Douglas’ Texas Battery and Sons of Confederate Veterans Camp officers post the colors during the rededication ceremony of the restored Texas Civil War Monument at the Vicksburg National Military Park Thursday. (The Vicksburg Post/MELANIE DUNCAN)

[05/25/01] Members of Waul’s Texas Legion would have agreed with one of the speakers at the rededication of the monument to their bravery during the Siege of Vicksburg.

That speaker said it’s easy to find the monument to Texans at any battlefield site. A visitor only has to go to where the fighting was fiercest.

Thursday morning’s ceremony, featuring guests from Texas, was held to note the completion of the renovation of the monument, located at Railroad Redoubt on the South Loop of the Vicksburg National Military Park. The original dedication was held Nov. 4, 1961.

Experts at the Vicksburg park recently reworked the monument, cleaning and rewaxing the bronze statue of a Texas Confederate soldier, replacing mortar, realigning the steps and gilding the letters for the inscriptions in the Texas red granite.

John Nau III, chairman of the Texas Historical Commission, said he began the drive to restore the monument after he discovered its deteriorated condition while visiting the park. The Texas Legislature was convinced to appropriate $40,000 needed for the repair in 1997.

“The park’s not only an opportunity to revisit the history that took place here but also to reflect on the investment represented by those in our past who have bequeathed to us all that who are present here today and in the future the great history that is represented behind us,” Nau said.

In recounting the history of the site, Terry Winschel, park historian said Union forces attacked the Confederate forces from Alabama, who were defending the redoubt on May 22, 1863. The attack resulted in a breech in the Confederate lines.

“Brig. Gen. Stephen D. Lee, commander of the Alabama brigade, … turned to Col. Thomas N. Waul … and asked Can your Texans retake the redoubt?’

“Without hesitation, Yes!’ answered Waul who led forward one battalion of his famed Texas Legion,” Winschel said.

The Texans were able to seal the breach and took many prisioners and the colors of the 77th Illinois Infantry that had been planted at the redoubt, he said.

Dan Utley, a historian and a program administrator of the Texas Historical Commission, recounted how the monument came to be constructed from a $100 donation in 1909 from Post C of the Travelers Protective Association, through the eventual appropriation of $100,000 for the monument, the selection of the design, eventual construction and dedication.

Diane Bumpas, a historical commission member, said Texans, when traveling outside the state, often visit monuments to that state’s Confederate soldiers whereever they go.

“One Texas local told a member of our staff about how to find the Texas monument in any battlefield park,” Bumpas said. “He simply said you go to where the fighting was fiercest and there you will find a memorial to Texas.”

“This is a beautiful morning for dedicating the restoration of the Texas Monument,” said state Sen. Mike Chaney, R-Vicksburg.

He said the monument and the history it represents has shaped life today and also helps people today catch a glimpse of what happened during the Civil War. Chaney also described the war as horror and tragedy almost impossible to comprehend.

“If you appreciate monuments as I do, there is almost no place in country you would rather be than the Vicksburg National Military Park,” he said, noting its collection of outdoor sculpture and other features.

Chaney also called the Texas Monument among the most unique in the park.

“I appreciate monuments because they serve as a physical expression of honor and heroism in our lives today,” Chaney said.

The Vicksburg park was created by Congress in 1899 to preserve some of the acreage where Civil War fighting took place in 1863. About 1 million people visit each year and ride the park roads where Union and Confederate states have placed memorials to their soldiers.