Robert Rankin
Austin, Travis County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(FRONT)Born in Virginia, 1753 - Died In Cold Springs, San Jacinto County, Texas, 1837 Erected by the State of Texas 1936 (BACK) Robert Rankin was an officer in the Continental Army, Virginia Troops, 1776, in the same company with his near kinsman, John Marshall, who later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States - He participated in the Battle of Brandywine, Germantown and Stony Point and in the Siege of Charleston - Three of his sons, Joseph, John Keith, and James Rankin, served in the War of 1812 - Joseph was massacred by Indians at Fort Mims in Alabama in 1813 - John Keith and James Rankin died in Texas, as did two other sons, Frederick and Thomas, who had served in the Army of Texas
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in Virginia in 1753, Robert Rankin served as an officer in the Continental Army's Virginia troops from 1776, in the same company as his kinsman John Marshall, the future Chief Justice. He fought at Brandywine, Germantown, and Stony Point and endured the Siege of Charleston. His sons carried the family's service into the War of 1812, one of them killed in the 1813 massacre at Fort Mims in Alabama, before several of them died in Texas.
Why it matters
Rankin's story links a founding-era Revolutionary soldier to the westward migration of veteran families whose descendants helped settle and fight for Texas.
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Related people
- · Robert Rankin
- · John Marshall
- · Joseph Rankin
- · John Keith Rankin
- · James Rankin
Related events
- · Battle of Brandywine
- · Battle of Germantown
- · Battle of Stony Point
- · Siege of Charleston
- · Fort Mims Massacre
Themes & tags
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