San Antonio
Bexar County, Texas
29 26.761' N 98 29.978' W
Directions: Start at the intersection of Myrtle Street and San Pedro Avenue. Go 150 yards north on San Pedro Avenue. The marker is on the left (west) of the street.

Text: Created by Texas Secession Convention, Jan. 1861. A committee of 15 men to prevent public disorder and in face of open hostility from Governor Sam Houston enforce seccesion convention mandates. On Feb 18, 1861, in what might well have been first battle of Civil War, minute men under committee orders surrounded the federal headquarters for the state, in San Antonio, and effected surrender of the alien force. Over $3,000,000. worth of ammunition, guns, army vehicles, military goods, and money were seized. Prompt action here postponed hostilities. The captured foe was sent north without bloodshed on Texas soil. This move was followed by occupation of a chain of frontier forts won in the San Antonio action and useful in defense of Confederate Texas. The committee set up 3 military districts. Placing troops on frontiers, coast and Mexican borders, Texas was the only Confederate state with the problem of defense on the border of a neutral country. Numbers of Texas counties also used for at least 2 years committees on public safety for protection against Indians and to obtain supplies. The secession convention and committee on public safety did much to prepare Texas for war.