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I.Introduction

Few cities in Texas are as enamored with their past as Galveston.  Business success is often measured not just in terms of economic viability but also corporate longevity.  Historic residences are usually called by the name of their original—not current—owner, and always prefaced by its date of construction.  Familial friendships were often cemented generations ago, sometimes as the result of having faced disaster together.  Perhaps most indicative of that city’s passion for its past are the number of organizations whose purpose is to perpetuate and honor various aspects of the Island’s heritage, including two organized in 1871, the Galveston Historical Foundation and Knights of Momus.  None, however, is as historic—or as storied—as the Galveston Artillery Club.
Organized as a volunteer militia in the days of the Republic of Texas as the Galveston Artillery Company, the organization slowly but inexorably evolved into a social club whose mission today is to honor, maintain and promote the “great heritage and traditions of Texas and its distinguished citizens.”  Often, the “heritage and traditions” it honors are its own, traditions predicated upon the important military, civic, and social roles the club has played in its 164 years of existence.  Today it declares itself the oldest private club west of the Mississippi River, a boast admittedly difficult to prove and certainly beyond the scope of this application.  However, the impact the organization has had on Galveston since its founding is easily told, although perhaps not always easily documented.  Extant copies of newspapers published contemporaneously during its first decades of existence no longer exist.  Galveston has also been beset with devastating fires and several major hurricanes, including the horrific storm of 1900, and many historical documents and artifacts kept in closets and trunks were lost.  Nevertheless, sufficient documentation exists from the 1870’s and thereafter to adequately convey the historic character of the organization and the important role it has played in Galveston society since 1840.  The Galveston Artillery Club therefore respectfully requests recognition with an Official Texas Historical Marker.
II.  Formation
A. Galveston in 1840

By 1840, just a year after its incorporation, Galveston was a growing city of 1200 hardy souls who had just survived a serious yellow fever epidemic.  There were over 300 houses, two hotels, 15 retail stores, six licensed taverns, two principal shipping lines, various public buildings, and representatives of practically all trades and professions necessary to sustain a thriving community.  The first direct cotton shipments had been made to England the previous year, the harbor was full of shipping from northern and eastern ports, and immigrants were pouring into the city for interior destinations.  The city seemed infused with energy and entrepreneurial spirit.
Clouding this sense of municipal pride and purpose, however, was continuing friction with Mexico and constant threats of invasion and blockade.  Because of its isolation and vulnerability as an island, Galveston was constantly excited to rumor and innuendo of war and invasion.  Residents made active preparations for the defense of their homes and the municipal improvements necessary for the collective defense of their city. 
It was this environment that necessitated the formation of the various volunteer military organizations that eventually populated Galveston and the remainder of Texas.  The Republic had created a national militia but of limited enrollment because of its restricted financial resources; therefore, local defense depended heavily upon volunteer groups of men willing to serve at their own expense.  The volunteers were only paid during period of alarm, when invasion expected, or when mustered and drilled actively.  Pay during these “active” periods, however, was paltry.  Captains, for example, earned only $75 per month and lieutenants $50 per month.
After the war for Texas independence, many veterans of the army of the Republic of Texas as well as those who joined after independence was gained from Mexico chose to reside in Galveston.  This created a pool of well-trained and disciplined soldiers ready to respond to a military emergency and around whom citizens could rally in the event of danger or attack.  One of the first such organizations to be formed was the Galveston Guards, headed by Capt. Ben L. Coles and whose members were some of the most influential citizens of Galveston.  Another group, organized in September 1839, was the Border Guards, formed in response to a call for volunteers to fight Indians on the frontier.  However, because the cost of living on the Island was high, the relatively insignificant pay for militia volunteers was not attractive to those who resided in Galveston.

B.  Galveston Artillery Company Organized

On September 13, 1840, the Galveston Artillery Company, another all volunteer military group, was organized.  The company consisted primarily of prominent Galveston businessmen and their clerks who recognized the insufficient number of regular trained gunmen manning the Island’s fort on the extreme east end of the Island and the need to assist them in the handling of their cannon.  These men comprised what was essentially the wealthiest volunteer militia in Texas.  John Howe was chosen its first captain.  Additional officers were 1st Lt. A. C. Crawford, a wholesale and retail merchant, and Orderly Sgt. Charles G. Bryan.  On January 30, 1841, the Republic of Texas granted a charter to the Galveston Artillery Company, signed by President David G. Burnet. 
The organization’s charter provided that an all-volunteer organization of between thirty-two to one hundred men could be established in Galveston and designated as the “Galveston Artillery Company.”  The group would be led by elected officers consisting of a captain and one 1st and 2nd lieutenant.  Once elected, the captain could appoint four sergeants, four corporals, six gunners, six bombardiers, one drummer and one fifer.  The express duty of the organization was to “protect the Harbour and City of Galveston, and to be always subject to the order of the Mayor of said City, to suppress riot and enforce the administration of the laws.”  Its members were exempt from any draft by the Republic of Texas necessitating their being called to service off the Island except in case of emergency, and they also were exempt from all military duty except as provided in the charter under Section 2. 
By October 1842, a constitution was approved by the company to which every member pledged to do “every duty required of (them) according to the Charter of the Company and the…Constitution.”  In addition to the offices created under its charter, the constitution also created the offices of secretary, treasurer, standard bearer, four drivers, four musicians and orderly sergeant.  Membership was open to any citizen of Galveston of “proper age” and approved by a standing committee consisting of the captain, lieutenants, orderly sergeant, secretary, treasurer, and standard bearer.  Each member had to furnish his own uniform and weapon and pay an initiation fee of 50 cents.  The duty of the captain was to provide for the parading and drilling of the company, either at the discretion of the standing committee or at the will of the mayor of Galveston or the colonel of the Regiment of the Army of the Republic of Texas.  The charter also provided for the payment of monthly dues of 25 cents and outlined a series of fines for non-performance, malfeasance and neglect.  Meetings were scheduled quarterly, with an annual meeting held on the first Monday in January.
Pursuant to its charter and new constitution, the Galveston Artillery Company elected its first officers.  Howe was elected again as Captain and Crawford as 1st Lt.  L. E. Nordman was elected 2nd Lt., William Denny Secretary, C. Frankland Treasurer, and E. O. Lynch its Standard Bearer.  Capt. Howe then chose four sergeants and four corporals.  As an indication of its influence and prominence on the Island, members of the company included Col. Michel B. Menard, Col. James Love, Col. Henry Millard, Samuel May Williams, Judge A. B. Shelby, Gail Borden, John P. Davie, and George Ball.

