4th Texas "Van Dorn" Light Artillery
History of Us
During the Texas invasion of New Mexico, soldiers of Confederate brigadier general Henry H. Sibley's brigade captured five guns, three six-pounders and two twelve-pound howitzers, at the battle of Valverde, New Mexico Territory, on February 21, 1862. Volunteers from three cavalry regiments then organized a battery with the trophy cannon under the leadership of Capt. Joseph Draper Sayers, later governor of Texas. The seventy-man unit fired its first shots as a provisional organization at the skirmish at Peralta, New Mexico Territory, on April 15, 1862. The battery was officially organized on June 1, 1862, at Fort Bliss, Texas. After the Confederate retreat from the region, the Van Dorn Battery accompanied Sibley's brigade to New Iberia, Louisiana. The battery fought numerous battles and skirmishes in Louisiana. It was notable for the capture of the Union gunboat Diana in March 1863. In April the unit served in the battle of Bisland, where Sayers was seriously wounded, and performed well as the rear guard of Maj. Gen. Richard Taylor's army at the battle of Vermillion Bayou. After Sayers was wounded at Camp Bisland, Capt. Timothy D. Nettles took command of the battery and retained it until the end of the war.
In the summer and fall of 1863 the Van Dorn battery served with Gen. Taylor. The Van Dorn Battery also served in Taylor's army during the Red River campaign of 1864. In April the battery fought at the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill; two rifled cannons captured from federal forces replaced the two antiquated howitzers of the battery. The battery then served with Confederate forces shadowing the Union army's retreat through the end of May in skirmishes at Monett's Ferry and De Louch's Bluff. As Confederate forces disbanded in the spring of 1865, the gunners of the Van Dorn Battery chose to bury their cannons rather than surrender them to federal authorities. After Reconstruction the guns were exhumed. The two six-pounders that had survived the war had badly deteriorated, but the two three-inch rifles survived and are displayed at the Freestone County Courthouse in Fairfield and at the Confederate Reunion Grounds near Mexia.
Roster
Captain Tengamo
Lieutenant Kroft (myself)
Sergeant Slash
Corporal Brecor
Private First Class Pblash
Private Ronald McJeremy
Private Niles
Cook Heiny
Advanced Roster
Artillery Officers: Captain Tengamo, Lieutenant Kroft.
Artillery Crew: Private First Class Pblash, Captain Tengamo, Lieutenant Kroft.
Artillery Guards: Sergeant Slash, Corporal Brecor, Private McJeremy, Private Niles.
Cook: Heiny
Other Information/Joining
We are currently accepting members, and if you want information about joining or how we train our recruits just private message me, or you can just fill out this application.
What is your ingame name? (Note, Recruits are given names until they have passed the training):
What is your steamname?:
What is your age?:
Where do you live? (Timezone):
Why would you like to join the 4th Texas Artillery?:
Are you going to be active? (meaning attending linebattles):
We are pretty relaxed, we don't even have an official regimental channel. But we attend the line battles and are disciplined when we do so, our teamspeak is: 70.34.203.90, poke myself (Kroft) if you want to join our channel.
ANNOUNCEMENTS!
We are thinking of making a infantry platoon to help protect the artillery, and that is what we are recruiting for mainly, but if you prove yourself very good at using the cannons, you may be allowed to join the batteries.
Skirmish with the 1st Alabama on Saturday 5:00 EST!
