Cover of Five Years in Texas Or, What you did not hear during the war from January 1861 to January 1866. A narrative of his travels, experiences, and observation — Reading Companion

Five Years in Texas Or, What you did not hear during the war from January 1861 to January 1866. A narrative of his travels, experiences, and observation — Reading Companion

(0 User reviews) 708

In Category - Social History

Authors: North, Thomas Digital Source: Project Gutenberg Gutenberg Release Year: 2015 First Publication Year: Not confirmed

Key Word: United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives; Texas -- Social life and customs; Texas -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 Target Reader: Readers of public-domain and historical texts

Book Edition: Project Gutenberg digital edition Book Language: en

Edition facts

Words 50,598

Reading time 220 min

Text sections 26

Five Years in Texas Or, What you did not hear during the war from January 1861 to January 1866. A narrative of his travels, experiences, and observation — Reading Companion can be approached with a clearer sense of reading commitment from its source measurements: 50,598 words, 3 hr 40 min estimated reading time, and 26 detected text sections.

The text analysis averages about 24.5 words per sentence, while the detected sections provide another way to judge how the source is divided.

Project Gutenberg metadata also associates the work with “United States -- History -- Civil War, 1861-1865 -- Personal narratives,” connecting these edition facts with the source record’s subject description.

Source: Project Gutenberg record #49444

Thomas North's memoir of five years in Texas during the Civil War, blending personal travelogue with observations on society, politics, and military rule, including a notable episode of a lady summoned by a general and the officer's chivalrous handling.

Editorial Edition Score 4.8/5

★★★★★ ★★★★★

Calculated from edition completeness, EPUB availability, text structure and catalogue metadata. Not a user rating.

How this score is calculated

Description quality20 pts
Title & short description10 pts
Source metadata20 pts
Text length15 pts
Chapters / structure15 pts
EPUB file integrity20 pts

Total of 100 points, scaled to a 2.5-5.0 range. Editions with an empty description or a missing EPUB file are not scored.

Edition quality

File: pg49444

Read the Text

CHAPTER I. Hon. Martin P. Sweet--Interview with and Eulogium 9-29

CHAPTER II. Trip to Galveston--Memphis Gentleman 30-40

CHAPTER III. Social Types--Henry Clay--General Polk 41-44

CHAPTER IV. Voyage Down the Mississippi--Poem on "Varieties' Theater." 45-50

CHAPTER V. New Orleans--Description of--Ocean View of Galveston--The Island, How Formed--Commercial Importance of, etc. 51-64

CHAPTER VI. Effect of Climate on Tastes, Appetites and Temper--The Enraged Clergyman--"Renegade Americans"--Morals and Religion--Reign of Terror--The Robbery 65-70

CHAPTER VII. Texas Oath of Office--"Code of Honor"--Dueling Spirit--Judge Lynch and Horse Thieves--The Doctor of Divinity--Conscript Law--"Like People, Like Priest" 71-75

CHAPTER VIII. The Doctor's Prize Ring Illustration--The Wealthy Planteress--The Doctor's Dueling Card--Colloquy with the Planteress--The Doctor and the Judge--He Challenges the Latter--Shooting on Sight--Masonic Reconciliation 76-85

CHAPTER IX. Babel of Tongues--Sam Houston--He Comes to Galveston to make a Speech--A Committee Wait on Him--He Makes a Speech--His Appearance On the Balcony of Tremont Hotel 86-91

CHAPTER X. Houston's Speech--Col. Moore's Regiment--General Houston's Review of it--Williamson S. Oldham and Judge Campbell 92-98

CHAPTER XI. Arguments on Secession in Outline 99-101

CHAPTER XII. Texas Never Invaded--Feeling of the People--Galveston Retaken--General Sherman and Lt. Sherman--Solemn Scene Between Them--General Magruder and General Hebert 102-113

CHAPTER XIII. The Federal Fleet--"Nicaragua Smith." 114-117

CHAPTER XIV. The Captured Letter--Mrs. E.'s exile--Her Companions--Lewis and Emma--Lieutenant H. 118-154

CHAPTER XV. Lawlessness and Crime--Doctor O. and the Overseer--Doctor F. Assassinated--Capt. Carr and Mr. Smythe 155-161

CHAPTER XVI. The Two Days' Meeting--Power of Prejudice--The Feast at Our House--Brigadier General M. and Staff 162-166

CHAPTER XVII. The Conscript Law--How the Writer Beat It, and How at last It Beat Him--Trip to Mexico--Matamoras--General Mejia--The Situation--Rev. Dr. L. and the Writer--Petitioning Maximilian--Preaching in Varieties' Theater 167-172

CHAPTER XVIII. More about Texas--Plot against the Writer's Life--Pretext for the Attack--Prompt Action of Deputy Sheriff Hardin--Fear of Secret Assassination--Advised to Leave the Place--Went to San Antonio--Thence to Mexico--Lost in the Wilds of Western Texas--How We Got Out--The Two Mexican Rancheros--Gen. F. J. H.--Extradition of Don Manuel G. Rejon--Cortinas--The Writer's Family Flooded Out in San Antonio--They Come to Him in Matamoras 173-182

CHAPTER XIX. Lee's Surrender--Effect on Texas Soldiers--Trip to New Orleans--Family Ship North--Writer's Return to Texas--He Visits Brenham, Austin, San Antonio and New Braunfels--Rev. Josiah Whipple--The Old Woman in Austin What Wouldn't Hear the Blue Coat Preach 183-190

CHAPTER XX. Governor Hamilton--The Thirty Neros--The Old German and His Wife--Fight with Indians--A Native Texan's Opinion of Germans 191-195

CHAPTER XXI. Texas--Topography, Climate and Products of 196-210

OLD LETTERS.--POEM. Canto I. 213-222 Canto II. 223-225 Canto III. 226-231

HON. MARTIN P. SWEET--INTERVIEW WITH, AND EULOGIUM.