III.  Years of Growth:  1840-1860

A.Early Activities

Unfortunately, little documentation is extant regarding the activities of the company prior to the Civil War.  It is clear that the organization continued to perform its responsibilities under its charter when called upon and played an important role in the continued development and security of Galveston.  Doubtless, the relative wealth of its members ensured its early viability as an effective organization.  While its initial armament consisted of flintlock rifles and muskets, the company soon after organization acquired percussion cap rifles, and by 1843, several of the wealthier members were ordering and using Colt revolvers, a relatively new invention and advancement in weaponry.  However, the fact that the company was comprised of prominent merchants who had large financial stakes in the success of Galveston also had the resultant effect of limiting its service in actual combat since most members were reluctant to volunteer for service abroad.  While a few members joined the Mier expedition of 1842, even fewer volunteered for the Mexican War of 1846.
The company’s first artillery guns were acquired in 1842.  After a storm in August of that year, mud embankments at the Island’s octagonal fort had given way and the Artillery Company was ordered to assist the regular soldiers in erecting new mud embankments.  Most of the members of the company owned slaves, and they were permitted to substitute slave labor for their own efforts.  For their “assistance” in constructing a new fort in the design of a four-pointed star, the company was presented with its first armament, consisting of two iron four-pound guns recovered from the mud.  The group had carriages made for the guns and kept them at their armory at 17th Street and Mechanic.
One of the few occasions during its existence the company was called for service off the Island was in response to the capture of San Antonio by Mexican forces in September of 1842.  After having easily captured the town in the spring of 1842 from a garrison of 100 men, Mexican forces soon retreated back across the Rio Grande just as volunteer forces were being mustered in Galveston and other towns in the Republic.  However, apparently emboldened by the ease with which they captured San Antonio, another force under General Adrian Woll recaptured the town on September 11, 1842, and declared it subject to Mexican law.  Again, the various volunteer military organizations in Galveston, including the Artillery Company, were mustered and dispatched to Corpus Christi and other points along the Texas coast to cut off a Mexican retreat.  However, General Woll’s forces rapidly retreated back to Mexico, and the Artillery Company returned to the Island triumphant without having fired a shot.
Perhaps one of the most infamous events involving the Artillery Company occurred in the late fall of 1843.  By the spring of 1842, the cost to maintain and sail the Texas navy had become too expensive for the cash-strapped Republic.  Operating its fleet cost the Republic $200,000 per year.  Add to that the debt that remained on the vessels from their purchase, and the financial commitment to keep the fleet afloat was more than the country could sustain.  At the request of President Sam Houston and by secret act of the Texas congress on January 16, 1843, the Texas navy was ordered to be sold.  The ships “Austin” and “Wharton” were promptly brought to Galveston from New Orleans, where they had been refitted and repaired, with a brief detour on the way to pursue a Mexican steamer.  The act ordering the sale of the fleet was extremely unpopular, and the arrival of the vessels was met with much fanfare, signaling the populace’s vehement opposition to the decree.  Nevertheless, after some delay, the sale was scheduled to commence at 10:00 a.m. on November 22, 1843, at the port of Galveston.
In order to stop the sale of the fleet, Col. George W. Hockley, then head of the Texas militia in Galveston, ordered the Artillery Company to assemble near the docks at the time of the sale.  Capt. Howe, noting that the company’s charter imposed upon the organization a duty to protect the Island and subject themselves to the orders of the mayor of the city, refused to recognize the authority of the Republic’s militia to call the company into service.  Col. Hockley immediately placed Capt. Howe under arrest for disobedience and the order repeated to 1st Lt. A. C. Crawford. Crawford, unlike Howe, was opposed to the sale of the fleet and felt it unjustified by law.  As a result, he favored forcible resistance, if necessary, to stop it.  Crawford acceded to Col. Hockley’s order and promptly executed it.
The Artillery Company, now commanded by Crawford, mustered at their armory on Strand and moved quickly to a lot on the corner of Strand and 23rd Street.  Attired in red flannel Garibaldi-styled shirts, the company positioned two brass six-pound guns filled with grapeshot and canister so that it could rake the building on the other side of the street where the auction was to take place.  However, as Lt. Crawford and other members of the company stood ready to obey any order that may have been given, word came that the ships had already been sold fifteen minutes before their arrival.  Because no one bid on the vessels, the Texas government had been forced to buy them.  Soon, the crowd dispersed and the Artillery Company returned to its armory having never fired a shot.
B.Expansion

