During the Civil War, Texas cavalry, west of the Mississippi, was known and feared for their daring and fighting prowess, but little could be said for their discipline. Salutes were seldom used, if at all, and ranking officers were often addressed by their first name. Under the command of a hypocritical Methodist preacher, one brigade of unruly Texans was not only undisciplined, but at times-out of control, a rouge unit beyond the purview of state and local authorities.
The Reverend George Washington Carter was born in January, 1826, in Fauquier County, Virginia. At the age of 21, he became a Methodist minister, serving congregations in Richmond, Petersburg and Fredericksburg. In 1860, the Texas Methodist Conference invited him to become president of Soule University at Chappell Hill, Texas, an all-male Methodist College of around 150 students. Because of the Civil War, the school closed its doors after most of the student body enlisted in the Confederate Army. Carter, an ardent secessionist, resigned his position and then returned to his native Virginia. In Texas, local politicians and businessmen, wanting to help the Confederate cause, raised companies under the authorization of the Governor of Texas. Carter, on the other hand, obtained his authorization from the Confederate Secretary of War. Commissioned a colonel, he sought enlistment terms of three years for his volunteers instead of the preferred one year most Texans signed up for. The Confederate Conscription Act of April 1862 solved his recruiting problem. In the South, getting drafted was considered dishonorable, forcing most Texans to volunteer.
By volunteering, recruits could elect their officers, receive cash bonuses, and choose their preferred branch of service. For most Texans, the choice was clear - cavalry. As a result, Carter was able to raise three regiments of cavalry. At first, his recruits were to be mounted as lancers, forsaking the more traditional sword and saber. The lances, however, were not readily available; Colt revolvers, shotguns, and Bowie knives would have to suffice. Each regiment was commanded by a Methodist minister with little to no military experience. In addition to Carter’s own 21st Cavalry Regiment, Franklin C. Wilkes commanded the 24th Texas Cavalry Regiment and Clayton C. Gillespie commanded the 25th Texas Cavalry Regiment. Collectively, they were known as Carter’s Lancers.
Problems began when Carter’s recruiting conflicted with Texas Governor Francis Lubbock’s efforts to comply with the Confederate government's demand for badly needed infantry regiments. Texans, for the most part, had a deep disdain for marching on foot, preferring the comfort of a saddle and his own faithful steed. Lubbock complained, “If it be so that such authority is vested in Colonel Carter or others I can only repeat what I have already said, that it will defeat every effort I can make to raise infantry.”
Carter ignored the governor’s protests. Setting up two camps of instruction, in Austin County, for his 2,000 man brigade, he and his officers enjoyed an easy camp life of stewed beef, boiled him, roast chicken, and mashed potatoes washed down with rye whisky. A train of black servants, owned by the officers, prepared their meals and serviced their tents. Questions arose as to how they obtained their food, either paying for it directly with phony bank notes or seizing it outright from local farmers. Complaints began to mount and newspapers began to publish accounts of the Lancer’s misdeeds. Among the most serious, Carter’s fondness for drink and his ensuing inebriation for days at a time. To make matters worse, he was frequently absent from camp, leaving his officers to obtain food for their men and forage for their horses. The Texas Republican newspaper suggested a church inquiry into Carter’s behavior.
Under such lax command, the Lancers began to take on the character of a bad college fraternity. When Carter failed to produce back pay and those promised enlistment bounties, things got ugly. Corncribs and smokehouses at nearby farms were ravaged and farmers insulted. Before arriving at Shreveport, on their way to Arkansas, their reputation preceded them. Brigadier General Henry E. McCulloch, Commander of the Eastern District of Texas, would not allow Carter’s ruffians to camp near the district town of Tyler and closed all the liquor stores. In Shreveport, the 24th and 25th regiments were charged with pillaging. The 25th’s commander, Clayton Gillespie, was charged with being drunk and disorderly, even getting into a fight with one of his own men in a grog shop. Louisiana Governor Thomas O. Moore complained to Confederate Secretary of War George W. Randolph that Carter’s men had “seized private property, entered houses of private citizens, brutally practiced extortion and outrage, and with bullying and threatening language and manner spread terror among the people.” After ordering the state militia to Alexandria, Moore warned Secretary Randolph that if the Lancer’s officers were not dismissed, his “marksmen may save you the trouble if they come again. There is a point to which patient endurance can exceed no further.”
The party ended in Arkansas. General Theophilus H. Holmes ordered the 24th and 25th Texas cavalry regiments to dismount and turn their horses over to the quartermaster. Instead of becoming lancers, they became easier to control infantry. Carter’s own 21st regiment avoided the dismounting by attaching itself (sans lances) to Parson’s Texas Cavalry Brigade.
Because Parson’s command was inducted into the Confederate Army at a later date than Carter’s 21s regiment, Carter claimed he was Parson’s superior. Parson’s men were more loyal to the man than to the rank; they were not about to take orders from Carter. As a result, both colonels, Carter and Parson, went their independent ways, only working together when necessary. After the war, Carter served in the Louisiana legislature and became a lecturer. His personal life took a rocky path with his marriage and divorce of three women. His third marriage, at the age of sixty-nine, was to a twenty-one year old girl. The Virginia Methodist Conference tried him for immorality. He died at the Maryland Line Confederate Soldier’s Home in Pikesville, Maryland on May 11, 1901.
