Brooks, John Sowers, 1814-1836

Born to Absalom H. Brooks in Staunton, Virginia, John Sowers Brooks (1814-1836) worked for the Staunton Spectator, before joining the United States Marine Corps in 1835. That November, he moved to Texas to fight in the Texas Revolution, serving as adjutant of the Georgia Battalion under the command of James W. Fannin, Jr., and participating in the Matamoros Expedition. In 1836, Brooks was appointed an aide to Fannin while also becoming chief engineer of the artillery, shortly before his death in the Goliad Massacre on March 27, 1836.

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