DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker for Colonel Joseph Worthington Elliott Wallace — here's how I tell it. Now, Philadelphia is about as far from the Texas frontier as a man can get and still be on the same continent. But that's exactly where Colonel Joseph Worthington Elliott Wallace started his story, and he spent the rest of his life putting serious miles between himself and where he began.
Wallace served as United States Consul to the colonies in Texas from 1829 to 1832. That put him right in the thick of things during one of the most consequential stretches of Texas history — a time when the whole question of what this land would become was still very much up in the air. After his consul years, he didn't head back east.
He joined Austin's Colony instead, and he served in the campaigns that led toward the Texas War for Independence. A man who'd seen the territory in its colonial days was now helping shape what came after. By 1837, Wallace was putting down roots in a more literal sense.
Together with W. B. DeWees, he platted the town of Columbus.
Drew it out, laid it down, gave it shape on paper before the ground knew what it was going to become. And still, he wasn't done fighting. In 1840, Wallace was at the Battle of Plum Creek, part of the force repulsing Comanche Indians.
Two years later, in 1842, he was back in the field — this time serving under General Edward Burleson in defense against Mexico's invasions. Philadelphia to consul, consul to colonist, colonist to town-platter, town-platter to soldier — twice over. Colonel Wallace didn't just pass through Texas history.
He helped write it, one campaign at a time.
What the marker says
United States Consul to the colonies in Texas, 1829-1832. A native of Philadelphia, PA. He later joined Austin's Colony, serving in campaigns leading to Texas War for Independence. In 1837, with W. B. DeWees, he platted the town of Columbus. In 1840 he was in Battle of Plum Creek, repulsing Comanche Indians; in 1842, served under Gen. Edward Burleson in defense against Mexico's invasions.