Military Board of Texas:

An Inventory of Military Board Records at the Texas State Archives, 1861-1867, 1955, bulk 1861-1865

Agency History

The Texas State Military Board (also known as the Military Board of Texas) was established to sell or exchange state bonds for supplies and establish foundries and ordnance factories. Creation of the Board was deemed necessary due to the state’s general inability to import necessary supplies for its defense due to the Union blockade of its ports. The Board was created on January 11, 1862 by the 9th Texas Legislature (Chapter 81, Regular Session). The Board was composed of the Governor, the Comptroller, and the Treasurer (respectively Francis Lubbock, Clement R. Johns, and C. H. Randolph).

During the 10th Legislature (Regular Session) on December 16, 1863, an amendment (Chapter 39) to the existing act that partially reconstituted the Board was passed. The Governor still headed the agency ex officio, but was now able to appoint and remove the remaining two members; the Board’s functions remained the same despite this change. Although Pendleton Murrah had replaced Lubbock as Governor in 1863, the Comptroller and Treasurer continued to serve on the Board under the auspices of the first act until April 12, 1864. From April 12, 1864 until May of 1865 when the Civil War ended, effectively nullifying the need for the Military Board, Governor Murrah and appointees James Holman and N. B. Pearce were its members.

Other laws enacted during the 10th Legislature (Regular Session) called for the Board to be given appropriations in order to construct spinning jennies (Chapter 13) and iron foundries (Chapter 54). These bills became law due to the increasingly dire need for supplies on the part of Confederate volunteers in Texas. The proceeds from selling the spinning jennies to the public were to be sent to the Treasury, while most of the iron produced was to be used for military defense. Any remainder could be sold to the public with the revenue then placed in the Treasury.

After the war, Governor A. J. Hamilton appointed a commission to audit the board's accounts. The report declared the original board's records intact, the new board's records confused or destroyed, and large funds and considerable property unaccounted for. None of the property due the state from the board was recoverable, except a few United States bonds held by private individuals. In 1865, at the request of the Texas attorney general, the records of the Military Board were audited by the state auditor to determine whether the claims of individuals who held state bonds were eligible for payment. The conclusion was that the proceeds of all bonds were expended directly or indirectly on activities arising from the Civil War and not on usual and proper government activities. They were therefore part of the debts repudiated by Texas as part of the requirements of readmission to the federal Union. The report also stated that all expenditures of the Military Board were proper, thus reversing Governor Hamilton's commission's report.

(Sources include: The Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mdmnd), accessed April 26, 2011; the Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online (http://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101086/citation/), accessed May 24, 2011; Ramsdell, Charles W. "The Texas State Military Board, 1862-65," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 27 (April 1924); and Report of the Special Examination of the Records of the Military Board of Texas for the Period from January, 1862 to May, 1865 (Austin: Texas State Auditor's Department, 1955).)

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Scope and Contents of the Records

The Texas State Military Board (also known as the Military Board of Texas) was established to sell or exchange state bonds for supplies and establish foundries and ordnance factories. Records include correspondence, agency meeting minutes, invoices, contracts, bonds, and reports, dating 1861-1867, 1955, bulk dating 1861-1865. Letters and board minutes detail the formation and organization of both the old and new Boards, and also contain duplicates of communications between Board members and various agents responsible for acquiring and/or building state military defenses. Bonds, contracts with purchasing agents, salary reports, and sales invoices also show the Board’s expenditures in the fulfillment of its duties. Reports and correspondence on the purchase and outfitting of the gunboat Bayou City, on ordnance, as well as the sale and distribution of cotton and wool cards to citizens are also present as is a report by the Texas State Auditor on the records of the board, published in 1955. The end of the inventory contains a small amount of correspondence, orders and a few financial documents that were previously part of the State Archives' Strays Collection.

To prepare this inventory, the described materials were cursorily reviewed to delineate series, to confirm the accuracy of contents lists, to provide an estimate of dates covered, and to determine record types.

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Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Materials do not circulate, but may be used in the State Archives search room. Materials will be retrieved from and returned to storage areas by staff members.

Restrictions on Use

Most records created by Texas state agencies are not copyrighted and may be freely used in any way. State records also include materials received by, not created by, state agencies. Copyright remains with the creator. The researcher is responsible for complying with U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.).

Technical Requirements

Many of the records are fragile and may need stabilization prior to use.

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Related Material

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Administrative Information

Preferred Citation

(Identify the item), Military Board of Texas records. Archives and Information Services Division, Texas State Library and Archives Commission.

Accession Information

unknown

Processing Information

Inventoried in the 1960s by State Archives staff

Descriptive text and DACS elements added by student volunteer Jeremy Zuni and archivist Laura Saegert, July and December 2011

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Detailed Description of the Records

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