HistoricSiteMarkers
Early Republic

Eli Mitchell

Gonzales, Gonzales County, Texas

Marker Inscription

Star and Wreath He fought at Gonzales and furnished supplies to the Texas army, 1835. Delegate to the 1833 Convention. Erected by the State of Texas, 1962

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

Eli Mitchell was among the Anglo-American colonists drawn into the Texas independence movement in the 1830s, serving as a delegate to the 1833 Convention that pressed Mexico for reform. When fighting erupted at Gonzales in 1835 — the "come and take it" opening clash of the Texas Revolution — he took up arms and supplied the fledgling Texian army.

Why it matters

His service links an ordinary settler to the founding struggle of the Republic of Texas, one of the pivotal chapters in America's westward expansion.

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Related people

  • · Eli Mitchell

Related events

  • · Battle of Gonzales
  • · Convention of 1833
  • · Texas Revolution

Themes & tags

Military & WartimeWestward ExpansionFrontier HistoryMemorial

Nearby & related markers

Dr. Thomas Polk

Gonzales, TX

This grave marker honors Dr. Thomas Polk, born in 1792, who served the Texan cause during the fight for independence from Mexico. He aided the men who fought at the Siege of Bexar in late 1835 and through the decisive San Jacinto Campaign of 1836. The bronze Star and Wreath denotes a citizen recognized by the State of Texas for service during the revolution.

Dr. John Turner Tinsley

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Dr. John Turner Tinsley left Tennessee for Gonzales in 1834, settling in the town on the eve of revolution. A physician who also served as alderman, mayor, and justice of the peace, he took part in the 1835 Battle of Gonzales—the 'Come and Take It' clash that opened the Texas Revolution—and helped Sam Houston's army during the panicked civilian flight known as the Runaway Scrape.

Masonic Cemetery

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The Gonzales Masonic Lodge No. 30 bought eleven acres here in 1849 for a cemetery, though two graves already predated the lodge's ownership. Buried among the grounds are veterans of the Texas Revolution—men like Andrew Ponton and Amasa Turner—along with three Texas Masonic grand masters and prominent local citizens. The lodge expanded the site in 1903.

Jesse Kencheloe Davis

Gonzales, TX

Jesse Kencheloe Davis was an Alabama-born soldier who fought at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, the decisive clash that won Texas its independence from Mexico. He lived out his years in Gonzales County — the very town remembered as the flashpoint of the Texas Revolution — and is buried here with his wife Eliza.