Colonel David Culberson

A native Georgian, David Culberson came to Texas in 1856. Although opposed to secession, he helped raise the 18th Texas Infantry as lieutenant colonel in the C.S.A. and became its commanding colonel in 1862. After service in the Vicksburg area, broken health forced his resignation from command in the winter of 1862-63. As Adjutant and Inspector General of Texas in 1863-64, he was responsible for protecting the frontier against Indian attacks and Union invasion. During the Civil War, turmoil among Indians in Kansas and the Indian Territory brought unfortunate results for Texans on the frontier. Most Cherokees, Choctaws, Creeks, and Seminoles aided the South, while others adhered to the North. Few Comanches made a treaty with the South, but most Comanches and their Kiowa allies remained aloof from either side and plundered the frontier at will, while Apaches and Kickapoos did the same from Mexico. Texas and Confederate troops, despite poor arms and mounts, held defense lines until the war's end.

Van Horn, Texas · United States