CAPTAIN BATTLE FORT

Captain Battle Fort, Confederate States of America

Captain Battle Fort was born in Columbus, Mississippi, Oct. 8, 1838. He died March 18, 1910, at Fairy, Texas. He was a practicing attorney, of Mississippi before migrating to Texas, possibly in the early seventies. He was mayor of Madison, Miss. for several years. When he arrived in Hamilton County he patented several sections of land. He felt that the early settlers needed land for homes, so he sold most of his land in small tracts to the settlers.

Before coming to Texas, Captain Fort met, courted, and married a beautiful, brilliant young lady, Miss Sallie Collier, a daughter of Governor Collier of Miss. To this union was born four sons, Collier, Hugh, Walter, and Battle Fort, Jr.; also Dainty little Miss Fairy, for whom the community is named.

I believe all are buried in the Fairy cemetery, with the exception of two sons, Walter and Battle, Jr. I believe the latter are buried in New Mexico.

Capt. Fort served in the Confederate Army throughout the Civil War. He was severely wounded in battle and almost left for dead. In relating the incident in his own words: "The Yankee doctor and a nurse were ministering to the wounded on the field when they found him. The doctor remarked:  'No use fooling with that man. He’s dead already.'  I could not speak above a whisper, but calling upon all my strength, I whispered as loudly as I could: 'It’s a lie! lie!’"

"The doctor came back and ministered to me, and I recuperated."

The little red-headed Yankee doctor and the Johnny-Reb became fast friends.

In those early days news was very slow getting around to the settlers and when anything of any importance happened, like some horse or cattle thief being hanged, the captain would mount his big black stallion, Jim Hogg, and ride about telling the news from house to house. When he came to our house to tell my father the news, we children all gathered around him to hear, too. The captain had a stammering in his speech, and we loved to hear him talk.

Several years ago Captain Fort gave the Fairy Masonic Lodge a sword which he had captured from a Federal officer. The sword has the officer’s name in bronze on the handle, and it is highly prized by the lodge.

The captain was a brilliant speaker and he always addressed the old Confederate Soldiers’ reunion which took place each year at the Hico City Park each summer. There were quite a number of the old soldiers living in the area of Hico at that time. Early in the morning of the first day of the celebration those veterans would gather and march in a body from the city to the park They looked forward to it every year. Captain Fort stood in the pavilion and addressed his fellow ex-Confederates and all others who came to hear him.

He always had something good to say about the boys in gray, and sometimes not so complimentary about the boys in blue. When this happened the band would strike up ‘Dixie" and the boys in gray would let out the rebel yell that could be heard throughout the park.

Brave gray clad soldiers. They have all gone to their reward. Mrs. W. E. Goyne’s grandfather was one of those mentioned above. He was not a local man but came every summer to celebrate with them.

When we buried the captain we placed his gray uniform in the casket. It was little Fairy’s request that we do so. The suit was well preserved and the bullet holes showed that he was shot through the shoulder.

Captain’s first residence was a log cabin erected back of the home of Mrs. H. E. Parks. He and his little daughter taught a private school in this home. Jessie Goyne, the Cob children, the Ogle children, and others attended.

In later years the Captain and Mrs. Fort did not get along so good and decided to call it quits. The Fort house had a large basement made of native stone and plaster. She lived in the upstairs and he lived in the basement, and when she wanted his advise about business matters (he being a lawyer) she would attach a note to a string and pass it down through a scuttle hole, he would answer and she would draw it back up.

After some years the captain took up the occupation of peddling drygoods on the road in his two-horse wagon. Sometimes he would be gone several weeks. He lived in a little building that Dr. Young furnished him free of charge.

On one of his trips his little cabin burned, together with all its contents. His neighbors including Tom Wilson, Bob Parks, G. W. Goyne, and others made up money and built him a nice house on the corner of Mrs. Fort’s land. He readily agreed to the plan. They also furnished the house with bed and bed clothing, together with stove, and cooking utensils.

In a few days the captain returned home and when his neighbors presented him with the key to his new home, he drew out his bandana handkerchief from his pocket and wiping the tears from his eyes remarked that he had decided to leave Fairy for good, but with such a demonstration of friendship, he would spend his remaining days at his beloved Fairy.

I shall jot down a few things about some of the early settlers of Fairy that I knew best and with whose children or some of them that I attended school with.

Shared by Thomas D. Leeth