James Pinckney Henderson
San Augustine, San Augustine County, Texas
Marker Inscription
[front] HENDERSON [back] Born in North Carolina March 31 1808 * Arrived in Texas June 3, 1836 at the head of a company of volunteers * Attorney General of the Republic 1836 * Secretary of State 1836-1837 * Minister to England and France 1837-1839 * Special Minister to the United States 1844 * First Governor of the State of Texas 1846-1847 * Major General in command of Texas Forces in the Mexican War 1846-1847 receiving a vote of thanks and sword from the US Congress for gallantry * United States Senator from Texas 1857-1858 * Died in Washington D.C. June 4 1858 Erected by the State of Texas 1936 With funds appropriated by the Federal Government to commemorate one hundred years of Texas Independence
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A North Carolina lawyer who arrived in Texas in 1836 leading a company of volunteers, James Pinckney Henderson swiftly became one of the young Republic's leading statesmen, serving as attorney general, secretary of state, and diplomat to Europe. When Texas joined the Union, voters chose him as the state's first governor in 1846. He then led Texas troops as a major general in the Mexican War, earning a formal vote of thanks and a sword from Congress, before a late turn as U.S. senator.
Why it matters
Henderson's life spans Texas's passage from independent republic to American state and into the war that carried the U.S. border to the Pacific.
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Related people
- · James Pinckney Henderson
Related events
- · Mexican-American War
- · Texas statehood
Themes & tags
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