DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just keepin' the record straight for you. Now, every now and then you come across a life so full of soldiering that you start to wonder if the man ever owned a pair of shoes that weren't boots. Isaac Phillip Stem was one of those men.
Born in Tennessee in 1819, Stem didn't waste much time before picking up a rifle. In 1836 he enlisted in the Western Frontier Service right there in Tennessee. And then, that same October of 1836, he packed up and moved to Texas — which, at that particular moment in history, wasn't even a state yet.
He joined the Republic of Texas army at Houston. The Republic. Of Texas.
That's the kind of detail that has weight. He kept right on soldiering. On August 1, 1840, Stem was a participant in the Battle of Plum Creek, down in what is now Caldwell County.
That battle was fought between Texas soldiers and Comanche Indians, who had raided the coastal towns of Linnville and Victoria. Plum Creek wasn't a skirmish you'd forget. But Isaac Stem wasn't done.
He served in the Somervell Campaign of 1841. Then came the Mexican War, and there he was again — this time as a member of a company of mounted volunteers. After his discharge from the Texas troops in 1846, most men might've said, well, that's enough of that.
Not Stem. He walked straight to Corpus Christi and joined the United States Infantry to keep fighting the same war under a different flag. Then illness caught up with him — the one enemy you can't outride.
He was discharged at Monterrey. He returned to Tennessee, and if you think that meant rest, think again. He joined the Tennessee Volunteers at Memphis and later transferred into the U.S.
Infantry once more. At some point in all of this, Isaac Phillip Stem found himself a life beyond the battlefield. He and his wife, Lucy Ann Weaks, became the parents of eight children.
In 1869 the family moved to Robertson County, and Stem took up farming and ranching — trading the rifle for something that required a different kind of patience. He died in 1893. And he was buried here, beside his wife Lucy Ann.
From Tennessee to Texas to Monterrey and back again — Isaac Phillip Stem spent a lifetime answering one call after another. When it was finally over, Robertson County is where he chose to stay.
What the marker says
(1819-1893) Tennessee native Isaac Phillip Stem enlisted in the Western Frontier Service in that state in 1836. In October 1836 he moved to Texas and joined the Republic of Texas army at Houston. Continuing to serve in the military, Stem was a participant in the Battle of Plum Creek on August 1, 1840, in present Caldwell County. The battle was fought between Texas soldiers and Comanche Indians, who had raided the coastal towns of Linnville and Victoria. Stem served in the Somervell Campaign of 1841 and was a member of a company of mounted volunteers during the Mexican War. After his discharge from the Texas troops in 1846, Stem joined the United States Infantry at Corpus Christi and continued in the war with Mexico. Discharged at Monterrey due to illness, he later returned to Tennessee and joined the Tennessee Volunteers at Memphis. He later transferred into the U. S. Infantry once again. Isaac P. Stem and his wife, Lucy Ann Weaks, were the parents of eight children. The family moved to Robertson County in 1869 and Stem became a farmer and rancher. He died in 1893 and was buried here beside his wife.