DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it this way, and I'm just the one lucky enough to pass it along. Now, some names in Texas history sit quiet in the corner, and some fill up the whole room. Walter Paye Lane filled up the room.
Born February 18, 1817, he came into a world that was about to need men like him badly. And he answered every time it called. San Jacinto.
That word alone carries a weight that every Texan feels somewhere in the chest. Lane was there. A hero of San Jacinto — that's not a thing you put in small print.
That's the founding fire of Texas itself, and Walter Paye Lane stood in it. But he wasn't done. Not even close.
After San Jacinto came the frontier, and the frontier in those days was no romantic notion. It was dangerous country, and Lane rode into it as an Indian fighter, holding a line that needed holding. Then came the Mexican War, and Texas needed someone to lead her Rangers.
They turned to Lane. Commander of Texas Rangers in the Mexican War. You think about the kind of man who earns that commission, and you start to understand that this was someone the hard times kept reaching for.
And then — the Civil War. Lane put on the gray and rose to Brigadier General in the Confederate army. Another call.
Another answer. He died January 22, 1892, and the State of Texas marked his resting place in 1936 with words that don't waste a syllable. With honor untarnished, he rests from his labors.
Hero. Fighter. Commander.
General. There's a whole Texas in that one life.
What the marker says
Hero of San Jacinto - Indian fighter - Commander of Texas Rangers in Mexican War - Brigadier General in the Confederate army - Born, February 18, 1817 - Died, January 22, 1892. With honor untarnished he rests from his labors. Marked by the State of Texas 1936