Author Description

This is the story of Lieutenant Colonel Kindallis "King" Bryan, original commander of Company F (Invincibles No. 1), 5th Texas Infantry Regiment, Hood's Texas Brigade. Bryan, a native of St. Mary Parish, Louisiana, moved to Texas as a 16-year-old and then fought in the War for Texas Independence of 1835-36. He was a farmer and rancher in Liberty County, Texas, a county sheriff and state legislator before the War for Southern Independence. During the war, he led the company, and later his regiment, in some of the most famous battles of the war, including Gaines' Mill, Second Manassas, Gettysburg and the Wilderness. Wounded three times, he commanded Hood's Texas Brigade for about three months in the winter of 1863-64. Bryan was one of most aggressive and respected regimental officers in the brigade, but also respected and admired by his men who appreciated a leader who took the same or greater risks than they did in battle.