Lewis Johnson, Alamo defender, was born around 1813 in Virginia. On September 24, 1835, Lewis, from the Trinity jurisdiction, entered service as a volunteer in Capt. Robert M. Coleman’s First Company of the revolutionary army. He and his brother Frank participated in the Siege of Bexar, after which his brother was honorably discharged and returned to his family in the Nacogdoches Municipality. Lewis remained at Bexar under the command of Gen. Edward Burleson. On December 14, 1835, he volunteered to garrison Bexar under the command of Lt. Col. James C. Neill. In February 1836 he was one of those at the Alamo who participated in the election ordered by the General Consultation for members of the coming convention. On March 6, 1836, Lewis was killed at the battle of the Alamo.
Melton, Eliel
Eliel Melton was born in Georgia in 1798. Melton took part in the Siege of Bexar. He remained in Bexar as a member of Lt. Col. James C. Neill’s staff, where he served as quartermaster of the Alamo garrison with the rank of lieutenant. He may have attempted to flee the fortress in the final moments of the battle of the Alamo and died outside of the walls. Susannah W. Dickinson later described a defender whom she called “Milton” as vaulting the wall where it was lowest.
Scurlock, Mial
Mial Scurlock, Alamo defender, son of Joseph and Martha Jones (Glasgow) Scurlock, was born in Chatham County, North Carolina, on May 25, 1809. He lived for a time in Tennessee and Mississippi. In 1834 he and his brother William took their slaves through Louisiana to Texas and settled in San Augustine. Scurlock volunteered for service in the Texas army on October 17, 1835, and took part in the Siege of Bexar. He subsequently served in the Alamo garrison and died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.
Carey, William R.
William R. Carey, commander of the Alamo artillery, son of Moses Carey, was born in Virginia about 1806. He joined the volunteer army of Texas at the outbreak of the Texas Revolution and was among the troops that marched to Gonzales during the fight for the Gonzales “Come and take it” cannon. He was appointed second lieutenant on October 28, 1835. During the Siege of Bexar Carey received a slight wound to his scalp while manning a cannon. He was promoted to first lieutenant in the field for his actions in the battle. On December 14 he was elected captain of his fifty-six-man artillery company by popular vote of the men. He called his company the Invincibles. The company remained in Bexar as part of the garrison under Lt. Col. James C. Neill. During the weeks before January 14, when Neill moved his entire force into the Alamo, Carey commanded the Alamo compound while Neill commanded the town of Bexar. Neill utilized Carey’s company for tough tasks and even, on one occasion, as military police. On January 12, 1836, Carey wrote a detailed letter to his brother and sister and described his activities in Gonzales and San Antonio. The correspondence was received in Philadelphia by his sister Eliza Carey Richardson. During the siege and battle of the Alamo Carey commanded the fort’s artillery. He died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. His father traveled to Texas to settle his estate and received $198.65 for Carey’s military service.
Mitchell, Napoleon B.
Napoleon B. Mitchell, Alamo defender, was born in 1804 in Tennessee. He arrived in Texas in 1834 and during the revolution served in the Alamo garrison as a private in Capt. William R. Carey’s artillery company. He was present during the Siege of Bexar in December 1835. Mitchell died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. Juana Navarro Alsbury, an Alamo survivor, later stated that a man named Mitchell was bayoneted while trying to protect her during the battle. This man may have been Napoleon Mitchell or another defender, Edwin T. Mitchell.
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