DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, Rusk County has seen its share of history roll through, but every now and then you come across a marker that doesn't need much real estate to carry a whole lot of weight. This one's about a man named Captain Robert Smith.
That's it. That's the name on the stone. And what it tells you about him is this — he was a soldier in the Texas War for Independence.
He was there at San Jacinto. In 1836. You want to talk about bein' in the right place at the right moment in history, well.
San Jacinto, 1836. Captain Robert Smith stood in that fight for Texas independence. Some stories don't need a long road to leave a mark.
His didn't.
What the marker says
Soldier in the Texas War for Independence at San Jacinto, 1836.