Forward to A Terry's Ranger Writes Home

A Terry's Ranger Writes Homes: Letters of Pvt. Benjamin F. Burke written while in the Terry's Texas Rangers, 1861-1864

[Picture of Benjamin F. Burke (Circa 1865)]

Compiled by his daughter Jessie Burke Heard
1965

FOREWARD

Letters written home by Benjamine Franklin Burke during the Civil War were recently discovered by his daughter, Mrs. Frank L. Heard of Rosenberg, Texas. Mrs. Heard ran across the letters accidentally while going through the personal effects of her brother in 1961. The original letters are now in the possession of Mrs. Heard's son, Frank L. Heard, Jr., of Bellaire, Texas.

Benjamine Franklin Burke, with his three brothers, served in the Confederate army, leaving their parents at home on the familyh farm near Oso, Fayette County, Texas.

Mr. Burke's grandfather, Jonathan, emigrated to America from Ireland with his parents in 1789, when he was a very young lad. He married Hannah Williams in North Carolina in 1790, moved to Kentucky in 1795, making the trip on horseback.

James Burke, Benjamine's father, was born in Kentucky in 1797. He married Martha Ogdon and soon thereafter moved to Union County, Arkansas where he opened a store, selling pork and venison to the boats that passed his store location known as Burke's landing on the Ouachita river. He also bolstered his income by floating rafts of logs down the rivers to New Orleans.

Benjamine was born at Burke's Landing, Arkansas in 1839. When he was seven years of age, his father moved the family to Liberty, Texas and five years later moved again to a farm in Fayette County, Texas near a community then known as Oso. Benjamine had three brothers and two sisters.

When the Civil War came, Franklin Terry, a delegate to the convention that was considering secession by Texas, spoke out strongly in favor of secession. When the convention adjourned, Terry went to Richmond, Texas (Ft. Bend County) and organized a troop of cavalry to become a part of the Confederate army. Young Benjamine Burke joined this troop at Richmond (See appendix) and his letters home began. He fought through the entire war, was wounded in the battle of Chickamauga and received his discharge from General Wheeler at Gettysburg.

When the war ended Benjamine Burke returned to home without hatred or rancor, and started his life again on the farm where he had left it. He married Miss Sammy Sloan, but she died shortly thereafter. His second marriage was to Miss Georgie Culpepper of Sweet Home, Lavaca County, Texas. Here on a farm, he and his wife brought up a family of five children-three sons and two daughters:

R. J. F. Burke of Dallas, Texas.
Wm. F. Burke of Dallas, Texas.
L. Ben Burke of Houston, Texas. (Deceased)
Mrs. Mattie Peterson of Arlington, Texas.
Mrs. Jessie Heard of Rosenberg, Texas.

Read in chronological order, Mr. Burke's letters will give the reader a very revealing picture of the trend of the Confederate fortunes during the great Civil War. In his early letters, confidence and enthusiasm are the dominant themes. Then, after some serious Southern military reverses - notably that at Vicksburg - some hints of discouragement begin to appear, though he sternly reprimands the "home folks" for any signs of weakness they exhibited.

Finally, as the greater resources of manpower and supplies available to the Union forces began to turn the tide, realism forced the young Terry Ranger to tell the "home folks" that things were not going so well. However, to the very last, he wanted it made entirely clear that "giving up" was unthinkable to him.

To Peter (his brother) - Oso, TX - September 1861
To Brother - Houston, TX- September 10, 1861
To Mother - Bayou Lours, LA - September 25, 1861
To Brother William - Bayou Boeuf, LA - September 29, 1861
To Father - Nashvill, TN - October 6, 1861
To Father - Nashvill, TN - November 25, 1861
To Brother - Camp near Bowing Green, KY - December 31st, 1861
To Father - Camp Hardee, KY - February 7, 1862
To Father - Corinth, MS - March 29, 1862
To Father - Corinth, MS - April 9th, 1862
To Brother - Camp near Corinth, MS - April 17, 1862
To Father & Mother - Near Chattanooga, TN - June 14, 1862
To Father - Camp near Sparta, TN - September 4th, 1862
To Father & Mother - Camp near Bardstown, KY - September 26, 1862
To Father - Knoxvill, TN - October 27, 1862
To Father & Mother - Camp near Trynne, TN - November 30th 1862
To Father & Mother - Shelbyville, TN - January 16, 1863
To Father & Mother - Louisburg, TN - Febuary 18, 1863
To Father & Mother - Sparta Mills, TN - April 23, 1863
To Father - Camp near Hoover's Gap, TN - June 14, 1863
To Father & Mother - Rome, GA - July 31, 1863
To Father & Mother - Camp near Rome, GA - August 6, 1863
To Father & Mother - Camp Morristown, TN - January 6, 1864

A few of Mr. Burke's letters are incomplete, in that pages are missing or, in some instance, the writing paper had deteriorated. Such portions of these incomplete letters as were legible are included in this appendix.

Fragment 1
Fragment 2
Fragment 3 - To Parent(s)
Fragment 4

---