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Early Republic

John Leggett Marshall

Temple vicinity, Bell County, Texas

Marker Inscription

(June 13, 1811-January 11, 1897) A native of Illinois, John Leggett Marshall came to Texas with his family in 1829. A farmer and blacksmith, he enlisted in the army in March 1836 to fight in Texas' War for Independence from Mexico. A participant in the San Jacinto campaign, he and four of his brothers were members of Captain Gibson Kuykendall's Company E, detailed at Harrisburg during the Battle of San Jacinto. He went to California during the 1849 Gold Rush and settled in Bell County when he returned in 1853. Married three times, Marshall was the father of nine children. (1989)

Erected by Texas Historical Commission

The Story

An Illinois native, John Leggett Marshall came to Texas in 1829 and enlisted in 1836 to fight for independence, taking part in the San Jacinto campaign alongside four brothers in Captain Kuykendall's company. He joined the 1849 California Gold Rush and, on returning, settled in Bell County in 1853, where he farmed and worked as a blacksmith. He married three times and raised nine children.

Why it matters

Marshall's life traces the sweep of frontier America โ€” Texas independence, the Gold Rush, and the settling of Central Texas โ€” through one restless pioneer.

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Related people

  • ยท John Leggett Marshall
  • ยท Gibson Kuykendall

Related events

  • ยท Battle of San Jacinto
  • ยท California Gold Rush

Themes & tags

Military & WartimeWestward ExpansionFrontier HistoryMemorial

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Bird Creek Indian Battle

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Captain Andrew Caddell

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Andrew Caddell was a North Carolina-born soldier who marched with the Texian army in the 1836 revolution, standing in the ranks as a private at the Battle of San Jacinto that won Texas its independence. He later rose to command a company of volunteers, part of the generation of frontier settlers who fought for and then built the young Republic of Texas. He and his wife Rhoda made their lives in the Bell County country, where this marker records their years.