Virginia native Richard Coke led the Texas secession movement, joined the army, and rose to captain of the 15th Texas Infantry company, serving in campaigns in Louisiana, Arkansas, and chiefly Tennessee. He was elected to the State Supreme Court in 1866 but was removed by Reconstruction military authorities. In 1873 he defeated Governor E.J. Davis; a bloodless controversy followed, and Davis retired under protest, marking the political end of Reconstruction in Texas. Coke served as a U.S. Senator from 1877 to 1895. The subject also stands as a memorial to Texans who served the Confederacy.