DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. George G. Alford — born June 17, 1793, in New York — lived the kind of life that would fill three lesser men to the brim.
He came up through the War of 1812 as an officer, which tells you something about the man right there. By 1836 he'd made his way from Missouri down into Texas, and he arrived right on time for one of the most consequential fights this land has ever seen. During the Texas Revolution, he served as General Sam Houston's quartermaster general.
Now, that's not a glamorous title — quartermaster generals don't get the ballads written about them — but you try running a revolution without supplies. Go ahead, I'll wait. Alford was the man who kept things moving.
And then, after the war, he went out on a supply trip for the Republic of Texas. Routine enough, you'd think. Only it wasn't.
Mexican forces captured him. Just like that, a man who'd helped win a revolution found himself a prisoner. Here's where the story takes a turn that even a campfire storyteller couldn't invent.
Word got to Washington. And it wasn't just any man in Washington — it was Andrew Jackson, President of the United States, who intervened on Alford's behalf. Mexican forces released him.
He came home. George G. Alford went on to own a plantation in Houston County, serve as justice of the peace, and serve as county judge — a man who'd seen war, captivity, and presidential intervention settling into the rhythms of county law.
He died April 1, 1847. The marker's recorded. The man was real.
What the marker says
(June 17, 1793 -- April 1, 1847) New York native George G. Alford, an officer in the War of 1812, came to Texas from Missouri in 1836. During the Texas Revolution he served as Gen. Sam Houston's quartermaster general. Captured by Mexican forces after the was while on a supply trip for the Republic of Texas, he was released by Mexican forces through intervention by the U.S. President, Andrew Jackson. Alford later owned a Houston County plantation and served as justice of the peace and county judge. Recorded - 1981