Shirley Farris Jones, The Murfreesboro Post, March 10, 2013
Henry McCulloch (left) and his brother, Ben McCulloch, traveled from Rutherford County, Tenn., to participate in the fight for Texas independence in March 1836. (Photos submitted)
Wednesday marked the 177th anniversary of the end of one of the most courageous, albeit ill-fated and hopeless standoffs in American history, when fewer than 200 brave citizens attempted to hold off a Mexican army of more than 6,000 in the fight for Texas independence.
Despite the odds, they managed to do the impossible for 13 days in 1836. When it was over, approximately 189 men died in the defense of the Alamo, 32 among them from Tennessee, including David Crockett.
Had fate not intervened in the way of a simple case of measles, two of Rutherford County’s own would have been among the casualties. These two would go on to distinguish themselves and fight another day.
Few families could boast of having two sons attain the rank of brigadier general during the Civil War, but of the 12 children born to Alexander McCulloch and his wife, Frances Fisher LeNoir McCulloch, two of their boys would do just that.
Both were born near Old Jefferson in northern Rutherford County – Benjamin on Nov. 11, 1811, and Henry Eustace on Dec. 6, 1816.
In the fall of 1820, when Ben McCulloch was 10 years old and Henry McCulloch was just 5, the family moved to Alabama. A few years later, the family moved on to west Tennessee, finally settling at Dyersburg, where one of their closest neighbors was David Crockett.
Ben McCulloch, especially, would be greatly influenced by David Crockett. When the disillusioned David Crockett headed for Texas in 1835, the McCulloch brothers decided to share in the adventure.
They were scheduled to meet David Crockett’s Tennessee boys at Nacogdoches on Christmas Day, but Ben McCulloch was bedridden with measles and sick for several weeks, a delay which prevented them from arriving in San Antonio until after the Alamo had fallen on March 6, 1836.
Benjamin McCulloch
After missing the Alamo, Ben McCulloch made a name for himself in Texas politics and military, only to fall to the Minié ball of a Union Army sharpshooter during the Civil War.
First he joined Sam Houston’s army in the Texan fight for independence and at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. Over the next three years, he would be granted certificates for almost 1,000 acres of Texas land but left the army to come back to Tennessee, only to return a few months later with a company of 30 volunteers, commanded by Robert Crockett, the son of David Crockett.
After serving as a land surveyor for a time in the new Republic of Texas, Ben McCulloch joined the Texas Rangers and eventually earned the reputation as a being a very good Indian fighter, favoring shotguns, pistols and Bowie knives to the regulation saber and carbine.
Among his stints in the state House of Representatives, Ben McCulloch was appointed major general in command of all Texas militia west of the Colorado River and was named chief of scouts. He eventually became known nationwide for his daring exploits in northern Mexico.
By this time, he was 36 years old and had never married. Ben McCulloch once said of himself, that he was “not handsome enough to marry to advantage.” Family members, however, felt his restless spirit and unwillingness to settle down in one place as the main reason.
After joining the California gold rush and serving as the sheriff of Sacramento, Calif., he returned to Texas in 1852, only to be appointed federal commissioner to Utah in 1858.
With the coming of the Civil War, he once again returned to Texas where he was commissioned a colonel and given orders to capture the federal garrison at San Antonio. Successfully carrying out these orders, he was then appointed brigadier general by Jefferson Davis, president of the Confederate States.
On March 7, 1862, Ben McCulloch commanded the Confederate right wing at the Battle of Pea Ridge, Ark., and as he rode forward ahead of his troops to scout out enemy positions, he was shot by an enemy sharpshooter.
He was known for his dislike of army uniforms and when carried from the battlefield, was wearing a black velvet suit, patent leather high-top boots, and a broad-brimmed Texas hat. He was taken to a field hospital, and when told by a physician that he had only a few moments to live, he looked up and said, “Oh, hell.” He then turned his head and died.
Ben McCulloch was first buried on the field at Pea Ridge, later removed with other casualties of the battle to a cemetery in Little Rock, and finally re-interred in the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
Henry McCulloch
Although perhaps not quite as illustrious as that of his brother, Henry Eustace McCulloch’s career mirrored his brother’s in many aspects.
Like his brother, Henry McCulloch was a land surveyor for the Republic of Texas and made a reputation for himself as an Indian fighter.
He was also a member of the Texas Rangers and was elected to the Republic of Texas House of Representatives and as a sheriff. Like Ben McCulloch, he too, received an appointment as U.S. Marshal and was a delegate to the Texas secession convention in January 1861.
Unlike his brother’s run at public office, Henry McCulloch’s campaign for the state House turned out to be both contentious and slanderous, resulting in a rifle duel with his opponent, Reuben Ross, who inflicted a crippling wound to his arm. The next year, issues flared up again and Henry McCulloch killed Ross in a pistol fight.
Unlike Ben McCulloch who remained single, he married Isabella Ashby on Aug. 20, 1840, and over the coming years, they would become the parents of a dozen children.
Henry McCulloch received a commission as colonel to the Texas Provisional Army and, on March 4, 1861, was appointed commander of the 1st Texas Cavalry Regiment, which was the first state cavalry regiment to enter Confederate service.
On March 14, 1861, Henry was promoted to brigadier general and was soon in command of various districts throughout Texas.
Henry McCulloch was back in Texas during 1864 and 1865, and in charge of the western sub-district of Texas under the command of Gen. John B. Magruder, dealing not only with Confederate deserters and bushwhackers, but also the almost constant threat of Indian raids.
More fortunate than his brother, Henry McCulloch survived and returned to his home in Seguin, Texas, at the end of the war, only to find it necessary to have an armed escort due to threats against his life from deserters.
He enjoyed his retirement, working with a railroad and as superintendent for the Deaf and Dumb Asylum near Austin, entertaining distinguished visitors in his home, giving interviews, and providing information to historical writers.
Henry McCulloch died March 12, 1895 at Rockport, Texas.
Their stories are not only fascinating, they are also important, because the two Rutherford County siblings were the only brothers known to serve as general officers in the Confederate army.