Benjamin Franklin Hughes (1820-?) was a soldier and sailor, who spent most of his life in the navy. In 1836, while in New Orleans, he enlisted in the battalion of Colonel Fannin and sailed to Galveston. He joined the army a few days before the Massacre at Goliad and fought in the battles of Refugio and Caleto, before surrendering with the rest of Fannin’s men. Hughes was rescued from the Massacre at Goliad by the order of Madame Captain Alvres. She requested that some men be saved to assist the army surgeons. Following his escape from Goliad, Hughes served in the Texas Navy aboard the Invincible, and later the United States Navy (1842-1844, 1853-1861). In the U.S. Navy, Hughes sailed aboard the U.S.S. Pennsylvania, the U.S.S. Constitution, the U.S.S. Brandywine, and the U. S. S. Lexington . During the Mexican War, Hughes served in the 10th Louisiana Regiment Volunteer Army. Hughes was a merchant seaman after the war and sailed all over the world.
From the guide to the Hughes, Benjamin Franklin, Diary, 1835-1875, (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)
