Eli Noland
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In Captain William S. Fisher's company at San Jacinto. Born in Ohio in 1804; died in Houston, December 17, 1841.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Eli Noland served in Captain William S. Fisher's company at the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive 1836 clash that won Texas its independence from Mexico. Born in Ohio in 1804, he died in Houston in 1841, in the early years of the Republic he had helped create.
Why it matters
Markers to San Jacinto veterans preserve the memory of the ordinary soldiers whose single afternoon of fighting reshaped the map of North America.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the spring of 1836, Texas was fighting for its independence from Mexico. The Alamo had fallen in March, and the Goliad massacre followed soon after. Settlers across Texas fled eastward in what became known as the Runaway Scrape, while General Sam Houston's small army retreated before Mexican forces under General Antonio López de Santa Anna.
On April 21, 1836, near the San Jacinto River, Houston's army turned and attacked. The battle was over in minutes, Santa Anna's force was routed, and Santa Anna himself was captured. That afternoon decided the war and secured the independence of the Republic of Texas.
In the years that followed, the new republic struggled to build a nation. A new town named Houston, founded in 1836 near the battlefield region, served for a time as the capital. It was rough, muddy and often unhealthy, but full of people trying to make new lives in the country they had just won.
People & events
Eli Noland was born in Ohio in 1804. Like many men who fought for Texas, he was an American who had come west, and he cast his lot with the Texan cause.
At San Jacinto he served in the company of Captain William S. Fisher. Fisher went on to a notable career in the Republic: he later served as its secretary of war, and he commanded the ill-fated Mier Expedition of 1842, in which many Texans were captured in Mexico. On the day of San Jacinto, though, his company was one of the units in Houston's army that charged across the field and won the battle.
We know little more about Noland than the marker tells us, and that in itself is part of his story. He died in Houston on December 17, 1841, only five years after the battle and at only 37. He lived to see the republic he had fought for, but not to see it join the United States.
Its place in the American story
San Jacinto was one of the most consequential battles in North American history. Texas independence led to annexation by the United States in 1845, which led in turn to the Mexican-American War. That war ended with Mexico giving up a vast territory in the Southwest, reshaping the map of the continent.
The battle was won by ordinary soldiers. Most of the men in Houston's army were not famous, and many left few records behind. Markers to veterans like Eli Noland keep alive the memory of the rank-and-file soldiers whose names would otherwise be lost.
Noland's Ohio birth is also telling. Many of the men who fought for Texas independence were recent arrivals from the United States, part of a westward migration that pulled Texas steadily toward the American union.
If you visit
This marker stands in Houston, the city that grew up in the years after San Jacinto and was named for the general who won the battle. The marker is small and simple, so take a moment to read it and think about the life it records: an Ohio-born man, a single famous afternoon, and a death in the young republic five years later.
The area is near downtown Houston, and Houston's early history is closely tied to San Jacinto veterans like Noland. If you have time, the San Jacinto Battleground State Historic Site, with its towering monument, is a short drive east of the city and lets you stand on the field where Noland and Fisher's company fought.
Together, the marker and the battleground make a meaningful half-day trip. The battleground shows you the event; this marker reminds you of one of the men who made it happen.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Eli Noland
- · William S. Fisher
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Major Isaac N. Moreland
Houston, TX
Isaac N. Moreland came to Texas from Georgia in 1834, in time to fight in the storming of Bexar and to command the artillery at San Jacinto, the battle that won Texas its independence in 1836. Promoted to major that summer, he went on to practice law with interim president David G. Burnet and served as chief justice of Harris County until his death in 1840. Houston's Masons and military companies buried him with honors.
Amos B. Edson
Houston, TX
Recruited in New Orleans for the Army of Texas, Amos B. Edson arrived in Texas on January 28, 1836, in the thick of the revolution. He served in Captain Amasa Turner's company at the Battle of San Jacinto — the decisive fight that won Texas its independence — but did not long survive the victory, dying at Houston in 1837.
William Gammell
Houston, TX
Born in Scotland, William Gammell fought at the Battle of San Jacinto in Captain A.H. Wyly's company, sharing in the decisive 1836 victory that won Texas its independence. He lived out his years in Houston, and later research traced his remains through several reinterments — from the old Masonic Cemetery to what is now Washington Cemetery. The layered plaques record a community's care in getting a veteran's story right.
Fielding G. Secrest
Houston, TX
Fielding G. Secrest rode with Captain Henry W. Karnes's cavalry at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, the decisive fight that won Texas its independence from Mexico. He died in Houston in 1840, only a year after the death of his wife, Eliza.