Site of Headquarters of General Robert E Lee - San Antonio, TX - Signs of History on Waymarking.com

This sign of history is a bronze plaque on the outside wall of the Sheraton Gunter Hotel, located at 205 Houston Street, in beautiful downtown San Antonio, TX. It is facing across the street from the historic Majestic Theater. But, in 1856, there was no Gunter Hotel, nor Majestic Theater. Instead, the property where the Gunter Hotel now stands was where the former Vance House stood at that time. The US Army had leased the 2-story stone Vance House as the Army Headquarters for Texas, circa 1849 – 1870s. Unfortunately, the Vance House was not preserved and was razed sometime in the late 1880s. It was not until 1876 that a permanent Army base was authorized and building began in San Antonio, TX. In 1890, this permanent base was named Fort Sam Houston by then US President Benjamin Harrison.
Before the Civil War, Robert E Lee had graduated top of his class from West Point and was an outstanding officer in the US Army. As a lieutenant-colonel, he was stationed in San Antonio as second in commander of the newly formed Second Cavalry Regiment of Texas. Lee traveled to San Antonio, TX and reported on March 27, 1856 to the regiment’s commander, then Colonel Albert Sidney Johnston. Other junior officers within this newly formed Texas cavalry regiment reads like a Who’s Who of future Civil War generals for both the Union and Confederate forces. But in the 1850s, they were all officers of the US Army, and most officers were classmates or alumni of West Point. After a few months, Lee took two squadrons of his cavalry unit to various Texas outposts in search of rebel Indians and to explore several Texas river systems. Shortly after this duty assignment was completed, on July 23, 1856, Lee was promoted to the commander of the Second Cavalry Regiment, replacing Col. A. S. Johnston who was reassigned to Washington DC. Robert E Lee was the commanding officer for only a few months. In October 1856, Lee was also reassigned to Washington DC and left this San Antonio command post to fulfill his new orders.
Later, in 1861,Robert E Lee would again take temporary command of the Division of Texas while the very sick General Twiggs was recovering from illness. Shortly afterward, when Lee’s home state of Virginia seceded from the Union to join the Confederate States of America, Lee chose to give up his US Army commission and support the Confederate Army instead.
The inscription on the plaque reads:

"Site of headquarters of General Robert E Lee then brevet Colonel who assumed command of the post of San Antonio August 5, 1857.
Erected by DeZavala Chapter Texas Historical and Landmarks Association.
1947"

Additional references:
(visit link)
(visit link)
(visit link)
(visit link)

Group that erected the marker: DeZavala Chapter Texas Historical and Landmarks Association URL of a web site with more information about the history mentioned on the sign: [Web Link] Address of where the marker is located. Approximate if necessary: 205 E. Houston Street San Antonio, TX USA 78205

Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the marker, preferably including yourself or your GPSr in the photo. A very detailed description of your visit may be substituted for a photo. In any case please provide a description of your visit. A description of only "Visited" or "Saw it while on vacation" by anyone other than the person creating the waymark may be deleted by the waymark owner or the category officers.

Recent Visits/Logs:

Date Logged Log   04/07/2024 bluesnote visited it 05/16/2023 iluvfire visited it 07/07/2012 WayBetterFinder visited it

View all visits/logs