Introduction
Ralph A. Wooster a semi-retired professor of history at Lamar University, Beaumont also an award winning teacher and scholar talks about the life and living in Confederate Texas mostly on topics involving shortage of basic foods, the sudden increase of refugees moving in from neighboring regions. He also talks about the cotton trade and the problems that faced it during the wartime. He talks about Conscription, the associations that existed among State Officials and Confederate Authorities and Texas Unionism. Wooster also takes a deep look into the affairs of women and slaves during this time in Confederate Texas.
With the cotton available, Texans were able to trade through the Mexican border to obtain military supplies, medicines, ironware, liquors and coffee in exchange for the cotton that attracted many buyers from all over the world. The cotton trade faced some problems with the differences involving Edmund Smith the Confederate commander and the governor Pendleton Murray after Smith put up a cotton bureau to purchase and resell cotton from Texans with an aim of using the profits to purchase military supplies. The Texan planters protested this move and the governor through the Texas legislature came up with a different cotton plan. These problems continued until Murray appealed to Texas planters to provide their cotton to Smith’s bureau for sale.
The role of women in the Texan community did not go unnoticed with several women joining professions such as teaching that was a reserve for men previously. Some joined volunteer work in hospitals and sick wards others formed aid societies making sheets, bandages and pillow cases. The list of professions taken by women was endless with some women assisting servicemen and their families obtain food while others joined the army disguised as men. All these were happening due to the effects of war that had affected the whole country.
Conclusion
During this war Texans experienced several difficulties that were as a result of the war. Many people were unable to properly care for their families with the shortages in food supplies and other basic necessities. This led to the Texans get find other ways of making ends meet and so they substituted for the items they could not obtain while they maximized their production of cotton to be able to get enough exchange for the goods they needed. Women also were not left behind as they joined several professions in an attempt to gain employment and also give back to the society.
Works Cited
Wooster, Ralph A. Civil War Texas: A History and a Guide. Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1999. Print.
