Vesey, Randolph

(1832-1908) Respected Negro citizen and homeowner. Champion pioneer fiddler, popular at Forts Belknap, Griffin and Richardson and over county. Once when he was an Indian captive, held in Kansas, Texans sent ponies to ransom him. He is buried in Oaklawn, Decatur. Born in Georgia. He served during the Civil War as body servant and voluntary battle aide to General W. L. Cabell of the Confederate army. Vesey's courage and loyalty were typical. Hundreds of slaves went to war with masters. Many operated farms and ranches of soldiers away at war, producing cotton and food for the Confederacy. Others did work for hire, with wages supporting the master's family. On patrol duty they protected homes from Indians, bandits, outlaws. During War years, 1861-1865, some 30,000 to 50,000 Negros - free and slaves - aided Confederate armies. They served with the Nitre and Mining Bureau and departments of medicine, engineers, quartermaster general, ordnance and commissary general. They built fortifications on coasts from Brownsville, Texas, to Norfolk, Virginia, and at inland points. Many were army teamsters, wheelwrights, blacksmiths, butchers, shoemakers, cooks, and nurses. Texas and other states later provided land grants and pensions for many. (1965)

Vesey, Randolph is a historical marker in Decatur, Wise County, dedicated in 1965. It is one of 91 historical markers documented in Wise County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 162 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 33.2344, -97.5867 near Decatur. The nearest cataloged historic site is Terrell, Charles Vernon (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Captain George Stevens, Wise County Courthouse, and Wise County, C.S.A..

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5497004194. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.