"Old Tige"

William Lewis Cabell was born January 1, 1827 in Danville, Virginia. He was appointed to West Point by his father's friend, President James K. Polk, in 1846. Of the 89 students who began in his class only 44 were still there when he received his commission on July 1, 1850.

In October of that year he was assigned to the Seventh Infantry and sent to the Indian Territory. He was assigned to quartermaster and commissary duties and later as Regimental Quartermaster traveled frequently to Fort Smith, Arkansas where he met and married Harriet Rector, the daughter of the Superintendent of Indian Affairs. Promoted to Captain he organized and arranged the supply trains for Albert Sidney Johnston in his campaign against the Mormons in 1858 and oversaw the construction of Fort Cobb in the Indian Territory, where he served as quartermaster. In April, 1861 he heard of Lincoln's proclamation of insurrection in the South. He left his family in Fort Smith, resigned from the U.S. Army and went immediately to Montgomery, Alabama. After his resignation was officially accepted, at the request of Jefferson Davis of Abraham Lincoln, he was commissioned a major in the Confederate States Army and sent to Richmond. Appointed Chief Quartermaster and Commissary Officer for Virginia, he became Chief Quartermaster of the Potomac under Beauregard and received special recognition from Beauregard for his valuable services at Manassas. After that victory he and Beauregard derived the flag which became the Confederate battle flag.

In January 1862 he was reassigned and became Chief Quartermaster of what later became the TransMississippi department under Earl Van Dorn. Recognizing his military ability Van Dorn shifted him to a line officer assignment, where, after his actions in the defense of Jacksonport, he was promoted from major to brigadier general. In charge of the First Brigade, Second Division, Army of the West he was an effective commander, especially at the battle of Corinth in October of 1862. Injured when his horse fell on him in battle, he returned to his duties as quartermaster in Little Rock where he reverted back to the rank of major, his commission as general never having been confirmed in Richmond. After organizing the TransMississippi quartermaster functions he was again returned to line officer status with Jefferson Davis confirming his appointment to brigadier general in January, 1863. He led his troops in action at Fayetville, Fort Gibson and Fort Smith.

In the spring of 1864, Old Tige, as he was known for his fighting spirit, lead his men in a campaign against numerically superior troops in Arkansas where his brigade was always in the thickest of the fighting and suffered high losses. After Steele's Union troops were forced to retreat from the Red River campaign he and his troops had a brief breathing spell at Monticello, ending when they joined Sterling Price on his invasion of Missouri. The raid was eventful and hazardous, with Cabell having his horse shot from under him less than 40 yards from the wall at Fort Davidson. During the withdrawal to Texas Cabell's battered brigade always served as the rear guard. Leading his men in an effort to block Union flankers, he was captured October 25, 1864. He was first taken to St. Louis and then to Johnson's Island in Lake Erie. Conditions there were as intolerable as at any Union prison and the troops ate rats when the could catch them and suffered in the harsh winter climate. In mid-December he was transferred to George's island in Boston harbor. Conditions there were equally poor with horribly crowded quarters. In July, 1865 he was released.

His wife and children joined him in Fort Smith, Arkansas where he worked as a civil engineer, studied law at night, and was admitted to the bar in 1868. He practiced law until 1872, when he and his family moved to Dallas. In 1874 he won his first term as mayor. He was reelected in 1875 and headed a group that brought Jefferson Davis to Dallas. Stores were closed and a giant parade was held. Festivity abounded. He returned to his law practice for one year and was elected to a 2 year term as mayor in 1877, leading the small but flourishing city and urging the expansion of the rail system serving Dallas. In 1879 he decided not to run again for mayor and was elected as Vice President of the Texas Trunk Railroad Company. In 1883 he again announced himself as a candidate for mayor and, once elected, embarked on a program of paving streets and installing sewage lines. In June of 1883 he announced electric street lighting. In April 1885 he left the office of mayor but a petition of 276 names, including those of the new mayor and both U.S. Senators from Texas was sent to Grover Cleveland urging that he be appointed as a U.S. Marshall. Cleveland accepted and he took the oath of office on July 13, 1885 and served until he resigned in 1889.

He had never forgotten his service as a Confederate General and had always been active in the veteran's behalf. In August of 1883 he served as grand Marshall of a great reunion in McKinney. In 1890, in Chattanooga he was elected as Commander of the TransMississippi Department of the UCV. He supported the state of Texas assuming responsibility for the veteran's home in Austin, a pension for Confederate veterans, and a proper cemetery for Confederates. He tried to ease the problems of the Confederate soldiers for the rest of his life. Although never being robust since his days as a prisoner of war his spirit never failed. In fact, in 1898, at the age of 71, he offered his services to the War Department in the fight against Spain. His health failed rapidly beginning in 1910 and by February 1911 he was bedridden. On the evening of February 21, 1911 he fell asleep, never to awaken.

On Sunday, February 26, 1911 he was buried in Dallas, TX. His funeral procession was headed by mounted police, the Texas National Guard, the UCV, GAR veterans and others. The caisson on which his casket rode was draped with the U.S. and Confederate flags. A riderless horse followed the caisson, followed by pall bearers, honorary pall bearers, family, the governor and other public officials, SCV representatives and friends. Along the 2 mile route of the procession, 50,000 people lined the streets and 25,000 mourners waited at the small cemetery. After a 21 gun salute and the playing of taps, General William Lewis Cabell was at rest.