DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Major Leon Dyer — and friend, this one is worth your full attention. The man known as Major Leon Dyer did not start out with that name. He came into this world on October 2, 1807, in Mayene, Germany, as Feist Emanuel Heim — or Haim, depending on who was doing the spelling.
His parents were John Maximilian and Isabella Dyer, Isabella going by Babette, the way folks sometimes do. Around 1812, the family crossed the Atlantic and put down roots in Baltimore, where they started a meat packing business. So right away you've got a family that knows how to move, and how to hustle.
By October 4, 1833, Leon Dyer had become a citizen of the United States. Two years after that, he was elected trustee of the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation — a man of standing, building something. But Baltimore in 1835 was not a quiet place.
Dyer found himself involved in the Baltimore Bank Riots that August. Shortly after that, he was gone — south to New Orleans, where he opened a branch of the family packing house. Now here's where the story starts picking up speed.
Dyer participated in the Second Seminole War in Florida, and on February 28, 1836, he was appointed Regimental Quartermaster of the Louisiana Volunteer Militia. That appointment was barely dry on the page when, in April of 1836, Dyer met a man named General Thomas Jefferson Green — and whatever Green said to him, it worked. Dyer joined the Texas War of Independence.
He arrived in Galveston on April 20, 1836. According to newspaper accounts, he provided General Houston with supplies. You have to sit with that a moment.
The Battle of San Jacinto was fought on April 21, 1836. Dyer rolled in the day before. The marker doesn't draw that line for us, so I won't either — but I'll let you draw your own conclusions about the timing.
On May 18, 1836, David G. Burnet, the President of the Republic of Texas, appointed Dyer as Major. He saw active service clearing western Texas of Mexican troops.
And then — and the marker uses the careful phrase "it is also said" — Dyer was assigned the task of escorting General Santa Anna himself to Washington, D.C. in January of 1837. The vanquished general of the Mexican Army, escorted by a man who'd been born Feist Emanuel Heim in Mayene, Germany. History has a sense of humor, and not always a gentle one.
From 1840 to 1845, Dyer returned to Baltimore. In 1847, he received a Hays County land grant for his service to the Republic of Texas. After that, the man lived — and I mean lived broadly — throughout the United States, London, and Germany.
On July 6, 1852, he married his cousin Sarah Nachman, and they had four children together. Businessman. Political activist.
Soldier. Diplomat. That's how the marker remembers him.
Leon Dyer died in Louisville, Kentucky, on September 14, 1883, and he is buried right here — at the Hebrew Benevolent Society Cemetery in Galveston. A man who crossed an ocean as a child, crossed continents as a soldier, and ended up in the Gulf Coast soil of Texas. Feist Emanuel Heim.
Major Leon Dyer. One life, a whole lot of ground covered.
What the marker says
LEON DYER WAS BORN FEIST EMANUEL HEIM (HAIM) ON OCT. 2, 1807 IN MAYENE, GERMANY, TO JOHN MAXIMILIAN AND ISABELLA (BABETTE) NACHMANN DYER. THE FAMILY IMMIGRATED TO THE U.S. AROUND 1812 AND SETTLED IN BALTIMORE WHERE THEY BEGAN A MEAT PACKING BUSINESS. ON OCT. 4, 1833, DYER BECAME A CITIZEN OF THE U.S. HE WAS ELECTED TRUSTEE OF THE BALTIMORE HEBREW CONGREGATION TWO YEARS LATER. SHORTLY AFTER BEING INVOLVED IN THE BALTIMORE BANK RIOTS IN AUGUST 1835, DYER MOVED TO NEW ORLEANS TO OPEN A BRANCH OF THE FAMILY PACKING HOUSE. DYER PARTICIPATED IN THE SECOND SEMINOLE WAR IN FLORIDA, AND ON FEB. 28, 1836, HE WAS APPOINTED REGIMENTAL QUARTERMASTER OF THE LOUISIANA VOLUNTEER MILITIA. IN APRIL 1836, DYER MET GENERAL THOMAS JEFFERSON GREEN AND JOINED THE TEXAS WAR OF INDEPENDENCE. HE ARRIVED IN GALVESTON ON APRIL 20, 1836 AND ACCORDING TO NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS, PROVIDED GENERAL HOUSTON WITH SUPPLIES. ON MAY 18, 1836, DYER WAS APPOINTED MAJOR BY DAVID G. BURNET, THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS, AND SAW ACTIVE SERVICE WITH CLEARING WESTERN TEXAS OF MEXICAN TROOPS. IT IS ALSO SAID THAT DYER WAS ASSIGNED THE TASK OF ESCORTING GENERAL SANTA ANNA TO WASHINGTON, D.C. IN JAN. 1837. FROM 1840-1845, DYER RETURNED TO BALTIMORE, AND IN 1847, HE RECEIVED A HAYS COUNTY LAND GRANT FOR HIS SERVICE TO THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS. THEREAFTER, HE LIVED THROUGHOUT THE U.S., LONDON, AND GERMANY. HE MARRIED HIS COUSIN, SARAH NACHMAN, ON JULY 6, 1852 AND THEY HAD FOUR CHILDREN. REMEMBERED AS A BUSINESSMAN, POLITICAL ACTIVIST, SOLDIER, AND DIPLOMAT, DYER DIED IN LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY ON SEPT. 14, 1883. HE IS BURIED AT HEBREW BENEVOLENT SOCIETY CEMETERY IN GALVESTON.