George Washington Glasscock
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Born in Kentucky in 1810, G. W. Glasscock served in the Illinois militia in the Black Hawk War of 1832 in the same two units as Abraham Lincoln. Later he was Lincoln's business partner in flat-boating on the Sangamon River. In 1834, George came to Texas and settled in Zavala. As events unfolded in 1835, he quickly became involved in the Texas Revolution, fighting alongside Jim Bowie and Ben Milam in the Siege of Bexar. After independence, George was a surveyor and moved to the Williamson County area in 1846, where he opened the area's first gristmill and donated land for the county seat. He settled in Austin and became a state legislator and a prominent citizen. Georgetown and Glasscock County are named in his honor. (2014)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
George Washington Glasscock's life reads like a thread connecting two frontiers: he served beside Abraham Lincoln in the 1832 Black Hawk War and partnered with him flat-boating the Sangamon River before heading to Texas in 1834. He fought alongside Jim Bowie and Ben Milam in the Siege of Bexar during the Texas Revolution, then turned surveyor, built the area's first gristmill, and donated land for the county seat. Georgetown and Glasscock County still carry his name.
Why it matters
Glasscock embodies the restless westward migration of the early republic, when the same men who knew Lincoln in Illinois helped wrest Texas from Mexico and lay out its towns.
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Related people
- · George Washington Glasscock
- · Abraham Lincoln
- · Jim Bowie
- · Ben Milam
Related events
- · Black Hawk War
- · Siege of Bexar
- · Texas Revolution
Themes & tags
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