William Stoker returns to Coffeeville, Texas on furlough

After over eighteen months of service with Walker’s Texas Division, Confederate private William Stoker received a furlough in late January 1864. Stoker left his company on January 24, 1864 and returned home to his wife and daughter in Coffeeville, Texas. While the exact date of his return to duty remains unknown, Stoker was certainly back with the 18th Texas Infantry by late March 1864. Stoker briefly described a long, hard retreat from pursuing Union forces in a letter to his wife in early April 1864. (By Don Sailer)