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by Dr. Buddy Patterson, Archivist
Texas Division
The Texas Division of the Sons of Confederate Veterans is the flagship Division of the Army of
Trans-Mississippi Department. It was organized in October, 1897. The organizational meeting was held in Dallas, and Robert K.
Gaston was elected Division Commander. The first Texas Division Reunion was held in Dallas in 1889. There were seven
Camps in the Texas Division at the time.
By 1901, there were 36 camps in the Lone Star State. In 1904, 86 Camps, 16 percent of the total number of Camps in the
SCV, were located in Texas. In 1904, the Confederate Veteran reported that the R.E. Lee Camp 239 in Fort Worth was the
largest in the nation with over 1,200 members. The Texas Division continued to grow, and by 1927, the Division reached its peak
with over 170 Camps.
The Division began to wane during the 1930s as the Confederate Veterans passed on, the Great Depression came and went, and
World War 11 occurred. In 1950, only five active members of the Sons of Confederate Veterans
could be located in the State. The Texas Division had all but vanished along with the Veterans themselves.
The spirit of the Confederacy was still alive in Texas, though. On June 7, 1954, Dr. Ralph W. Widener, Jr. was appointed Division
Commander and he spearheaded the reactivation of the Texas Division. In 1996, the Texas Division had approximately 2,000
members in over 44 Camps organized into six brigades. Texas has provided 21 Commanders of the Army of Trans-Mississippi
Department and four Commanders-in-chief. The Division has hosted seven national Reunions.
The Texas Division sponsors many Confederate events. Notable among these are
The Confederate Ball, sponsored by the Albert Sidney Johnston Camp No. 67 of Houston. This debutante ball is held at the
River Oaks Country Club and has been a fixture of Houston society since 1967.
The Confederate History Symposium at the Confederate Research Center, Hill College, Hillsboro. This symposium, sponsored in
part by the Texas Division, has been held for 17 years.
The Texas Division enjoys a rich heritage and has produced a strong, vibrant organization, thanks to the hard work of the membership
of the Division and its leaders from the Camp to National level.
Due to the efforts of all these men and those who have gone before, the Texas Division maintains its place as the largest Division in
the Army of Trans-Mississippi Department and one of the premier Divisions in the Sons of Confederate Veterans.
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