Maxey, Samuel Bell, 1825-1895

Texas soldier and senator.

Born in Tompkinsville, Kentucky, Samuel Bell Maxey (1825-1895) received an appointment to the U. S. Military Academy at West Point at the age of 17. After graduation Maxey joined the 7th Infantry in Monterrey, Mexico, during the Mexican War where he participated in the battles of Contreras, Churubusco, and Molina del Rey. After the war he resigned from the army and returned to Kentucky to study law under his father. Maxey married Marilda Cass Denton, though an increasingly unprofitable practice forced the families to move to Texas in 1857, where they settled in Paris. Shortly after arriving in Texas, Maxey was appointed district attorney for Lamar County, a position he held until joining the Confederate Army in 1861. Maxey organized the 9th Texas Infantry Regiment that joined a Confederate Army in Memphis and fought at Shiloh, though Maxey saw little action and typically commanded support functions, such as guarding roads and bridges. In 1863, Maxey was given command of the Indian Territory, though he saw no major engagements.

After the war, Maxey struggled to gain the presidential pardon necessary for high-ranking ex-Confederate offices until his former West Point classmate, Ulysses S. Grant, recommended Maxey for one. He was thus able to reopen his law practice and run for political office. In 1875, Maxey was elected to the U. S. Senate, where he argued for free silver, internal improvements for Texas, and was instrumental in improving the postal system in Texas. After being replaced by the Texas Legislature for not taking interest in national or party affairs in 1887, Maxey returned to Paris and his law practice until his death in 1895.

Source:

Horton, Louise. "Maxey, Samuel Bell." Handbook of Texas Online. Accessed July 12, 2011.