As noted, the Galveston Artillery Company was one of several volunteer military organizations in Galveston, including the Galveston Guards, the Galveston Fusileers, and the Coast Guards.  It was not unusual for these groups to have many of the same members. Perhaps one of the more unusual of these military companies was the Fusileers.
The Galveston Fusileers were organized on January 18, 1842, at the First Baptist Church in Galveston by Capt. Alfred Swingle.  This infantry group got its name from the odd breech loading weapons the men carried called “fusees.”  Membership totaled 64 members within two months and was doubtlessly a well-organized and effective military group.  The Fusileers participated with the Artillery Company in the pursuit of General Woll’s forces in the fall of 1842.  However, after a local economic depression in 1844 caused by a storm and two yellow-fever epidemics that took the lives of members of both the Fusileers and Galveston Artillery Company, the two organizations decided to merge and avoid the expense of maintaining both groups.  The combined organizations kept the name Galveston Artillery Company, and Swingle was elected Captain.
The Artillery Company again used this method of expansion in 1857 when they absorbed the Galveston City Guards after the former had become financially strapped.  The City Guards were another volunteer military group organized in 1852 in the office of Dr. J. J. McKeen. General Hugh McLeod served as its captain.  The Artillery Company had been again losing members and was using a rented hall in the 2400 block of Postoffice as its armory.  After the City Guards merged with the Artillery Company, the combined groups retained the latter’s name and charter, and McLeod was elected its captain, replacing A. C. Crawford, who had been re-elected Captain in 1849 after Swingle and declined an offer to lead the combined organizations in 1857.  After its merger, the company now owned six guns housed at its armory consisting of the original 4-pounders, two 6-pound guns acquired from the federal government, and two brass 6-pounders (formerly 4-pounders later rebored for the Civil War) donated by the state of Texas called “Twin Sisters.”
C.Establishing Social Traditions
The Artillery Company’s activities during the first few decades of its existence were hardly limited to just fulfilling its military responsibilities.  Owing to the economic and social position of many of the group’s members, the organization also participated actively in the local social scene.  A long tradition, continuing even today, of annual balls thrown by the Artillery Company began in 1840 at Turner Hall.  One story has General Sam Houston leading the march at the company’s first ball.  The galas were often elaborate affairs attended by the social elite of Galveston and special guests from out of town, and it eventually became considered one of the “greatest social events of the year west of the Mississippi River.” 
The Artillery Company also became an important participant in the city’s celebration of various events in the years leading up to the Civil War.  The celebration of Texas’ victory at San Jacinto on April 21 of each year was inaugurated in Galveston in 1842.  At the initial commemoration of this hallowed day, a mock battle between infantry, cavalry, and artillery was staged on the Island’s east end.  Volunteers from the various military organizations, as well as veterans of the war for independence not otherwise affiliated with any group, participated.  Every year since then for decades, except during the Civil War, Galveston celebrated San Jacinto Day.  The day was often marked with parades consisting of fire brigades (who chose this day for their annual parade) and the various military organizations attired in their finest.  The Artillery Company’s uniforms were considered the most elaborate, owing primarily to the relative wealth of its members.  Within a few years of organizing, the company’s standard attire was dark blue cloth uniforms faced with white and gold, high patent leather boots, shakos with white plumes, sabers, and mussel-loading percussion cap rifles.
The company also played an integral part in the celebration of Texas’ annexation in 1845. Upon the formal announcement of Texas joining the Union, the company assembled, raised the Stars and Stripes, and fired the first salute in honor of the newly-pledged state.
Despite the important role the Artillery Company played in the community’s military, social, and civic affairs, it still struggled with membership and funds.  But for its mergers with other similarly-situated volunteer military organizations, the company doubtless would not have survived.  Much credit is also due Capt. A. C. Crawford for the organization’s continued existence.  Crawford was instrumental in maintaining the morale and discipline of the group, and when resources were short, he often funded shortfalls with his own money.  He was credited by a contemporary writer as having “preserved the name, the property and the organization at periods when, but for him and his influence, both might have perished.”  Though clearly a proud and respected organization, it was obvious that the Artillery Company was just one crisis away from disbanding.  That crisis came in 1861.

IV.  The Civil War Years

A.  Secession

When Abraham Lincoln was elected president in November 1860, secession for Texas was a fait accomplis.  While the majority of Galvestonians opposed severance from the Union, Texas eventually cast its fate with other southern states and adopted an ordinance of secession on February 1, 1861, and ratified by the citizens of Texas on March 2, 1861.  However, in anticipation of this final formal step, efforts were underway to capture U. S. troops and the forts garrisoned by them.  A state executive committee appointed General E. B. Nichols, a state commissioner, to proceed to Port Isabel and Fort Brown (Brownsville) and take charge of these federal facilities.  Gen. Nichols in turn commissioned Col. Hugh McLeod to raise a force to accomplish this task. 
In February, General Nichols left Galveston with three companies under the command of Col. McLeod, including the Galveston Artillery Company, who volunteered as an infantry company.  The Artillery Company took passage on the schooner “Shark” for Forts Brown and Brazos Santiago.  After arrival of the forces in south Texas, a demand was made for the surrender of Fort Brown, which was refused.  Additional forces were called, and soon Gen. Nichols had a force of over 1000 men.  123 of these men were members of the Galveston Artillery Company under the command of Capt. Henry Van Buren.  The company erected earthen fortifications and placed into position opposite the fort 20 four-pound guns.  Faced with a force of overwhelming numbers, the federal garrison at Fort Brown surrendered.  Fort Brazos Santiago had been captured earlier on February 21 in similar fashion.  On March 10, just as they had 19 years before, the Artillery Company returned to the Island having accomplished its goal without having fired a shot.
By the spring of 1861, war seemed imminent and federal troops began abandoning their posts and forts in the western part of the state.  These troops made their way to the port in Indianola to assemble and embark on the “Star of the West” for the North.  Word of their departure reached military officials in Galveston, and a group of volunteers from the various military organizations, including the Galveston Artillery Company, was organized to sail aboard the “General Rusk” down the Texas coast for Indianola.  On April 17, 1861, the “Star” was captured, and the ship and its crew and passengers were placed in the care of the Artillery Company for transport to and disposition in New Orleans.
B.  Service in the War
When war did break out in April of 1861, some of the local volunteer organizations served in the Confederate army as organized groups.  However, most units simply disbanded to allow members to choose state or Confederate service.  While the Artillery Company did not participate in the war as a company, most of its members were commissioned by the state and Confederate governments and assigned to various commands from Virginia to the Rio Grande.  Some chose service at home as a member of Col. J. J. Cook’s First Regiment Texas Artillery while others eventually went on to distinguish themselves in service on behalf of the South at other fronts.  Former Artillery Company captain Hugh McLeod became a colonel of the First Texas Infantry in the Army of Northern Virginia, eventually dying in late 1861.  Former captain of the Artillery Company Walter H. Stevens, an engineer once in charge of a survey of the Texas coast and the fortification of Galveston for the United States government, became brigadier general of the Confederate army engineers. 
Little else survives detailing the Artillery Company’s participation in the Civil War.  What is obvious is that with the group spread out throughout the South and the ultimate economic devastation wrought by the war, the continued viability of the company was hardly a priority for any of the men returning to Galveston.  It is also likely that surviving members recognized that occupying federal forces would little tolerate an armed and organized militia group on the Island.  Finally, in what perhaps may have seemed a final blow to the existence of the company, its last serving captain, Henry Van Buren, died a few years after cessation of hostilities.  Now leaderless and with little reason for its continued existence, the Galveston Artillery Company appeared to have become yet another casualty of the Civil War.

