Stephen Williams
Jasper, Jasper County, Texas
Marker Inscription
(May 9, 1760- ca. 1839) Stephen Williams was born in North Carolina and was the fourth child of blacksmith Richard Williams, Jr. In 1778, he enlisted for the first of what would be many times in the armed forces. Enlisting three times in the United States Army, Williams fought in Revolutionary War battles including Briar Creek, Camden, and Eutaw Springs. Following the American Revolutionary War, he moved to St. Helena Parish, Louisiana. When the War of 1812 broke out, he volunteered for service and at age fifty-two served as a sentry. Shortly after the 1829 death of his wife, Delilah, in Louisiana, Williams relocated to Bevil's Settlement in Jasper County, Texas, and received a Mexican land grant. In November 1835 as the Siege of Bexar began, the 75-year-old veteran went armed with his rifle to participate. He served with four grandsons and one son-in-law in Captain Cheshire's Company and became first sergeant, ultimately receiving a Republic of Texas land grant for his service. Williams returned to Bevil's Settlement, where he died circa 1839. He was buried on his homesite, and he remained there for almost 100 years. Williams was one of many Texas heroes to be reinterred in the State Cemetery during the time of the Texas Centennial celebration in 1936, and a Texas Centennial grave monument was erected at his original burial site. In 1991, the grave marker was relocated to allow for increased visibility and accessibility. Although moved from its original location, the monument remains on land that was owned by Williams. (1991)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Born in North Carolina in 1760, Stephen Williams enlisted repeatedly in the Continental Army and fought in Revolutionary War battles at Briar Creek, Camden, and Eutaw Springs. He volunteered again in the War of 1812 as a fifty-two-year-old sentry, then in 1835 — at seventy-five — shouldered his rifle at the Siege of Bexar alongside a son and four grandsons in the Texas fight for independence. Buried on his Jasper County homesite around 1839, he was reinterred in the State Cemetery during the 1936 Texas Centennial, when this monument was placed at his original grave.
Why it matters
Williams's three enlistments across sixty years link the American Revolution, the War of 1812, and the Texas Revolution in a single life, embodying the veteran-settlers who carried the Revolutionary generation's fight to the Texas frontier.
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Related people
- · Stephen Williams
Related events
- · Siege of Bexar
Themes & tags
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