Booknotes: Civil War Chaos in Texas

New Arrival:

• Civil War Chaos in Texas: The Tumultuous Tenure of Governor Pendleton Murrah by Lori Duran (Arcadia Pub and The Hist Press, 2026).

After Unionist Texas governor Sam Houston was removed from office in 1861, he was followed by Confederate governors Edward Clark, Francis Lubbock, and Pendleton Murrah. Murrah's involvement in the politics and strife of the period is the main subject of Lori Duran's Civil War Chaos in Texas: The Tumultuous Tenure of Governor Pendleton Murrah.

From the description: "Orphaned by his mother as an infant, Murrah was raised by a charitable organization, which saw to his education. Despite having tuberculosis, he moved to Texas and became a lawyer and politician. He was elected governor in November 1863 and served until the end of the Civil War."

Murrah entered office at a time of peak tension between the Trans-Mississippi Department's state officials and the Confederate government in far-off Richmond (the former accusing the latter of gross neglect on a number of important issues). Murrah frequently clashed with Confederate military authority in his state over conscription, troop dispositions, and the vital cross-border cotton trade. Nevertheless, Murrah maintained his Confederate allegiance to the end, fleeing to Mexico as Union occupation loomed and dying there soon after.

Duran's study begins with Murrah's arrival in Texas and his rise to social and political prominence there. The bulk of the narrative is devoted to Murrah's wartime activities before and during his war governorship. The final two chapters discuss Confederate surrender, the arrival of federal occupation troops, Murrah's exile in Mexico, and his death in August 1865.