DUANE
Duane's take
Here's what the official marker has to say, and friend, I'm going to give it the telling it deserves. Now, most folks, if they fight in one historic battle, they count themselves lucky. Maybe they tell that story the rest of their lives, maybe they write it down, maybe their grandkids roll their eyes at the dinner table.
Henry Prentice Redfield was not most folks. He was born on May 27, 1819, up in Derry, New Hampshire — about as far from Texas as a person can get and still be in the same country. But in 1831, somebody pointed him south and west, and twelve-year-old Henry Prentice Redfield came to Texas.
Whatever Texas was back then — wild, contested, full of promise and peril in equal measure — it agreed with him. Because four years later, in 1835, he joined the army. And then the battles started.
Battle of Gonzales, 1835. Siege of Bexar, 1835 — same year, still catching his breath. San Jacinto, 1836.
That's three engagements of the Texas Revolution, and he was there for all of them. Young Henry Redfield was apparently the kind of man who showed up wherever history was being made, whether history invited him or not. But it didn't stop there.
Not even close. He fought in the Indian wars. And in 1840, at the Battle of Plum Creek, Texas finally extracted a price — he was wounded.
Most men might have taken that as a sign. Henry took it as a Tuesday. Because in 1842, he was at the Battle of Salado Creek.
And then Mexico called, in a manner of speaking. When the Mexican War came around, Redfield joined the 1st Texas Cavalry in 1846. He fought at Resaca de la Palma.
He fought at the Siege of Monterrey. He served through 1847, which means by the time that war was done, this man had stood in more contested ground than most soldiers see in a lifetime of service. He also lived a life outside of battle.
He married Sarah Card, and later he married Julia Kersting. The marker doesn't elaborate, and we won't either — some things belong to a man and not to the historical record. Henry Prentice Redfield lived until February 27, 1900.
Born in New Hampshire in 1819, he made it all the way to the turn of a new century. Gonzales. Bexar.
San Jacinto. Plum Creek. Salado Creek.
Resaca de la Palma. Monterrey. That's not a military career.
That's a map of every critical moment Texas had for the better part of three decades — and one man who just kept showing up. Some people find history. Henry Prentice Redfield walked straight through it, came out the other side, and apparently did it again.
What the marker says
Texas Soldier Henry Prentice Redfield (May 27, 1819 - February 27, 1900) Born Derry, N.H.; came to Texas, 1831. Joined army, 1835. Fought at Battle of Gonzales, 1835; Siege of Bexar, 1835; San Jacinto, 1836 (all in Texas Revolution). Fought in Indian wars. Wounded at Battle of Plum Creek in 1840. In Battle of Salado Creek, 1842. In Mexican War he joined 1st Texas Cavalry, 1846-47. Fought at both Resaca de la Palma and the Siege of Monterrey. Married (first) Sarah Card and (second) Julia Kersting. Recorded - 1970