V.Ascendancy and Decline

A.Reorganization

After the war, the Artillery Company apparently languished from lack of interest and lack of members.  Whatever interest there was in maintaining the organization was likely attributable to the officers who had held over from just prior to the outbreak of hostilities.  After Capt. Van Buren’s death, leadership fell to its 1st Lieutenant, Marcus F. Mott.  Mott would transform the organization.
Marcus F. Mott was a descendant of French Huguenots, born in Louisiana in 1837 and moved to Galveston in 1845.  Galveston had little to offer in the way of schooling, so whatever education Mott acquired was self-acquired.  He served as deputy district clerk for the state, studied the law, and entered the practice of law in 1858.  He became a partner in the state’s first law firm, and he went on to serve by election or appointment a number of offices, including city attorney, city judge, trustee of the city’s free public schools, Clerk of the Confederate States Court, state senator, Judge Advocate General of the Texas Volunteer Guard, and head of the Department of Military Justice.  Prior to his leadership of the Artillery Company, he served as master of the local Masonic lodge from 1868 to 1872 and was involved in various Masonic capacities thereafter, including his service as Grand Master over 400 lodges in Texas in 1876 and 1877.  He served on the boards of various corporations and was president of the Board of Trustees of the Rosenberg Library upon his death in November 1906.
On July 31, 1871, Mott reorganized the Galveston Artillery Company.  It is unknown whether or not the company adopted a different governing structure as copies of any changes in the group’s original by-laws or constitution unfortunately no longer exist.  It is clear, however, that its governance continued in the form of military officers, as its leaders were elected at the initial post-reorganization meeting on August 1, 1871, at its former armory in the Ufford building on 23rd St, which it now rented.  Mott was chosen to head the organization as its captain, with other positions created under its original by-laws and constitution also filled that evening.  By this initial meeting, the group had been able to increase membership to approximately 60 men, and more recruits were expected up to its charter-mandated maximum of 100.  Apparently there was sufficient interest among the members to reinvigorate the organization as regular meetings were scheduled for the second Tuesday of each month.  By 1872, membership had risen to 95, and meetings were held at Goeppinger’s Hall and later at 23rd Street and Strand.
B.A Decade of Growth
Mott’s transformation of the organization and the interest he generated in both its welfare and the role it played in Galveston society was dramatic.  The next decade saw significant growth in the company as well as a quickly evolving sense that whatever military function it retained was ceremonial only.  While it would still cling for some time to its roots as a military group practiced in the art of drilling and parading, the Artillery Company also began to position itself as Galveston’s finest social organization. 
It seized that opportunity quickly.  The company’s first ball held after reorganization came only nine months later April 21, 1872, at the Tremont Opera House on the southeast corner of Market and 23rd Street.  It was by all contemporary accounts an elaborate affair.  The Galveston Daily News raved:
“It is not pleasant to confess one’s incapacity, but truth compels us to say that we cannot describe the Artillery Ball of last night….  The spirit and glory of the entertainment was in the distinguished company of the brave soldiers—the honest merchants, the celebrated lawyers and the faithful physicians who were there.  Its spirit is found in the fair women, in the beauty, the wit and the intelligence that was gathered there.  These we cannot describe.  For goodness of company, for beauty of toilet, for elegance and for all that goes to bestow éclat upon an entertainment, the Artillery Ball has seldom been equaled and never surpassed.
The ballroom gallery was decorated with crossed sabers with a portrait of General Sidney Sherman hanging nearby.  The stage was decorated with flags and the floor punctuated by groups of neatly stacked arms.  Displayed in a case of silver and glass hanging on one of the pilasters were the “crumbling threads” of General Sherman’s battle flag from the battle of San Jacinto.  Earlier that day, Col. A. M. Hobby, on behalf of the women of Galveston, had presented to the Artillery Company at the Exchange Hotel a new flag they had designed and created.
On March 27, 1873, the Texas legislature changed the company’s charter in an amendatory act that was twice as long as the original charter document.  In addition to provisions that provided it could sue and be sued, buy and sell real and personal property, levy fines and dues on its members, and exempted members from jury duty, it also articulated changes that recognized the evolving nature of the organization.  The amended charter now provided for the election of such officers as the company’s by-laws permitted.  No longer was the group limited to the officers spelled out in the 1840 charter.  The amendatory document also provided that, once elected as commissioned officers by the Artillery Company, the Governor was required to issue commissions to them as such; however, if the Governor failed to do so for any reason, the duly elected officers would nonetheless be considered commissioned officers of the company.  The amendment reiterated that the company was only liable for such military duty as contemplated by the original charter but was exempt from all militia duty and drills as well as battalion or regimental reviews or inspections.  However, it subjected the company to the control of the state military authority in case of invasion of the state, provided the group would not be called to serve outside Galveston County.  Recognizing the growing ceremonial function and the decreasing military role the company played in Galveston, it also granted to the organization the right to receive from the state all arms, ammunition, and equipment “as may be necessary for drills, parades, target practice and service, so as to enable it to be at all times in a state of sufficient readiness.”  However, the state would only provide them such arms and ammunition as it may be able to fill out of its own supplies, and even then only as much as the Governor in his sole discretion found not excessive.  Perhaps most significantly to the growth of the company, the new charter raised the maximum membership number to 150.
