Texas Courthouse Trails : The Courthouse Square: Where Veterans are Honored

Jim Bowie

Texas is a state that honors the men and women who have defended it when it was a struggling republic and the numerous wars fought as part of the United States. I have visited 153 Texas county courthouses and the courthouse squares that hold them. Almost every Texas county has some kind of monument honoring those men and women who defended this state and country in an armed conflict. I'll take you on a little history tour of Texas.

Juan Seguin

In 1836 the Texas colonists in the northern provence of Mexico, revolted against Mexican tyranny epitomized by the dictator General Santa Anna. Santa Anna marched his army north into Texas. The fight was on. Texans rallied to the cause and fought and died in battles at Goliad, the Alamo, and San Jacinto. The Texans, led by General Sam Houston, were victors at San Jacinto. Santa Anna surrendered and relinquished all claims to Texas. Texas became an independent nation, the Republic of Texas.

County courthouse squares honor those men. One that comes to mind is in Seguin, Guadalupe County, with a statue of Juan Seguin, who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto. It can be found behind the courthouse on the grounds.
The feud between Texas and Mexico continued over the land between the Rio Grande River and the Nueces River. In 1845 Texas was admitted as the 26th state and the feud became national with the Mexican American War. US Army troops arrived in Texas commanded by General Winfield Scott. Scott needed scouts and fighters and he found them in the newly organized Texas Rangers. Texas Rangers like Jack Coffee Hays and Ben McCulloch. Both were honored by having counties named for them. Hays has a statue of him on a horse in front of the Hays County courthouse.Of all the characters that I've read about in Texas history, Jack "Coffee" Hays is the most memorable.

Texas was admitted to the Union in 1845 as a slave state and aligned itself with the South. When the War Between the States broke out in 1861, Texas joined the Confederacy, much to the dismay of famous Texans like Sam Houston. By the end of 1861, 25,000 Texans were in the Confederate army. Two-thirds of these were in the cavalry, the branch of service preferred by Texans. The Civil War resulted in the deaths of over 600,000, both North and South, many of the volunteers from Texas were killed or wounded.

Denton County Courthouse

Comanche County Courthouse

Where do you find these Confederate Memorials? They are found in almost all the counties that existed in Texas at the time of the beginning of the Civil War; East Texas, the Hill Country, and North Texas.

Comal County Courthouse

One of the most unusual Confederate Memorials is found in Longview, Texas on the Upshur County Courthouse grounds. The Confederate Soldier statue has a statue of a "goddess" inscribing something on the monument.

Grimes County Courthouse, Anderson, TX

A word of note: The Confederate Memorials were paid for by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, not the taxpayer.

The next conflict that involved Texans was the Spanish American War. I could not find any memorials dedicated to this war on a courthouse square, however, there is a monument to the Spanish American War on the Texas Capitol grounds. World War 1 would claim the next wave of Texas volunteers.

"Doughboy Statue" San Patricio County Courthouse, Sinton, TX

Texans followed closely the events that unfolded in Europe in 1914. For one thing Texans resented Germany for stirring up trouble between Mexico and the US, hoping the draw the US into a war with Mexico. That didn't happen. When the US did declare war on the Axis, Texans began to mobilize. The 36th Infantry Division was known at the Texas Division saw action in Europe in both world wars. The 36th Infantry Division was mobized at Camp Bowie in Tarrant County in response to orders of the War Department. Through the draft and voluntary enlistments 198,000 Texans saw service in the armed forces during WW1. In addition 450 Texas women served as nurses.

Angelina County Courthouse, Lufkin, Tx

The "Doughboy" is most accurately associated with soldiers of World War One. There are several of these statues found on courthouse squares.

Hunt County Courthouse, Greenville, Tx

Goliad County Courthouse, Goliad, TX

World War 1 was called "the war to end all wars." These words were probably spoken by a politician who never served a day in uniform. World War One, its surrender by Germany and the punishments heaped upon it, served as a catalyst which gave rise to Adolph Hitler and National Socialism, the Nazi Movement.
If you know history, Hitler invaded most of mainland Europe and wanted to invade England. The US remained out of the European conflict until Japan, an ally of Nazi Germany, attacked Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941. World War Two began. Texans volunteered for the Army, Navy and Marines.

Hunt Co Courthouse

Murphy attempted to join the Marines and was told he was too short. He joined the Army and tried to get into jump school. He was again turned down. He just wanted to fight, and fight he did. He was wounded several times the last one caused an end to his career in the Army. He would go on to Hollywood and star in several motion pictures even his own autobiography, "To Hell and Back."

The Audie Murphy Memorial on I-30 in Greenville, Tx

There are many Texans who served in WW2 but more famous than Audie Murphy, the most decorated soldier in WW2. Murphy was from Hunt County and he is honored with his bust on the courthouse square. There is also an Audie Murphy Memorial on I-30 in Greenville, Texas.

Here are some other notable World War 2 Memorials.

Zapata County Courthouse, Zapata, Texas

Kerr County Courthouse, Kerrville, TX

Nacogdoches County Courthouse, Nacogdoches, Tx

This Nacogdoches Veterans Memorial struck me as the most individual and memorable. Every soldier, sailor, airman, Marine from Nacogdoches County who died in a war or conflict has their name, rank, service, and date of death on an individual black plate. There are three different memorial walls that are found on the courthouse square.

Gregg County Courthouse, Longview, TX

Falls County Courthouse, Marlin, TX

Goliad County Courthouse, Goliad, TX

My father and mother both served in the US Army in WW2. My father in the Army Air Corps and my mother in the WAC. They met in WW2, married and my brother and I are the result.

The Korean War 1950-1953

This was called a "police action" but a lot of soldiers and airmen died in Korea. They are memorialized in several counties with a memorial, Titus County Courthouse, Mount Pleasant, Texas

The Vietnam War: 1959-1973

Tarrant County Courthouse, Fort Worth, TX

The Vietnam War is one of those events that had no distinct beginning like Pearl Harbor was for WW2. Some say the Gulf of Tonkin was the catalyst, but I don't remember that. It was one of those conflicts that "got out of hand" and the buildup and bombing escalated. It was a war that was fought in the jungles and rivers of Vietnam and in the skies over North Vietnam. Many Texans gave their lives in this so called war. They are remembered on many, many courthouse squares.