Fielding G. Secrest
Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Served in Captain Henry W. Karnes' company of cavalry at San Jacinto. Died in Huston, June 1, 1840. His wife Eliza Sneed Secrest died in 1839.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
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.
Why it matters
His grave marker honors one of the ordinary soldiers whose service at San Jacinto secured the birth of the Republic of Texas.
The story behind this marker
AI contextThe era
In the spring of 1836, Texas was in the middle of its war for independence from Mexico. The fall of the Alamo and the killings at Goliad had driven many settlers east in a desperate flight. Sam Houston's small army retreated for weeks. Then, on April 21, 1836, it turned and struck Santa Anna's forces at San Jacinto, winning a stunning victory in a matter of minutes that effectively secured Texan independence.
In the years right after, the new Republic of Texas was building itself almost from scratch. The city of Houston was founded in 1836, named for the victorious general, and served for a time as the Republic's capital. It was a raw, muddy, fast-growing place, full of ambition and hardship.
Life in early Houston could be dangerous in ways that had nothing to do with battle. Disease, especially yellow fever, swept through Gulf Coast towns in those years, and 1839 was a notably deadly year in Houston. Many who had survived the war did not survive the peace for long.
People & events
Fielding G. Secrest was one of the men who rode to San Jacinto. He served in the cavalry company of Captain Henry W. Karnes. Karnes was among the best-known scouts of the Texas Revolution, and his mounted men acted as the army's eyes during the tense days before the battle. Cavalry was scarce in the Texian army, and the men who rode in it were in constant demand.
We know little more of Secrest's service than the marker tells us, and it's worth being honest about that. Many of the soldiers at San Jacinto left no letters or memoirs, only their names on a muster roll. Secrest's marker keeps one of those names from slipping away.
The marker's last lines tell a personal story. His wife, Eliza Sneed Secrest, died in 1839. Fielding followed her on June 1, 1840, in Houston. The marker spells the city "Huston," a reminder of how new the place and its name still were. Only a year separated their deaths, a small sorrow set against the founding of a nation.
Its place in the American story
San Jacinto was more than a local victory. It created the Republic of Texas, which less than a decade later joined the United States. That annexation helped bring on the war with Mexico, which in turn opened the vast Southwest to the country. Few battles so short have reshaped the American map so much.
Markers like this one matter because they turn a famous event into individual lives. The history books remember Houston, Santa Anna and a handful of officers. The battle was actually won by several hundred ordinary men, farmers and newcomers like Fielding Secrest, most of whom lived and died in obscurity.
His short life after the war also reflects a wider truth about the frontier. Independence did not make life safe. The generation that won Texas often faced disease, poverty and early death in the young towns they helped build. Remembering them honestly means remembering both the victory and its cost.
If you visit
This marker stands in Houston, not far from the heart of the modern city. The contrast is part of the experience. Glass towers now rise over ground that in Secrest's day belonged to a frontier town only a few years old. Take a quiet moment to imagine Houston as a scatter of rough buildings along the bayou.
Memorial markers like this invite reflection more than sightseeing, so visit respectfully. Notice the spare wording of the inscription. It gives a unit, a battle and two dates, and that plainness says a lot about how little of his life was recorded.
To round out the story, head east to the San Jacinto Battleground, where the monument and grounds bring the battle Secrest fought in to life. Seeing where he fought, then where he rests, makes a meaningful half-day of Texas Revolution history.
Written by AI to add context, grounded in the marker’s inscription and the historical record. The inscription above is the original, unaltered text.
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Related people
- · Fielding G. Secrest
- · Henry W. Karnes
- · Eliza Sneed Secrest
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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