The growing societal importance of the Artillery Company beyond ceremonial occasions was underscored in 1873 when the group was called upon by the city of Galveston to perform an important extra-military function.  On December 3 of that year, the city passed an ordinance calling upon the organization to serve as “fire police,” giving them the responsibility of maintaining civil order at fire scenes for “the protection and preservation of the peace and of property.”  The company was made a department independent of the fire department but ordered to act in conjunction with the latter.  To accomplish its duties and responsibilities as a legally constituted police force, the Artillery Company was vested with authority to arrest and charge persons with crimes, including for arson, and “to do all that may be deemed necessary for the protection and safety of persons and of property at fires.”  The company would take its orders only from its own officers, although the officers were subject to the orders of the mayor.  At fire scenes, the members of the company were to wear a badge on the left breast marked “fire police”, and each member was to be provided with a 20 to 30 foot long piece of rope with a ring at one end and a hook at the other in order to close streets or secure fire scenes. 
Perhaps the most visible role the Artillery Company served in Galveston during the post-Civil War era was ceremonial.  The company was called upon by the city to assist in its various and several festive events, and the organization soon developed a reputation as a one of the finest social organizations in the state.  Because of the increasing demand for an adequate place to hold its social functions, and because they had never had any permanent armory or headquarters, resolutions were adopted by the company on February 20 and March 13, 1875, to purchase land for the construction of an armory and meeting hall.
C.  A New Home
On April 10, 1875, Capt. Mott, on behalf of the Artillery Company, closed on the purchase of one and three-quarter lots on the southeast corner of Ave. I and 22nd Street.  The property was purchased from local banker and financier George Ball for $5000 secured by a note payable within five years and accruing interest at 10% per annum payable semi-annually.  Local architect Nicholas J. Clayton was retained to design the new hall. The total cost of the land and hall was $20,000, and most of this amount was raised by a joint stock plan in which members participated.  On April 21, 1875, in an elaborate ceremony held in conjunction with other activities celebrating Texas independence, the cornerstone was laid.  At a banquet later that afternoon, Col. George P. Finlay, a local attorney, addressed the company with Capt. Mott serving as toastmaster, and the annual ball was held that evening at the Tremont Opera House. 
The armory and hall, called Galveston Artillery Hall, was completed on October 25, 1875.  The style represented an adaptation from the rural architecture of Switzerland with semi-classical detailing.  The building had two and one-half floors and was generally oriented north and south to catch the prevailing breezes during the warm months.  The lower floor had a storage room for equipment and armament, armory rented for use by the Lone Star Rifles, supper/meeting hall, hat room, ticket office, and men’s and ladies’ dressing rooms featuring marble-top washstands.  A large staircase ascended to the second floor, flanked on either side by two gas-burning bronze statues—one of El Cavalier and the other of a Roundhead, soldiers of “ancient times”—sitting on newel posts.  The second floor was dominated by a ballroom considered “one of the finest in the South” with a 120 foot by 60 foot dance floor encircled by a five inch high dais, a semi-circular gallery at the south end, and a stage at the north end.  The ballroom had three foot high wainscoting painted in imitation oak with baseboard and window framing and trim in black walnut.  The room was lighted with four large chandeliers in the corners and one in the middle of the room.  Large floor-to-ceiling windows opened onto galleries on three sides of the building. 
The Artillery Company was immensely proud of their new home.  By advertisement in a local newspaper, the public was invited to tour the newly completed hall on the night of October 30, 1875, complete with a “grand promenade concert” hosted by the company.  It wasn’t long before the company “christened” their new home with its first social event.  One of a series of smokers held two to three times annually “to keep members together” was held at the new hall on November 13, 1875.  Guests gathered around a large long table in the central portion of the ballroom while members made speeches and toasts, all the while serenaded by an orchestra.  Three days later, the Artillery Company held an inaugural ball, with only members and a few non-residents receiving invitations.  Thus began the annual tradition of holding the company’s anniversary balls in the pre-Christmas season.
D.Bifurcation

