Walker's Greyhounds
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Walker's Greyhounds was the name given to a division of the Confederate States Army comprised exclusively of regiments from Texas.
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[edit] Organization
Organized at Camp Nelson, Arkansas in July, 1862, the Greyhounds were placed under the command of Major General 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.
[edit] Vicksburg Campaign
The Greyhounds fought at the Battle of Milliken's Bend, the Battle of Youngs Point, incidental engagements of the Vicksburg Campaign, in June, 1863. They remained in northern Louisiana for several months, then returned to Arkansas in late 1863.
[edit] Red River Campaign
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.
[edit] Camden Expedition
Rushed back to Arkansas by Tran-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.
[edit] Nickname
The division was well trained, and well respected as a fighting force. It earned it's nickname because the men were able to move long distances rapidly on foot. The Greyhounds' ferocity at the Battle of Mansfield, particularly by its 12th Texas Infantry Regiment, is considered by many military historians to have turned the tide in that engagement.
[edit] Mustered out
The division was mustered out at Hemphill, Texas in May, 1865.
[edit] References
- Lowe, Richard G., Walker's Texas Division, LSU Press, 2004.
