HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

David Smith Kornegay

Waco, McLennan County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Fought at San Jacinto, 1836. Escaped the Dawson Massacre 1842. Born in North Carolina 1810. Died April 5, 1856. Erected by the State of Texas 1936

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

David Smith Kornegay was a soldier of the Texas Revolution who fought at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 and later escaped the deadly Dawson Massacre of 1842. Born in North Carolina in 1810, he came to Texas in its founding struggle and died in 1856. The State of Texas erected this marker in 1936 during the centennial of independence.

Why it matters

Markers to San Jacinto veterans honor the ordinary men whose service won Texas independence, and whose lives bridged the Revolution and early statehood.

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Related people

  • ยท David Smith Kornegay

Related events

  • ยท Battle of San Jacinto
  • ยท Dawson Massacre

Themes & tags

Military & WartimeWestward ExpansionFrontier HistoryMonument

Nearby & related markers

Louis Moore

Waco, TX

Missouri-born Louis Moore came to Texas about 1834, received a Mexican land grant, and enlisted in the Texas Army in April 1836, guarding the baggage at Harrisburg during the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. He later served with the Texas Ranger company that established Fort Fisher, raised nine children, and spent his last years in the Chalk Bluff community.

Harris Creek Cemetery

Waco, TX

In the 1850s the Haley, Crain, Caufield, and Jones families settled along Harris Creek in McLennan County, founding a community that took the stream's name. The burial ground began with the 1865 grave of young Hattie Timmons and grew on land the Jones family formally set aside in 1872, part of it reserved for a church and school. Among those resting here is Joel Crain, who received the surrounding land as a grant for his service at the 1836 Battle of San Jacinto.

Joel Burditt Crain

McGregor, TX

Joel Burditt Crain came to Texas from Tennessee in 1834 and served as sergeant-major in Sam Houston's army during the war for independence. At the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836 he is said to have received the surrendered sword of Santa Anna's chief of staff, Colonel Almonte. For his service he earned a substantial land grant, and he married a daughter of General James Smith, namesake of Smith County.

Roden Taylor Crain

Valley Mills, TX

Roden Taylor Crain left Tennessee to join the fight for Texas independence, serving in a San Augustine County volunteer company at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto in April 1836. Like many veterans of that struggle, he was rewarded with a land grant and pension, and he built his life on that frontier acreage in what became Bosque County until his drowning in the Bosque River in 1891.