DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker at Old Bayview Cemetery has to say — and friend, this one earns every word. On September 13, 1845, a steamer called the Dayton was doing the unglamorous work of ferrying soldiers from St. Joseph's Island to Corpus Christi.
Somewhere near McGloin's Bluff — the place later known as Old Ingleside — the boiler burst. Seven soldiers died that day. Just like that, before the Mexican War had even properly started, the army needed a place to put its dead.
Brigadier General Zachary Taylor, encamped right there in Corpus Christi with his army, went to a man named H.L. Kinney — founder of Corpus Christi himself — and obtained a burial site. The very next day, September 14th, a military funeral took place.
Colonel Hitchcock, who served under Taylor, wrote about it in words that have held up better than most. He said the ground was on the brow of the hill, northwest of camp, and that it commanded a view of the Nueces and Corpus Christi bays. His exact words: 'It is a beautiful spot.' Hard to argue with the Colonel.
That made Old Bayview the oldest federal military cemetery in Texas — laid out by U.S. Army engineers on the eve of war. Then in 1846, Taylor's army left Corpus Christi, and the cemetery quietly became something larger: a community burial ground.
Pioneer settlers came to rest there alongside veterans of the War of 1812, the Texas War for Independence, the Mexican War, Indian campaigns, the Civil War, and conflicts that came after. The markers bear the names of men from the 9th U.S. Cavalry, the 1st U.S.
Infantry, the 38th U.S. Infantry, the U.S. Mounted Rifles, and the 1st Texas Cavalry.
What started as an emergency — seven men, a burst boiler, a hillside above two bays — became the ground where a whole region laid down its generations. Colonel Hitchcock picked well.
What the marker says
The oldest federal military cemetery in Texas, Old Bayview was laid out by U.S. Army engineers while Brig. Gen. Zachary Taylor was encamped in Corpus Christi on the eve of the Mexican War. On Sept. 13, 1845, the steamer "Dayton", used to transfer men from St. Joseph's Island to Corpus Christi, burst a boiler near McGloin's Bluff (Old Ingleside), killing seven soldiers. Taylor obtained a burial site from H.L. Kinney, founder of Corpus Christi. Col. Hitchcock, who served under Taylor, wrote: "On September 14, a military funeral took place at the burial ground which I selected. It is on the brow of the hill northwest of camp, and commands a view of the Nueces and Corpus Christi bays. It is a beautiful spot." After Taylor's army left Corpus Christi in 1846, the cemetery became the community burial ground. Here are graves of pioneer settlers, and of veterans of War of 1812, Texas War for independence, Mexican War, Indian campaigns, Civil War, and later conflicts. Markers bear the names of men of the 9th U.S. Cavalry, 1st U.S. Infantry, 38th U.S. Infantry, U.S. Mounted Rifles, and 1st Texas Cavalry. (1967)