James S. Gillett
Lampasas, Lampasas County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(1810-1874) Lawyer and frontier fighter. Born in Kentucky. Attained rank of Major in Mexican War, 1846-49. He was elected to the 3rd Texas Legislature, serving 1849-50. Appointed by Gov. P. H. Bell, he was Adjutant General of Texas, Nov. 24, 1851, to Feb. 4, 1856. He was again in the Texas Rangers in 1859-60 and served under Confederacy in Civil War, 1861-65. He married Elizabeth Harper. One of their children was famed Texas Ranger James B. Gillett.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
James S. Gillett's life traced the martial history of nineteenth-century Texas: a Kentucky-born frontier fighter who earned a major's rank in the Mexican War, sat in the early Texas Legislature, served as Adjutant General, rode again with the Texas Rangers, and finally soldiered for the Confederacy. His son James B. Gillett would carry the family name into Ranger legend. The marker gathers a career that touched nearly every armed chapter of the state's formative decades.
Why it matters
Gillett embodies how a single frontier generation moved from the Mexican War through Ranger service to the Civil War, binding Texas's story to the larger American one.
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Related people
- · James S. Gillett
- · James B. Gillett
- · Elizabeth Harper
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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Lampasas County, C.S.A.
Lampasas, TX
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