General Walter P. Lane

Early life

Lane was born in County Cork, Ireland. The Lane family emigrated to Fairview in Guernsey County, Ohio, in 1821, and moved to Kentucky in 1825. In 1836 Lane moved to Texas to participate in its war for independence against Mexico. After Texas had gained its independence, Lane lived in San Augustine County in East Texas and then San Antonio, where he briefly served as a Texas Ranger. In 1846 Lane joined the First Regiment, Texas Mounted Riflemen, as a first lieutenant to fight in the Mexican-American War. Lane fought with honors at the Battle of Monterey and was later given the rank of major and command of his own battalion. After the Mexican-American War, Lane wandered about doing various things in Arizona, California, and Peru before opening a mercantile business in Marshall, Texas, in 1858.

Civil War

When the Civil War broke out, Lane was among the first Texans to call for secession. Lane's military reputation was so great that the first volunteer Confederate company raised in Harrison County was named for him, though Lane would join the 3rd Texas Cavalry. Lane participated in the battles of Wilson's Creek, Missouri, Chustenahlah, Pea Ridge and both the Siege of Corinth and Second Battle of Corinth. Lane led the 3rd Texas at the battle of Franklin, Mississippi, and was commended by General P.G.T. Beauregard for his efforts. Lane was severely wounded in the Battle of Mansfield in 1864, where Confederates forces rebuffed a push to capture either or both Shreveport, Louisiana, or Marshall, Texas. Before the war ended, Lane was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1865, being confirmed on the last day the Confederate Congress met.

Postbellum career

After the Civil War Lane returned to Marshall where he helped to establish the Texas Veterans Association. After Reconstruction, Lane and his brother George, a local judge, founded the first White Citizens Party in Texas and ran Republicans and African-Americans out of Marshall. With Democratic white hegemony brutally reestablished in Marshall and Harrison County, Lane declared the city and county "redeemed". He died in Marshall, Texas, and is buried in the Marshall Cemetery near downtown Marshall. His memoirs, The Adventures and Recollections of General Walter P. Lane, were published posthumously in 1928.

Brig. Gen. Walter P. Lane (b. 1817, d. 1892) Walter Paye Lane nearly didn’t achieve the general’s rank during the Civil War. He was promoted to brigadier general March 17, 1865, and confirmed by the Confederate Senate on the last day it met. A Texan who fought in the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas War for Independence, Lane spent his career in the western theaters. Born in County Cork, Ireland, Feb. 18, 1817, Lane emigrated with his parents to the United States in 1821, first settling in Guernsey County, Ohio. At the age of 18, Lane moved to Louisville and then to Texas. As a young man, he fought against the Mexican Army and was part of the victory at San Jacinto. Following that, he lived a fascinating life that included stints as a crew member aboard a Texas privateer, fighting Indians and teaching school. During the Mexican War, he was captain of a company of rangers. From 1849 until 1858, Lane mined in California, Nevada, Arizona and Peru, making and losing small fortunes. At the start of the Civil War, Lane was elected lieutenant colonel of the Third Texas Cavalry and later colonel of the First Texas Partisan Rangers. He fought at Wilson’s Creek and had a horse shot out from under him. He led five companies of Texans on a successful raid of Chustenahlah, Indian Territory. At Elkhorn Tavern, he commanded a brigade in McIntosh’s Division. In May of 1862, he earned praise from Gen. Beauregard for a charge during the Battle of Corinth. His troops were in Louisiana in 1863 and fought in the Red River Campaign. He was severely wounded at the Battle of Mansfield, but returned three months later under Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith, who considered Lane one of the three best brigade commanders in the Trans-Mississippi Department and one of the finest cavalry officers. Following the war, Lane returned to Marshall, Texas, becoming a merchant. He wrote his memoirs, “The Adventures and Recollections of Walter P. Lane” which was published in 1887. Lane became a symbol of Texas history, a local celebrity and an idol of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas and United Daughters of the Confederacy. Lane died Jan. 28, 1892, in Marshall, Texas.