Civil War Re-enactment at Liendo Plantation Hempstead, Texas

One of the best Civil War re-enactments in Texas occurs at the Liendo Plantation in Hempstead.  The plantation, built in 1853, was originally a Spanish land grant of 67,000 acres and one of Texas’ earliest cotton plantations.  During the Civil War the plantation hosted a Confederate recruiting station and was used as a Confederate prisoner-of-war camp in the final days of the war.   The plantation’s most famous military resident was General George A. Custer, who occupied the grounds for three months during Reconstruction (September to December 1865).  

Each year on the weekend before Thanksgiving the plantation steps back in time and hosts hundreds of re-enactor soldiers and their families.  The well choreographed battle includes calvary, artillery, foot soldiers, civilians and a plentitude of pyrotechnics.   Keeping with tradition and fairness to both sides, the Union Army wins the battle on Saturday, and the Confederate Army on Sunday, the Lord’s day.