DUANE
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Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about General Alexander Watkins Terrell, and friend, this one's worth slowing down for. Born in Patrick County, Virginia, on November 23, 1827, Alexander Watkins Terrell arrived in Texas in 1852, and Texas, as it tends to do, held onto him. The state had a way of doing that with the right kind of man.
He served as District Judge of the Second Judicial District from 1857 to 1863, which tells you something right there. The man knew the law, and he knew how to sit in judgment. Then the war came.
Terrell went in as Lieutenant Colonel of the Thirty-Fourth Texas Regiment, C.S.A., and by 1865 he had earned a promotion to Brigadier General. That's the title that followed him the rest of his days. General.
You earn a name like that, it tends to stick. Now here's where the story takes a turn that lesser men might not have managed. After the war, Terrell didn't disappear into the dust.
He came back to Texas, and he came back swinging, politically speaking. He served in the Texas Legislature as a Senator from 1876 all the way to 1907. Think about the ground that covers, the Texas that changed around him while he kept his seat.
And somewhere in the middle of all that, from 1893 to 1896, the United States sent him to Turkey as Minister. A judge, a general, a senator, a diplomat. Then on September 9, 1912, Alexander Watkins Terrell died while visiting in Mineral Wells.
Not at home, not on a battlefield, not in some grand hall of power. Visiting. There's something quietly human about that ending for a man who lived so large.
What the marker says
General Alexander Watkins Terrell, born in Patrick County, Va., November 23, 1827. Came to Texas in 1852. Died while visiting in Mineral Wells, September 9, 1912. District Judge, Second Judicial District, 1857-1863, Lieutenant Colonel, Thirty-Fourth Texas Regiment, C.S.A. Until 1865 when he was promoted to Brigadier General. Senator, Texas Legislature, 1876-1907, U.S. Minister to Turkey, 1893-1896.