In the month of November, 1860, shortly after the election of Abraham Lincoln to the Presidency of the United States, Hon. Martin P. Sweet came into the Circuit Clerk's Office of Stephenson County, Illinois, where the writer was acting as deputy to the regular Clerk--Mr. L. W. Guiteau--and addressing himself to us, said:

"Mr. N., are you busy?"

"Not very," we replied.

"If you can spare the time I would be glad of an interview with you at my office."

Laying aside the pen we went with him, and after being seated together in his private room adjoining the main office, he remarked:

"Mr. N., I understand you are thinking of going to Texas."

"I am not only _thinking_ of it, Mr. S., but the purpose is already fixed to go."

"I regret to hear it," he said.

For a few moments he was silent, his eye scanning the figures of the beautiful carpet upon the floor; then calmly raising his face and fixing his full eyes, that looked nigh unto bursting, upon us--such was their intense earnestness, indicating the struggle of soul within, the play of emotions, honest and transparent; and holding the gaze upon us, while as yet no word from his eloquent lips had broken or changed the potent spell thereof--suddenly those eyes suffused with tears incontinent, the requisite power of speech had come, and he replied fervently:

"You ask why I regret to hear it; I will tell you why. We are friends, and have been friends for many a long year, and that, too, on terms of more than ordinary meaning, and sacred beyond the degrees of worldly friendship. The tie that hath bound us, you know, has been that of a deep and ardent Christian faith, which, though seeming to part asunder at times under the severe strain of mutual fault and criticism, producing the while outward non-affiliation, yet the substratum of unity is there, and its brotherly elasticity is too great to be snapped in twain. And however far apart the forces of the world may swing us, on the pendulum of time, still the return movement is certain and sure."

Thus spake a friend. And then, laying his hand upon his heart, he proceeded to say:

Continue Reading →

Thomas North opens his narrative with a eulogy to Hon. Martin P. Sweet, who tried to dissuade him from going to Texas—a preface that establishes a personal, almost mystical connection between the author and his subject. The book then shifts into a travel account, but the excerpt reveals a more complex work: part memoir, part social commentary, and part romanticized military encounter. North's voice is self-deprecating yet ambitious, admitting he was "sore pressed for time" but hoping to "please and interest." The text is not a straightforward war narrative but a collection of experiences, including a detailed scene where a lady is summoned by a general, handled with surprising gallantry by the officer. This blend of personal anecdote and historical moment defines the book's unique character.

A Self-Conscious Author and His Mystical Prelude

North begins with an unusual preface, calling the act of making a book "not a little monstrous" for a modest man. He aligns himself with the "runners" who increase knowledge, yet his story is not of exotic travels but of "stirring events, in stirring times, in the most stirring of all stirring climes—America." The eulogy to Martin P. Sweet is presented as a "prelude," with North claiming a "species of mystical connection" between Sweet and his own experiences. This framing suggests that the book is as much about personal relationships and internal motivations as about external events. The author's awareness of his audience and his own limitations—promising to "do better next time"—adds a layer of self-consciousness that colors the entire narrative.

The Lady, the Officer, and the Unseen Handcuffs

The most vivid excerpt details a summons served to a lady, Mrs. E., by a military officer. The scene is rich with tension: the officer's polite demeanor contrasts with the handcuffs and bayonets he has brought, which he orders kept hidden. He treats her with "unusual refinement," even hinting at romantic interest—"a lovely carnation blush" and a "soft sensation in his left side." Mrs. E. is composed, telling her family she feels safe and that the officer will "regard the feelings of a lady." The officer's instructions to his soldiers to avoid recognition on the train create a subplot of secrecy and chivalry. This episode, while incomplete, illustrates how North weaves personal drama into the fabric of wartime authority, showing the human interactions behind military orders.

Structure and Voice: A Patchwork of Genres

The table of contents reveals a book that jumps from a eulogy to a trip to Galveston, social types, a voyage down the Mississippi, a poem, and descriptions of New Orleans and Galveston. Later chapters include topics like "Effect of Climate on Tastes, Appetites and Temper" and "Reign of Terror." This structure suggests a hybrid work—part travelogue, part social history, part personal memoir. North's voice is conversational and occasionally florid, as when he describes the officer's "indictment of the little-winged god." The excerpts show a writer who is willing to shift tone abruptly, from self-deprecation to romantic description to matter-of-fact reporting. Readers should expect a narrative that prioritizes anecdote and observation over chronological or thematic consistency.

North's memoir offers a ground-level view of Texas during the Civil War, filtered through a narrator who is both participant and observer. The incomplete excerpts leave many questions—what became of Mrs. E., how the author's own journey unfolded—but they also invite readers to engage with the text as a layered document. Pay attention to the author's asides and the way he frames his own storytelling; these reveal as much about the period as the events he describes.

That Texas rain trapped me with Thomas North’s restrained account of war’s quiet degradations—a general’s odd courtesy to a summoned lady. It made me think of other empires fraying politely. Later, drying off, I picked up One Year at the Russian Court: 1904-1905 — Context and Discussion, and felt that same strange hush before collapse, the etiquette surviving the politics.