Stephen Whitlock:

See the "6 May 2007, at 12:54 p.m." posting above that is duplicated below.

You can take issue with what Colonel William Cocke Young (1812-1862), a respected citizen of North Texas, said, but please know that the letter in question is one that Young wrote. ..Young is mentioned on 70 pages of my 1,022-page book. ..The purpose of my book is to present contemporaneous documents, most from handwritten records.

My “Editor’s note” markedly separates my opinion from my transcription of handwritten records. ..Notice that the correct attribution is given within the “Editor’s note” immediately below the text that you are questioning.

One of the purposes of my “Editor’s note” feature is to explain the reference. ..In this OFFICIAL RECORD document, I thought it was important to give the “Comdg. Regular Texas Volunteers Cavalry, C.S. Army” information on the signature line then include the reference within the following “Editor’s note.” ..Adding one line of text to my huge book is a big deal, i.e., a lot of thought is given to every line.

Yes, this is an unusual format, but after spending as much as 40 man-hours transcribing a single document, I wasn’t about to sully any document with my opinion; hence, the “Editor’s note” feature.

Admittedly, I separated Col. Young’s November 3, 1861 letter into more paragraphs than the OFFICIAL RECORD presented plus I added the subtitle midway through “Lingering Fear that the Indians Remembered the Texas Country” for ease of reading. ..Immediately below is the letter that you questioned that I copied and pasted, without edits, from the OFFICIAL RECORD. ..Beneath that complete letter is the signature line only and my “Editor’s note” from my vIp127.
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O.R.-- SERIES I--VOLUME IV [S# 4] CHAPTER XI.
Correspondence, Orders, And Returns Relating Specially To Operations In Texas,
New Mexico, And Arizona From June 11, 1861-February 1, 1862.
CONFEDERATE CORRESPONDENCE, Etc.

JEFFERSON, MARION COUNTY, TEX.,
November 3, 1861.
Hon. J.P. BENJAMIN,
Secretary of War, Confederate States, Richmond:
DEAR SIR: On the 29th of October ultimo I furnished the transportation and
muster of Col. William B. Sims' regiment of cavalry, who were mustered for a
year from the 14th October ultimo. They (the regiment) commenced moving on
the 28th, and on the 30th the entire regiment was en route for General
McCulloch's command, my regiment having left for the same destination on the
16th October ultimo. Immediately after furnishing the transportation of Colonel
Sims' regiment I left for this place, at the urgent request of Maj. R. P. Crump, to
muster his battalion of cavalry, raised by the order of Secretary Walker, for
Missouri. By Wednesday next I shall be able to complete his muster, and they (the
battalion) will march immediately to join General McCulloch, after
which I will repair with all dispatch to Col. S. B. Maxey's rendezvous, in the
southwest corner of Lamar County. When I have finished the muster of his
regiment I shall move directly to join my own regiment, which is ere this with
General McCulloch, under the command of my lieutenant-colonel, J. J. Diamond,
unless I shall receive different orders. Two of the regiments tendered the
Confederate States by his excellency Governor Clark, of the State of Texas, to wit,
Col. M. F. Locke's and W. H. Parsons', I learn, have marched in the direction of
the coast, which service, I learn, has been tendered them by General Hébert,
commanding the Department of Texas. I notified Locke and Parsons that I was
ordered by your excellency to muster all troops tendered by his excellency the
governor of the State of Texas into the service of the Confederate States, and to
march them without delay to the command of Gen. Ben. McCulloch, in Missouri. I
received no reply, but heard they (Locke and Parsons) marched on toward
Galeston, disregarding the information I gave them.

I would ask leave to call the attention of your department to Forts Washita,
Arbuckle, and Cobb. These posts are at the present unoccupied. Washita and
Arbuckle are posts of considerable value, whilst Cobb is but a temporary affair,
yet at that immediate place are some 2,500 or 3,000 Indians, known as the Reserve
Indians, the most of whom have been principally raised in Texas, know our
country better than any one, and are susceptible of being made the most
disagreeable and destructive enemies to our northwestern frontier--I mean Texas.
These Indians are at Fort Cobb, and are unable to protect themselves against the
depredations of the combined Comanches and Kiowas, with whom they (the
reserve Indians) are and have been for a long time at war. Besides this you have no
doubt been officially informed of the rupture between the Creek Indians. Though I
learn that matters have been compromised and settled with the disaffected Creeks,
yet I learn there are still some disaffected Indians of various tribes still hangng
about the Cherokee Nation, and give to the Chickasaw Indians and the people of
the northern portion of Texas a good deal of uneasiness, from their proximity to
the Chickasaws and our people immediately on Red River. I learned the day before
I left Red River, Grayson County, that there were at one place in the Cherokee
Nation, on the Canadian River, 200 runaway and free negroes in regular drill,
whose object is supposed to be hostile to the Confederates. If this be so, would not
the circumstances justify a force being placed in these posts to keep down
hostilities and protect the reserve Indians, and prevent them (the reserve Indians)
from being trifled with by the Federals? It has been said that some 500 of the
jayhawkers were in camps with the disaffected Creeks--whether true or not I
cannot say, though it is believed from the northern part of the State of Texas
proper there have left for the Confederate Army several thousand troops, leaving
but few, except those who have families.

There is a very considerable dread amongst our people on Red River on this
account, as it might be justly said that we are now without any power intervening
between Texas and the Creek Nation, and none between us and the wild
Comanches except the reserve Indians, who will stampede at the first approach of
the enemy. I desire in this to ask your determination, and, as you think proper, act
in the premises.
With sentiments of high regard, I am, your obedient servant and friend,

WM. C. YOUNG,
Colonel, Comdg. Reg't Texas Vol. Cav., C. S. Army.
«10 R R--VOL IV»
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The signature line, without edits, plus the “Editor’s note:” on my vIp127.
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W.C. Young, Col., Comdg. Regular Texas Volunteers Cavalry, C.S. Army. (see Diamond, vIIppA-365, A-367.)

Editor’s note: In early fall 1861, Capt. Wm C. Twitty received financial support from the Cooke County commissioners to reorganize a local state militia for Confederate Service. Twitty recruited 90 men, who were officially mustered into the Confederacy on October 2, 1861 at Camp Reeves in Grayson County as Company “B” of the 11th Cavalry Regiment under the command of General Ben McCulloch and Col. Wm. C. Young. per ORsIv4[S#4]ch11p144. (seevIIpA-280f.)
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Patti, prochette@Juno.com