DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker says about John C. Hale, a man whose story deserves to be told slow and steady. Nine patriots died at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Nine men who fought in what would be the final military conflict of the Texas Revolution — and John C. Hale was one of them. He came into this world on April 3, 1806, born in Scott County, Virginia.
He married a woman named Barshaba Miller, back home in Virginia, in 1830. And then the family started moving west, the way families did. By 1835, John and Barshaba and their children had put down roots in Sabine County — settled in a place called Milam.
Now, 1835 is a meaningful year in Texas. The air was full of something unsettled, something building. And John C.
Hale, still a young man, heard it. He joined the war effort against Mexico, took a commission as a first lieutenant, and marched toward what history had waiting for him. April 21, 1836.
The Battle of San Jacinto. The day the revolution ended — but not before it took something from the world. John C.
Hale died in combat that day. He was thirty years old. He was buried with seven other battle casualties right there at the site of the Texan campground.
Back in Milam, Barshaba and those children got word. And eventually, for his service, his heirs received 960 acres of land. The Republic didn't forget John Hale.
Neither did the Legislature — they named Hale County out in West Texas in honor of his patriotism and his service during the Texas Revolution. A county bearing your name in a state you helped bring into being. That's not a small thing.
That's the kind of mark that outlasts the man by a long, long measure.
What the marker says
John C. Hale, one of nine patriots killed at the Battle of San Jacinto, was born in Scott County, Virginia on April 3, 1806. He married Barshaba Miller in his home state in 1830, and by 1835 moved with his wife and children to Sabine County. They were living in Milam when John joined the war effort against Mexico as a first lieutenant. At the age of 30, he died in combat in the final military conflict of the revolution on April 21, 1836, and was buried with seven other battle casualties at the site of the Texan campground. For Hale's service, his heirs received 960 acres of land. In addition, the Legislature named Hale County in West Texas in honor of his patriotism and service during the Texas Revolution. (2006)