Millican’s Civil War Legacy
by Robin Montgomery
At the time of the Civil War, Millican, Brazos County, was the terminus of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad and reportedly the largest city north of Houston and Galveston. During the war, it was the site of a training camp for some 5000 Confederate Troops. The year the war ended, Federal Troops arrived. They were not able to contain the problems which followed, for, like most of the area of old Washington Municipality,
reconstruction times were tense.
Agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau, with the assistance of the Federal Troops, sought to mediate various disputes between the whites and African-Americans. All was to no avail as race riots erupted in 1868
and the Ku Klux Klan entered the fray. In reaction, groups of African-Americans fired at the Klan members, driving them off. Then under the leadership of George Brooks, an African-American clergyman, they organized a militia company.
Brooks had been active in registering African-American voters and consequently suffered much hatred from the white sector. Adding fuel to the maelstrom, rumors spread that whites had lynched an African-American leader named Miles Brown. Though proven false, tensions escalated, leading to several further confrontations between the races leaving six African-Americans dead including George Brooks.
At the time of the Civil War, Millican, Brazos County, was the terminus of the Houston and Texas Central Railroad and reportedly the largest city north of Houston and Galveston. During the war, it was the site of a training camp for some 5000 Confederate Troops. The year the war ended, Federal Troops arrived. They were not able to contain the problems which followed, for, like most of the area of old Washington Municipality,
reconstruction times were tense.
Agents of the Freedmen’s Bureau, with the assistance of the Federal Troops, sought to mediate various disputes between the whites and African-Americans. All was to no avail as race riots erupted in 1868
and the Ku Klux Klan entered the fray. In reaction, groups of African-Americans fired at the Klan members, driving them off. Then under the leadership of George Brooks, an African-American clergyman, they organized a militia company.
Brooks had been active in registering African-American voters and consequently suffered much hatred from the white sector. Adding fuel to the maelstrom, rumors spread that whites had lynched an African-American leader named Miles Brown. Though proven false, tensions escalated, leading to several further confrontations between the races leaving six African-Americans dead including George Brooks.