Historic Walker County

C H A P T E R
I I I
FROM CIVIL WAR TO
RECONSTRUCTION, 1860-1872
B Y J E F F R E Y L . L I T T L E J O H N A N D A M Y H Y D E N
S A M H O U S T O N A N D T H E S E C E S S I O N C R I S I S
As a new decade dawned in January 1860, the residents of Walker County prepared for a looming
conflict over slavery and secession. Given the difficult issues involved, many locals took comfort in
the fact that their friend, Sam Houston, sat in the governor’s seat in Austin. Houston was an
outspoken unionist who supported both the U.S. Constitution and the right of states to determine
their own policy on slavery. 29
Over the next fourteen months, however, Houston’s centrist position became increasingly
untenable as the national Democratic party divided and Abraham Lincoln, a Republican, moved to
the forefront of the 1860 presidential race. Lincoln’s party opposed the expansion of slavery into the
western territories, and Southern Democrats viewed the Republican standard bearer as the
most dangerous man in America. Local planters in Walker County shared this opinion, given the
fact that their collective livelihood rested on the backs of 4,135 slaves who were valued at more
than $2,000,000. 30
Shortly after Lincoln’s election on November 6, 1860, several leading figures from Walker County
wrote to Sam Houston asking his “opinion in regard to the best course to pursue in this important
period in our history.” Houston responded to his long-time neighbors on November 28, writing,
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The third Walker County Courthouse
(1873-1875).
COURTESY OF THE WALKER COUNTY
HISTORICAL COMMISSION.
C h a p t e r I I I ✦ 1 5