Henry M. Elmore

Henry M. Elmore was a colonel for the Confederate States Army and he commanded the 20th Texas Infantry during the American Civil War. His Infantry, although composed predominantly of middle-aged men and despite the fact that they did not see much action outside of Texas, played an important part in the Confederate recapture of Galveston in January 1863 (See the Battle of Galveston).

Henry M. Elmore was from one of the oldest families in the South, his first American ancestor having arrived in Virginia in 1647. As was common in the new world, Elmore's ancestors moved West and South with each new generation. Henry M. Elmore was born in Laurens County, South Carolina, and moved with his father, General John Archer Elmore (who fought in the American Revolution), to what is now Elmore County, Alabama. Following the advice of his brother who served in the Mexican American War, Henry Marshall Elmore moved his own family to Texas. Although this brother Physic Rush Elmore suggested that he not settle until he was West of the Texan Colorado River, Henry M. Elmore stopped in the East Texas county of Walker, and was one of the founding fathers of Waverly, Texas, named for the Waverly novels of Sir Walter Scott.

In Waverly, Elmore was one of the leading citizens, donating land for the location of the Methodist Church, the Boys and Girls academies, and the Waverly Cemetery, where his is buried.