Alfonso Steele, one of the last remaining San Jacinto veterans, dies
114 years ago on July 8th, 1911
On this day in 1911, San Jacinto veteran Alfonso Steele died. In November 1835 the Kentucky native had joined Captain Daggett's company of volunteers bound for Texas to aid in the revolution. The company disbanded shortly after arriving at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Steele worked in a hotel and gristmill until the Declaration of Independence, then joined a company intending to go to the aid of Travis at the Alamo. Learning that the Alamo had fallen, they joined Houston's army. Steele was a private in Sydney Sherman's regiment at the battle of San Jacinto (April 21, 1836). He was severely wounded in one of the first volleys of the battle, but continued to fight until it ended. After recuperation he went to Montgomery County, where he farmed and raised cattle. He married Mary Ann Powell in 1838 and moved to Robertson County. In 1909 the Thirty-first Texas Legislature honored Steele as one of the last two living survivors of the battle of San Jacinto. He is buried at Mexia.
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From Cabeza de Vaca's ship-wreck in 1528 through the Texas Revolution to present day—almost 500 years of recorded history—a myriad of significant events in Texas history have occurred. These events are arranged by day of the year to allow the reader to see into the past on any specific day.
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