Edmund Calloway Darst
Damon, Brazoria County, Texas
Marker Inscription
A San Jacinto veteran born in Missouri, 1815; died in 1838. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Edmund Calloway Darst was among the Missouri-born men who came to Texas in the turbulent 1830s and fought at San Jacinto, the decisive 1836 battle where Sam Houston's army secured Texas independence from Mexico in less than twenty minutes of fighting. Darst died just two years later, in 1838, during the fragile early years of the Republic of Texas. The State of Texas raised this marker in 1936 as part of the statewide centennial commemorations honoring the veterans of the revolution.
Why it matters
He belongs to the generation of ordinary volunteers whose sacrifice made the short-lived Republic of Texas โ and eventually American Texas โ possible.
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Related people
- ยท Edmund Calloway Darst
Related events
- ยท Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
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