The Blue & the Gray (1:40)

George Durant formed the Magnolia Rangers and was involved in the Battle of Galveston Island where the Yankee Army was defeated and driven off the coast. Durant was named a General on the day the Confederacy surrendered, but no paperwork was filed. He kept the title of Major all of his life.

The Thomas family twins, Lige and Lish, joined Terry’s Texas Rangers. They were expert horsemen and one account had them picking up coins on the tracks of a railroad at full gallop in Kentucky while waiting for their unit to form.

There were few foundries in the South during the Civil War. One was located in East Columbia on the Brazos River. The Confederacy, worried that the foundry would be captured, moved it to Anderson, Texas.   The large cannon ball in the case is from that foundry. We believe the small cannon ball is from the Camp Mohawk area south of town that was used as a Confederate training ground.

John Slover, the man who built the Slover house, now the Marguerite Rogers House Museum, served with troops of the Union Army in Kansas during the Civil War.  This is his diary, covering one and a half years, which describes his adventures with fighting Indians as well as his personal thoughts about politics. The cover is made with fabric from his daughter’s dress.  We are in the process of converting the diary into a book and will have it for sale soon.