Confederate Flag Letterbox
Six Flags Over Texas Series
| Placed By: |
Silver Eagle |
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| Date: |
01/30/03 |
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| Nearest Town: |
Mexia, Tx. |
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| County: |
Limestone |
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| Terrain Difficulty: |
Easy (flat, 400 yards RT) |
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| Status: |
reported missing (08/17/06) |
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Texas in the Confederacy: 1861-1865
Sixteen years after Texas joined the union, the American Civil War erupted. Governor Sam Houston, urging Texans to stay aloof or reestablish a neutral republic, was driven from office. Texas cast its lot with the doomed southerners, reaping devastation and economic collapse as did all Confederate states. Texas did, however, win the final battle of the Civil War when Rip Ford defeated Union troops in the battle of Palmito Ranch near Brownsville on May 13, 1865, not knowing the South had capitulated a month earlier. The Confederate flag flown in Texas was the South's first national emblem, "The Stars and Bars" of the Confederate States of America, although the later X-crossed Confederate Battle Flag is better known today.
In 1889, twenty-four years after the end of the Civil War, veterans of the confederacy in Limestone and Freestone counties assembled as an encampment and formed the Joe Johnston Camp No. 94 - United Confederate Veterans. The 1889 meeting was the first of a series of annual reunions that continued for many years until the site eventually became the Confederate Reunion Grounds State Historic Site. Attractions include historic buildings and a Civil War cannon. You can also canoe 3 miles on the Navasota river to Fort Parker State Park.
Directions:
Mexia is located about 170 miles north of Houston. The park entrance is 6 miles south of Mexia on State Highway 14, then 2.5 miles west on FM 2705.
Clues:
Enter the park and locate the Val Verde Cannon in the middle of the main entry parkway. Park on the left at the playground and walk over to the cannon to read about its history. Determine which side (North or South) originally owned the cannon and walk this direction about 50 yards toward the Miss Mamie Kennedy Confederate Flirtation Walk trailhead. Walk this trail about 100 yards, passing "The Colonels's Spring", to a suspension bridge that crosses a creek to an island. Walk across to the west and continue on the path for about 50 paces to another suspension bridge. Do not cross; instead, walk around the far (west) stone block and look under the metal floor of the bridge next to the block. Under some dead branches and leaves lies the box. Please re-cover as found. You can cross the second bridge and walk up the road to return to your car. NOTE: It was reported that the bridge is closed, but box should still be there.
NOTE: Always take adequate precautions (such as prodding with a stick and/or wearing gloves) before reaching into dark crevasses and holes in the wild. Before you set out read the waiver of responsibility and disclaimer.
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Last updated on 02/23/2009