Now blessed with a meeting hall which recognized, if not emphasized, the group’s growing social agenda, the Artillery Company continued to slowly evolve from a military company which enjoyed the occasional social spectacle to one with little pretense of anything else. Another significant step in that evolution occurred in 1881 with yet another reorganization of the company. 
For 40 years, the group had been organized as and led by military officers.  Despite its growing social profile in the community, it still was essentially a volunteer militia with duties and responsibilities attendant to that role, including reportorial responsibilities to the state.  However, the charter amendment of 1873 had provided that the company could elect such officers as its by-laws provided and therefore no longer limited the organization to just military leaders.  In 1881, the Artillery Company amended their by-laws to create a civilian leadership structure in addition to its existing military governance.
The most significant change in the by-laws was division of officers into two classes:  civil and military.  The civil officers consisted of a president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer.  Military officers would consist of a captain, two 1st lieutenants, two 2nd lieutenants, one each of surgeon, color sergeant, quartermaster’s sergeant, first sergeant, and six sergeants and six corporals.  All civil officers and certain of the military officers, including captain, were elected for a term of one year at the annual meeting by a majority of two-thirds of all votes cast.  The captain appointed the additional military officers.  The division was strict, as the by-laws provided that no civil officer could serve also as a military officer.
The president’s responsibilities were to preside at all meetings (which had been the captain’s duty), appoint standing and special committees, and impose fines.  The captain continued to have the responsibility of calling out the company to drill or parade and perform whatever administrative functions were required for maintaining the organization’s military status.  The annual meeting was to be held on the second Saturday of January of each year with monthly meetings on the second Saturday of the month. Meetings for drills were at the captain’s discretion.  The presence of ten members was required for a quorum.
The organization could be rather punitive.  A detailed list of fines was included for offenses ranging from missing meetings to intoxication in uniform to appearing in a parade in an “unsoldier-like manner.”  Intoxication carried the heftiest fine at $2.50 per offense or expulsion.  Monthly dues were a more reasonable $1.00 per month, although each member was subject to paying an additional assessment approved by two-thirds of the members.   However, failure to pays one’s dues or fines could ultimately result in suspension or expulsion.  Apparently to ensure they had not overlooked any improper conduct, the company added a general catch-all provision that provided for a fine, suspension, or expulsion for any member guilty of “neglect, disobedience to orders, or ungentlemanly conduct.”
Another significant change was occasioned by the building of the Artillery Hall six years before.  The by-laws provided for the use of revenue generated by the renting of the hall, stipulating its use for necessary expenses, then indebtedness, and lastly, assuming anything remained, for redemption of the subscription stock.  A special committee was created for management of the hall and armory, including the proper handling of all revenue from its use.  They were also to develop and submit to the company a plan for retiring the subscriptions for the building of the hall.  Other provisions included specific instructions on how to conduct their meetings, regulation of uniforms, and the provision that the company would take no part in any political question or any entertainment for the benefit of a religious sect or organization.
E.  Years of Growth and Change
The creation of the office of secretary in the by-laws of 1881, with the attendant duty of keeping minutes of meetings, has resulted in a wealth of information regarding the activities of the Artillery Club from 1881 until the early part of the next century.  Beginning in June of 1881, the company’s secretary kept copious minutes of the decisions and activities of the organization.  It also provides an interesting insight into the burgeoning debt of the company that would ultimately result in their loss of Artillery Hall.
By June 1881, the company had still had not paid off its debt on the note to George Ball for the purchase of the land and construction of the Artillery Hall in 1875.  The note had come due 14 months before, and the company began discussing borrowing a sufficient amount to pay off its outstanding debt.  The company now had 75 active members, and it took another five months before they settled on a solution.  E. J. Biering, a local commission merchant and later wholesale grocer, offered to perfect a loan to the company of $7,000, which they approved.  On November 21, 1881, Biering and President Thomas Goggan on behalf of the Artillery Company executed a four year note for $7000 at 8% annual interest paid semi-annually.  That money was then used to pay off the note to George Ball, for which the company had been making $250 semi-annual interest payments but paying down no principal.
Despite these concerns, the business of being the Artillery Company continued.  The annual balls continued to be held in December at the Artillery Hall, and they obviously were lavish affairs.  Electric lights were used at the ball in 1881 after their use had been offered free of charge by the owner of a local light company.  For the ball of 1884, 1200 invitations were sent out, and every member was ordered to appear in uniform.  The cost to attend the balls was $5.00.
The company also continued its ceremonial duties as a military organization.  It participated in activities on San Jacinto Day at the famed battleground, taking “Twin Sisters” with them and firing a volley of 45 guns at the dedication of a monument to the battle in 1836.  Despite its primarily ceremonial role, the company still continued to drill regularly.  Even during planned outings designed for enjoyment and camaraderie, such as during a picnic at Lafitte’s Grove on the west end of the Island in April 1883, the military role of the organization still played an important part.  At that picnic in 1883 and attended by four trainloads of men, Capt. Mott still required each member to wear their uniform and take at least one shot at a target whether they could hit it or not.  Target practice otherwise was still required of the men at least twice a month during the summer, with drilling with small arms included.
The company was also an attractive draw at parades.  At the request of the Knights of Momus, a local Mardi Gras crew founded in 1871, the Artillery Company invited the various volunteer military companies in the state to participate in a parade celebrating Mardi Gras on February 20, 1882.  Agreeing to cover associated expenses, the Knights of Momus had approached the Artillery Company about sponsoring the parade, wanting to make the military display an “important feature of the celebration.”  Invitations to 30 artillery companies went out and a total of nine participated.  At noon, the parade of approximately 500 men, all dressed in their uniforms with the Galveston Artillery Company bringing up the rear, marched from Broadway down 23rd Street and ultimately met the Momus king and his retinue at 22nd Street and Strand.  The Artillery Company fired a salute as the royal court disembarked from a steamer in which they had arrived.  After a reception at the Tremont Hotel and then a banquet at Artillery Hall for the various companies, a grand military ball was held that evening at the Cotton Exchange building.  It was apparently a magnificent affair, hosted by then Captain of the Artillery Company, William Stafford.  All the companies were present in full uniform, and so many people attended that “for a time dancing was almost impossible.”  Many distinguished guests attended, including Governor Oran M. Roberts, with an appearance by the King of Momus and his party at 10:00 p.m.
In 1882, the company was still wearing its dark blue uniforms.  However, in April 1883, the organization adopted a design for new uniforms consisting of a light blue single-breasted coat cut tunic style and adorned with a single row of staff buttons, red facings on the cuffs and red shoulder knots, gray pants with a one or one and one-half inch wide stripe, and a Westpoint white cork helmet with a brass spike.  The uniforms cost $30 each, and the company attempted (unsuccessfully) to sell their old uniforms to a Black military organization.
