Hempstead, C.S.A.

Major Civil War center in Texas with railroad, troop training, manufacturing, and supply activity. Training camps Groce and Hebert kept troops in readiness to move by rail to Houston and thence to the coast of Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas to prevent invasion of state. Camp Groce became second largest prisoner of War camp in state receiving first Union prisoners in 1863. Textile mill, foundry, grist mill products supplied to Confederate Army. Field transportation bureau shop made and repaired wagons, saddles, harness. A memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy. Erected by the State of Texas 1963 [back] Breakup at War's End In the spring of 1865 Texas troops returning from Louisiana and coastal defenses gathered at Camp Groce. Rumor reached them of General Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. Some doubted, but soon the news was confirmed. Confederate generals Kirby Smith, John B. Magruder, and John H. Forney were there and bade their troops farewell. Comrades-in-arms of the recent conflict left to walk their weary way home in one of the last sad scenes of the southern Confederacy.

Hempstead, C.S.A. is a historical marker in Hempstead, Waller County, dedicated in 1963. It is one of 52 historical markers documented in Waller County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 135 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 30.0981, -96.0772 near Hempstead. The nearest cataloged historic site is Waller County Post Offices (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Waller County, First United Methodist Church of Hempstead, and Ahrenbeck-Urban Home.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5473009388. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.