In 1862, the largest extra-judicial mass execution in United States history tore the frontier town of Gainesville, Texas, apart, as over forty men were executed at the hands of a “citizens court.” Since most North Central Texas settlers were small farmers, not slaveholders, they were more focused on keeping their families safe from the Comanches than the state of the Union. Thus, when the Civil War came, Cooke County was within one of the few areas of the state to vote against secession. By 1862, Confederates dominated local offices and law enforcement, but the populace remained deeply divided. Opposition to the draft mounted, and suspicion of the Union sympathizers fueled a panicked response. In October, rumors that a local Peace Party was conspiring to overthrow the Confederacy led to mass arrests, vigilante trials, mob pressure, and the hanging of forty men. Two more were shot while trying to escape. The tragedy left a bitter legacy and a fractured community.