By 1884, the Artillery Company was now 44 years old and again in need of “new blood.”  Just as they had in 1844 with the Fusileers and in 1857 with the Galveston City Guards, the company absorbed another local military group, this time the Galveston Light Infantry.  Unlike the others, however, this merger inspired yet another significant organizational change in the company.  In May 1884, the company voted to create two separate military “branches” organized into a single battalion under one commanding officer.  There would be an artillery branch organized with a captain, two lieutenants, and non-commissioned officers, calling itself the “Battery of the Galveston Artillery.”  There would also be an infantry branch consisting of the same officers commanding the Light Infantry at the time of their merger, with any additions as they deemed fit in the future.  After this was adopted, Capt. Mott resigned as captain of the artillery and Col. John Forsky was elected captain.  The by-laws were modified to reflect this change in military governance, and after their adoption in June 1884, Mott was elected Major of the battalion.
F. Growing Debt
The merger with the Light Infantry did little to stem the tide of financial problems that continued to plague the organization.  Throughout 1885 and 1886, officers of the Artillery Company expressed growing concern over the finances of the group and the significant numbers of members in arrears on dues.  By November 11, 1886, unpaid dues totaled over $500.  The company was also acutely aware that its $7000 note with E. J. Biering from 1881, paying off the prior indebtedness on the Artillery Hall, was coming due in March 1887.  By that February, the organization was desperate.
On February 17, 1887, the members began discussing in earnest the dire financial straits of the company and, more importantly, “the propriety of maintaining the existence of the organization and whether it was practicable to do so under the present depressed financial condition of the Galveston Artillery.”  It had become clear that unless financial help came soon, the group would have to disband.
The members present elected to send out a plea, in the form of a letter, to the organization’s members and supporters in the community for help.  The letter noted that the indebtedness had reached $7000 with interest accruing at $560 annually.  Insurance, janitor’s fees, taxes, gas, repairs, and other expenses associated with maintaining the hall and company far exceeded revenue from leasing the hall and from dues.  Members of the company and citizens of the community were asked to attend a meeting on February 26 to discuss whether or not the group should continue, and if so, how.  At that meeting on February 26, a resolution was adopted that the property, valued at about $25,000, should be sold to cover debts but subject to one last appeal to members, honorary members, stockholders, and “public spirited citizens” to “come to our relief and lift the burdens which apprises us.”  That appeal would be in the nature of a request for civic minded citizens and members to buy subscriptions of stock in a company organized to purchase the hall from the Artillery Company.  In that way, the hall would be preserved for use by the company, and the hall could be opened for use by other military companies in the city.
Ultimately, a stock company called The Armory Company was formed for the purpose of purchasing the hall.  On March 30, 1887, at 11:00 a.m. in front of Artillery Hall, the existing deed of trust on the property was foreclosed upon and the property auctioned off.  The purchaser was George Sealy as highest bidder, and on April 6, 1887, the hall was deeded to him.  Finally, on October 12, 1887, Sealy deeded the property to The Armory Company, with Harris Kempner signing as President of the Armory Company.  The Artillery Company in turn rented the hall from the Armory Company.
This solution for the company’s debts—selling Artillery Hall to a sympathetic buyer—allowed the Artillery Company to keep the hall and armory as its headquarters.  However, the group was still in danger of fading into irrelevancy.  Membership and interest continued to wane.  While the company still continued to meet, drill, and participate in various ceremonial functions, it eventually lost its infantry branch.  In June 1888, the Light Guards voted to give up its charter, which was accepted by the Artillery Company.  By the end of 1888, it wasn’t unusual for no more than 10 members to attend a meeting, sometimes not even having enough for a quorum. 
G.Creating a “Social Branch”
While the Artillery Company continued to evolve slowly into essentially a social organization, it still showed pretenses of being a military outfit.  The company still required its members to purchase and occasionally wear their uniforms.  The members still mustered, practiced drilling, and participated in drill competitions.  Perhaps realizing this requirement of military participation by its members was a reason for declining enrollment, and also no doubt recognizing the growing importance its ceremonial roles had become to the organization, the company took a significant step in this evolution and voted to create a “social branch” of the Artillery Company in January 1889.  A general solicitation letter went out to “such persons as (the membership committee) saw fit”, noting that to become a member of the social branch, a vote of two-thirds members were required.  Such members would be classified as honorary members, would not be put on the state’s muster role, and would be exempt from drills and military duties.  They would be allowed to vote only on social questions and not ones of military importance.  Dues would be $12 per year.  How many citizens took advantage of this offer is not clear, as minutes of the company were becoming sporadic; however, on December 11, 1890, the entire Germania Club, organized in 1866, was approved for membership to the social branch of the Artillery Company as well as several other citizens not aligned with the Germania Club.
H.The Final Insults
1.  Decommissioned
By 1889, the Galveston Artillery Company had two 3-inch rifles, two 12-pound field pieces, four mountain howitzers, and an 1883 Gatling gun, all with caissons, harnesses, and other associated equipment.  During that same year, the state of Texas had amended the militia law of 1879.  Acting upon that amended law, the adjutant general’s office demanded the Artillery Company surrender the arms and ordnance given to it by the state.  The company at first refused to surrender its arms, and on May 6, 1890, the adjutant general issued a special order demanding that they do so.  Capt. Samuel L. Crawford ultimately complied with the law and the order was rescinded.
However, by 1893, now no longer considered a part of the volunteer guard of the state, the adjutant general demanded the surrender to the state of all remaining arms and ammunition other than armament which the company had acquired by virtue of its charter rights.  Apparently, correspondence had gone back and forth between the state and the company for several months, with the state ultimately demanding the county sheriff seize the arms.  The company voluntarily agreed to turn over two brass cannons, sabers, and their caissons but retained two 3-inch rifles and associated equipment.  Not satisfied with the tender, on December 8, 1893, Adjutant General W. H. Mabry sent the Artillery Company a letter outlining his position regarding this issue, requiring the return of all arms and ordnance given to the company specifically by virtue of its becoming a part of the volunteer guard.  Sheriff Pat Tiernan was again ordered to seize the state’s arms under the control of the company, and on December 12, 1893, the Galveston Artillery Company turned over all remaining arms and ammunition belonging to the state except one field piece retained for drill purposes. 
2.  Fire and Further Transition
Still, the Artillery Company pressed on as an organization, and the group continued its tradition of annual balls.  However, the company suffered another significant blow when, just after noon on October 29, 1894, the Galveston Artillery Hall was partially destroyed by fire.  A plumber had been removing gas-lit chandeliers that day for cleaning and using a gasfitter’s torch to loosen some of the nipples.  Though he later denied it, it was suspected that he left the torch lit while he went to lunch, catching some wooden element of the ceiling on fire.  Although fire crews responded quickly, there was inadequate water pressure to project water onto the roof.  The men were unable to stop the conflagration.  Fortunately, several Artillery Company members responded to the scene and were able to safely remove furniture as well as their “cannons” and ammunition.  Nevertheless, the building was left uninhabitable.
The company pressed on.  The annual ball, for which plans had been finalized five days before and scheduled for December 6, was moved to Harmony Hall at 22nd and Church, and their first monthly cotillion, scheduled for November 6, was moved to November 13 at Arion Hall.  Again bravely facing adversity, plans were immediately made for replacing the building with a new brick armory.  It would never be built.
