McCulloch family

The two most memorable members of the McCulloch family are Benjamin and Henry Eustace McCulloch who were prominent early Texas settlers and Confederate officers born of Alexander and Frances McCulloch. Benjamin McCulloch was born in 1811 in Tennessee. He followed Crockett to Texas in 1835 and although an illness prevented him from reaching the Alamo before its fall, McCulloch commanded one of the Twin Sisters during the Battle of San Jacinto. Shortly after, he left the army to become a surveyor and Texas Ranger. McCulloch began his political career in 1839 when he was elected to the House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas. McCulloch did not seek reelection and continued his military career, participating at the Battle of Plum Creek. During the Mexican War, he raised a command of Texas Rangers and received much acclaim for his efforts. McCulloch became a brigadier general in the Army of the Confederate States of America and was killed at the Battle of Pea Ridge on March 7, 1862.

Henry Eustace McCulloch was born in 1816 in Tennessee but made his way to Texas where he participated in military affairs in early Texas and joined the Texas Rangers. In 1840 and 1842 McCulloch participated in the Battle of Plum Creek and the Battle of Salado Creek respectively. During the Mexican War, he served as a captain of a volunteer company and ultimately served as a high-ranking Confederate officer during the Civil War, where among many accomplishments he organized the First Regiment, Texas Mounted Riflemen, in 1861. McCulloch mixed his military career with business ventures including establishing a merchandising career in Seguin where he retired after his long military and political career. McCulloch was married to Jane Isabella Ashby in 1840, and he died in 1895.

From the guide to the McCulloch family papers MC167., 1855-1861, (Albert and Ethel Herzstein Library, )