Camp Safety

In his bid for governor, Sam Houston toured the state and urged citizens to vote against secession. He made two speeches in downtown Belton, but his talks were met with loud booing. It is said he took out his two pistols, laid them on the goods box he was using for a podium, and dared anyone to interrupt him. Although Bell Countians supported Houston for governor, they overwhelmingly voted 495 to 198 in favor of secession. Texas seceded from the Union in early 1861. Many of the Unionists in the county supported the Confederacy during the war, and more than 1,000 Bell County men joined the Confederate army or served in state military units. Some Union sympathizers, however, along with Confederate deserters congregated in northern Bell County at what locals called "Camp Safety."

Camp Safety was a well-protected camp at the head of a large spring called Bull Branch. Dense cedarbrakes and rough mountainous terrain surrounded the unpopulated and unsettled area. Near the camp was a rock bluff with a small opening in the abrupt face of the bluff. Within the small opening was a hidden cave, a good-sized room from which the men could conduct a defensive fight. Mr. Sam Bishop, P.L. Ellis, J.H. Reese, and others visited the spot after the war and found evidence of the camp. Burned logs, smoke-colored rocks, and many other signs indicated the place had been long occupied.

Some of the men were from Bell County but others came from surrounding counties and even other states. Among their number were Confederate deserters, outlaws, renegades, horse thieves, and murderers. They were so strong in number and well-armed that no local force dared to come against them. Relatives, friends, and sympathizers provided subsistence under cover of night. Tradition said that friends took corn to a nearby mill, instructed the miller to grind it and place it on the outside of the mill. The corn disappeared during the night.

Sam Bishop told the story of his attempt to recruit men from Camp Safety for Captain Wat Graves' Company, CSA. "As he started into the cedar brake on a trail, he was challenged by a picket on guard who demanded of Mr. Bishop what he wanted there. After stating his mission, Mr. Bishop was told by the picket to return to the same spot at the same hour next day and he would get an answer. On his return, five of the men were awaiting him. They all enlisted with Mr. Bishop." The company proceeded to the Rio Grande where the five Bull Branch recruits jumped over into Mexico and disappeared.

One of the most infamous Confederate deserters lodged at Camp Safety was Lige Bivens. He and his band of outlaws mounted raids against the area's pro-Confederates and terrorized women and children in their homes. One such incident occurred in Aiken, a mill and farming community on the Leon River twelve miles northwest of Belton in northwest Bell County. When a letter from home reached Bob Kuykendall and G. A. Beeman in Wharton County, they determined to put a stop to Bivens. Instead, their commanding colonel (of the First Texas Cavalry, Buchel's Regiment) sent a company of men to end the menace to the community. Bivens and six of his followers were killed.

Many events occurred in Bell County during the Civil War which at any other time would not have been tolerated. With the constant threat of deserters, Comanche Indians, and home guard vigilantes, the locals were subjected to some inexcusable outrages.

Armstrong, Lena. Belton History: an Historical Perspective, Belton, Texas. Accessed August 9th 2021.

Connor, Seymour V. . Bell County, Handbook of Texas. Accessed August 9th 2021.

Tyler, George W.. History of Bell County, 1936. Accessed August 9th 2021.