The Artillery Company began meeting at President Herbert Austin’s office in the American National Bank building.  The group decided to approach the Armory Company with an offer of $1000 to buy the real estate upon which their destroyed hall sat, including the remnants of the old armory.  The deal never went through.  In 1895, the company began negotiating for the purchase of Harmony Hall, but that plan also never reached fruition.  Finally, they decided to simply rent Harmony Hall and look for another place to buy as their armory and headquarters.
One final merger occurred in 1895 which indicates the Artillery Company still continued to maintain its military traditions.  On May 8, 1895, the company elected the Sealy Rifles as members of the organization, and they were designated Company B of the Galveston Artillery Battalion.  Comprised mostly of younger members of the Washington Guards, the Rifles were organized in 1882 and named for the group’s benefactor, George Sealy.  The Artillery Company allowed the Rifles to keep their same officers, and the new members were promptly sent to Memphis, Tennessee, to participate in a drilling contest. 
As the company passed its first half-century of existence and approached the beginning of the twentieth century, the organization made two final moves that solidified its evolution to a social club yet ensured its continued existence.  On October 4, 1895, John Sealy,II, a local banker, was elected as President of the organization after Liberty S. McKinney, a local wholesale grocer, had declined the honor.  Two months later, on December 1, 1895, a separate organization was created, the Galveston Artillery Company Club.  The purpose of creating this separate group remains unclear, as both groups had the same officers, essentially the same number of members, and meetings were held at the same place, Harmony Hall.   Furthermore, the Company had given up all pretense of being a military organization by now, no longer recognizing military officers, including the office of captain.
The final event marking the company’s transition to strictly a social club was the relocation of their headquarters in 1898 to the former home of William F. Ladd, president of the Artillery Company from 1887 to 1894.  Located on the southwest corner of 23rd Street and Broadway, the large Greek revival structure with wide hallways, verandas, reading room, smoking room, billiard room, and antique furnishings, was quickly dubbed the group’s “clubhouse” instead of armory or headquarters.  Indeed, the group, although still formally called the Galveston Artillery Company, began being referred to and listed in the local directories by 1899 as the Galveston Artillery Club.  The clubhouse, however, was not owned by the Artillery Company, and continued to remain in the possession of William Ladd and his family.  In May 1906, Ladd sold the clubhouse to Peter G. Pauls, although the Artillery Company continued to use the home as their clubhouse.  However, Pauls sold the property to Gulf Refining Company for use as a filling station in August 1919.  Now in a “condition of affairs that threaten(ed) its very existence,” the company purchased the north portion of the two lots immediately to the south of their current location in 1922 and moved the entire Ladd home across the alley to their new address.  They would remain at this location for the next decade.
VI.  Galveston Artillery Club
As the now popularly named Galveston Artillery Club entered the twentieth century, it settled into a routine existence punctuated primarily by its grand annual balls.  After 1895, regular meetings themselves had become more scarce as attested to by a dearth of information in the minutes book.  By 1900, the company still had 73 resident members and 8 non-resident members.  Regardless, the company continued to hold its annual ball, initially at Harmony Hall after the fire and later at the Hotel Galvez after its construction in 1911.  These elegant affairs were attended by Galveston’s elite, and they remained “one of the greatest social events of the year west of the Mississippi River.”
Still, members of the club continued to hold fast to their organization’s military roots and took seriously their historical commitment to protect city, state, and country.  With the outbreak of World War I, every able bodied member of the organization volunteered for service.  Some served as officers or privates in France while others served in the medical corps, ambulance corps, or in the Air Service.  Of the six men chosen by General John J. “Blackjack” Pershing to serve in the field in France observing enemy forces just prior to America’s declaration of war, two were members of the Artillery Club.  Several came back from the war well decorated, and soon the members lapsed back into routines befitting a social club.  That routine was again interrupted with the entry in December 1941 of America into World War II.  Forty-eight members and former members went on to serve on behalf of the United States in that war.
After 33 years on or adjacent to Broadway, the members of the Artillery Club voted to sell its clubhouse in a special meeting on November 4, 1931, ultimately selling the facility to the Neapolitan Club and Ladies’ Auxiliary of Galveston for $8,000 on December 10, 1931.  The club moved its headquarters to the Hotel Galvez, occupying the entire seventh floor.  For the first time, women were invited to the club for something other than balls, visits, or member functions, tendering the use of the rooms to women for bridge parties.  Clearly and exclusively a social club for some time, and by this time popularly called the Galveston Artillery Club, the group nevertheless was still formally called the Galveston Artillery Company.  The group finally formalized it existence under the name Galveston Artillery Club when a new charter was approved and filed by the Texas Secretary of State on November 3, 1931.  With this new charter, they not only memorialized the name by which they had been referred for over 30 years, but also clearly articulated their sole reason for existing:  The maintenance of a social club in Galveston County with the “same high level of prestige and membership which has been associated with this club since its organization under the name of the Galveston Artillery Company in the year 1840.”
Soon, however, the club was looking for a new location to build another clubhouse.  On October 15, 1933, the Galveston Artillery Club signed a lease with the Hotel Galvez for the parcel of property on the east end of the block upon which the hotel sat, situated on the northwest corner of 19th Street and Seawall Boulevard.  The club rented the land for $50 a month for seven years with a three year option at the end of the lease’s term.  The club was committed in the document to constructing a clubhouse for at least $4,700, which when completed would revert to the hotel at the end of the lease period.  Soon, construction began on the new clubhouse and it was completed within the year.  They would remain at this location until 1959 when the group moved to their current clubhouse, designed by Thomas M. Price and build at the site of the former Bartlett D. Moore home on the southwest corner of 31st St. and Ave. O.  Again, stock was issued, this time in a separate non-profit corporation called Avenue O Corporation, to help finance the purchase of the land and construction of the new clubhouse.  With the opening of their new clubhouse, the club’s balls, pageants, and other social affairs were held at their new home on Avenue O.  In 1968, the Artillery Club began another tradition, celebrating Mardi Gras with an annual ball on Fat Tuesday and selecting a King, Queen, and court. 
Today, the Galveston Artillery Club honors its past by continuing traditions over a century-and-a-half old while also ensuring its continued viability as one of Galveston’s most prominent social organizations.   The group still holds an annual ball in the early Christmas season.  Membership today totals 173, with a relatively recent category reserved for “junior members” between the ages of 21 and 35.  Beginning in 1997, women were invited for the first time to become members.  Its clubhouse continues to be a respite for its members and guest from the hectic demands of the business world, offering dining and bar service, lounge facilities, and a large swimming pool and recreation area. 
VII.  Conclusion
Perhaps what is most impressive about the Galveston Artillery Club has not been its lavish balls, fancy uniforms, or civic and military contributions to Galveston.  It is the club’s perseverance in the face of many adversities of the type that felled other similar groups, a willingness to evolve and redefine itself in order to continue as an organization.  Certainly economic resources available to its members distinguished the group from other social and military organizations, but money and social station alone do not account for its continued existence. It is perhaps instead the collective character of the long list of distinguished citizens who have belonged to the organization since 1840.  Now 164 years old, the Galveston Artillery Club continues to draw on this long tradition of honor, integrity, service, and dedication in order to continue its growth and evolution, and it is certainly deserving of recognition with an Official Texas Historical Marker.