of the Trans- Mississippi performed well its duty. The battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill saved Texas from invasion, and it was a master stroke of military genius and valor of Confederate forces that made the victory complete. Mr. Jackson says: It fell to my lot to serve in Green's Cavalry in front of Banks' army most of the time during the seige. Many of our Comrades East of the river, claim that we Texans on this side were "not in it," which fact must be inferred from the very meager accounts published in the news of the day as to what took place on this side of the Mississippi; and as there seems to be but little known or said about the chival­rous manner in which Geii. Taylor, with his brave following, turned the tide of battle at Mansfield and Pleasant Hill; which saved the Western Department, and especially Texas from the most sad fate, that was the misfortune of any part of our beloved country to have suffered. This may seem like an overdrawn picture; but when you take into the account of reasoning, the fact that the organ­ized plans of the Kansas Jayhawkers to come in and incite all wild tribes of Indians to assist them, and help them mur­der the inhabitants indiscriminately, not only lay waste to the country and drive out the stock of all the plaing of Texas. Then you can draw a faint shadow of what would have been the fate of this now fair land, which was averted, in my mind, only by the interposition of Divine Providence, and brought about by that grand old patriot, Gen. Taylor, who saw his only hope of success in checking the march of Banks' army, and preventing a junction of his and Steel's forces at Shreveport, was to bring on the fight with Banks' corps, while Smith's corps was six miles behind; which turned the invaders back and saved our country. C. H. JACKSON.