Henry Eustace McCulloch: Difference between revisions

McCulloch was born in [[Rutherford County, Tennessee]], one of twelve children of Scots-Irish American Alexander McCulloch and French-American Frances Fisher LeNoir. HisHenry's father Alexander, a [[Yale University]] graduate, was a descendant of Captain [[Nicolas Martiau]], the French Huguenot settler of Jamestown, Virginia and ancestor of President George Washington. Alexander was also an officer on Brig. Gen. [[John Coffee]]'s staff during the [[Creek War]] of 1813 and 1814 in [[Alabama]]; his mother was a daughter of a prominent [[Virginia]] [[Planter (American South)|planter]]. The family had been wealthy, politically influential, and socially prominent in [[North Carolina]] before the [[American Revolution]], but Alexander McCulloch had wasted much of his inheritance and was unable even to educate his sons. (Two of Henry McCulloch's older brothers briefly attended a school in Tennessee taught by their neighbor, [[Sam Houston]].) After several moves, the family settled at [[Dyersburg, Tennessee|Dyersburg]], where one of their closest neighbors was [[DavidDavy Crockett]] — a—a great influence on both McCulloch and his older brother, [[Benjamin McCulloch|Ben McCulloch]], who also would become a Confederate brigadier general.

In 1838, both Henry and [[Ben McCulloch]] were making a living as surveyors. They also made a reputations as Indian fighters. Both took part in the [[Battle Creek Fight]] against the [[Comanche]] Indians in [[Navarro County, Texas|Navarro County]], also known as "The Surveyors' Fight". In 1839, Henry McCulloch was on the [[muster roll]] of Capt. [[Mathew Caldwell]]'s "Gonzales Rangers". Also in 1839, Ben was elected to the [[Republic of Texas]] House of Representatives after a contentious campaign that included assorted slanders between the candidates. As a result, Ben fought a rifle [[duel]] with his opponent, [[Reuben Ross]] and received a permanently crippling wound in the arm. The matter was considered closed but it flared up again the following year, this time involving Henry, who killed Ross with a pistol.

In December 1847, McCulloch was in command of a Ranger company in [[Burnet County, Texas|Burnet County]] and established what became [[Fort Croghan]]. When the [[Mexican-AmericanMexican–American War|War with Mexico]] began, he took command of a volunteer company patrolling the same area of the western frontier against Indian raids. He continued this service after the war as captain of a company of Texas Mounted Volunteers out of [[Fort Murrill]], and also operating a Ranger post in [[Kimble County, Texas|Kimble County]].

The retired general apparently enjoyed his retirement, frequently receiving distinguished visitors in his home, giving interviews and engaging in correspondence with inquiring historical writers, and was in regular demand as a speaker at July Fourth festivities throughout central Texas. He was also a trustee in the local [[Methodist Episcopal Church, South|Methodist Church]]. Henry E. McCulloch died March 12, 1895, at [[Rockport, Texas]], and was buried in San Geronimo Cemetery in Seguin. He received a full masonic funeral, having been an active freemason after the War in the Guadalupe County lodge. His widow, Jane Ashby McCulloch died in 1896.

==Popular Cultureculture==

His wife, Jane Isabella Ashby McCulloch, was a sister of Sarah Ashby McClure and Euphemia Ashby King, two of the main characters [[Janice Woods Windle]]'s historical novel ''[[True Women]]'', which was made into a TV movie.

* [[List of American Civil War generals (Confederate)]]

* Eicher, John H., and [[David J. Eicher]], ''Civil War High Commands.''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. {{ISBN|978-0-8047-3641-1}}.

* [[Ezra J. Warner (historian)|Warner, Ezra J.]] ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. {{ISBN|978-0-8071-0823-9}}.

* {{Handbook of Texas|id=fmc35|name=Henry Eustace McCulloch}}
* [http://www.lib.utexas.edu/taro/utcah/00126/cah-00126.html A Guide to the Ben and Henry Eustace McCulloch Family Papers, 1798-1961], Center for American History, [[University of Texas at Austin]]

* [https://web.archive.org/web/20040703022133/http://www.tsd.state.tx.us/overview/history001.htm Early History] from the [[Texas School for the Deaf]]

* {{Find a Grave|9083|accessdate=2009-04-16}}

[[Category:Texas Statestate Senatorssenators]]

[[Category:PeopleMilitary personnel from San Antonio]]

[[Category:19th-century American politicianslegislators]]