The Siege of Béxar Descendants

The Soldiers and their Descendants

  • Home
    • Site Map
    • Archives
    • Visitor Log
  • The Siege of Béxar
    • The Siege of Béxar
    • Siege of Béxar Participants
      • Proof of Service
    • Siege of Bexar Muster Rolls
    • Alamo defenders from Siege of Béxar
    • Seguin Volunteers
    • Terms of Surrender
    • Report of Fall of Bexar
    • Samuel Maverick’s Diary
    • Ehrenberg’s Account
  • Biographies
    • Biographies
    • 1872 Texas Almanac
  • Farewell
  • Resources
  • About
    • Members
    • Officers
    • 2000 SOBD Meeting
    • 2006 SOBD meeting
    • 2006-2008 pictures
    • Membership Application
  • Contact
    • Application – Proof of Service
You are here: Home / Biographies / Magill, William Harrison

Magill, William Harrison

November 14, 2014 by tcloud Leave a Comment

William Harrison Magill was born 1813 in Kentucky. He and his father Samuel P. Magill fought in the battle of Plum Creek on August 12, 1840. William’s younger brother, James P. Magill, later came to Texas and served in the Texas Rangers and became a state legislator.

Magill signed up with a company of rangers in the summer of 1835, serving first under Robert Coleman and then under Robert McAlpine Williamson. Edward Burleson, a veteran of the War of 1812 and a colonel of militia since 1832, led the volunteers from Mina, and Magill grew to admire him greatly and responded frequently over the years when Burleson requested volunteers for militia or ranger duties. Magill’s service in the summer of 1835 saw both victory and tragedy. In June the rangers had captured a group of Caddo Indians suspected of stealing horses, and the men voted in favor of executing them on the spot, a decision that Coleman, among others, rushed to carry out. It was a divided vote, however, for Burleson and his followers had wanted to bring the Indians back to Mina for trial. Then, Coleman’s company, in which Magill served, attacked a Tawakoni village, and in fierce fighting, a handful of rangers were killed. The rest fell back to Fort Parker and awaited reinforcements arriving under Stephen Moore. In the subsequent regrouping, Magill joined a company under Robert M. Williamson that ranged during the summer as far north as present-day Dallas. When the company of rangers were returning to Mina in September 1835, several of the men chased two Indians. In the ensuring confusion, Magill accidentally shot fellow ranger Moses Smith Hornsby. The shot shattered Hornsby’s arm. Hornsby, who had already been wounded in the shoulder, refused to have his arm amputated and died several days later.

The company returned to Mina, and in October, Magill served in the militia that fought and defeated Mexican troops at Mission Conception, near San Antonio. He also volunteered to follow Ben Milam into the Siege of Béxar (San Antonio). In February 1836 he joined the Mina Volunteers when the militia was called up. He was elected second sergeant, under Capt. Jesse Billinglsley. The company hurriedly assembled first at Burleson’s house and went on to Gonzales, where they joined the troops under Gen. Sam Houston and began the long march eastward. Magill fought in the battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.

During the Civil War, Magill performed his final military duty as a captain in the Home Guard from Burnett County in 1864. He died on December 17, 1878 and is buried in the Magill Cemetery.

Handbook of Texas Online

Filed Under: Biographies, Siege of Bexar, Siege of Bexar Participants Tagged With: Siege of Bexar, Soldier, veteran

About tcloud

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recent Posts

  • Lewis, Martin Baty
  • Bull, Pleasant Marshall
  • Moore, Col. John Henry
  • Submit a Siege of Bexar Veteran
  • Clifton, Thomas
  • Report of Fall of Bexar
  • The Siege and Battle of Bexar by Ehrenberg
  • The Diary of Samuel Maverick 1835
  • Capitulation of General Cos
  • Haley, Richard B.
  • Seguin, Juan Nepomuceno
  • Magill, William Harrison
  • Milam, Benjamin Rush
  • Smith, Ben Fort
  • Roberts, John S.

Tags

Alamo Siege of Bexar Siege of Bexar Descendants Soldier veteran

Lewis, Martin Baty

Martin Baty Lewis (1806–1884), soldier and county official, was born in Clark County, Indiana, on January 13, 1806, the eldest son of Sally (Lemasters) and Samuel S. Lewis, who also served at the Siege of Bexar. He married Nancy Moore 1825 in Indiana and they had eleven children. He emigrated to Texas in January 1830, […]

Bull, Pleasant Marshall

Pleasant Marshall Bull was born Feb. 18, 1808 in Grainger County Tennessee to John Valentine Bull and Fetna Bean. He came to Texas to acquire land, arriving in 1831 and settling in Brazoria, Austin Colony. He was a veteran of the Battle of Concepcion and the Battle of Bexar and is on the muster roll […]

Moore, Col. John Henry

Colonel Moore was elected Colonel Commandant of the Army of Texas on October 11, 1835 in Gonzales, the same day Stephen F. Austin was elected Commander in Chief and Edward Burleson, Lieutenant Colonel. Moore resigned his office on November 6th in Bexar and Ed Burleson was elected to replace him on November 7th. MOORE, JOHN […]

Submit a Siege of Bexar Veteran

Is there a veteran missing from the Participants list? Do you have additional information for a Veteran who is already listed? If so, use the “Proof of Service” form to submit your data.

Comments

  • Gerald Wayne Koym on Moore, Col. John Henry
  • Betty McCauley on Siege of Bexar Participants
  • Sherrie Leach on Ryan, Isaac
  • Skip Mascorro on The Siege of Béxar
  • Martha Bender on Williams, Stephen
  • Jim Bobo on Walker, Jacob
  • Gary Pinkerton on Williams, Leonard Goyen
  • Tom H. Gann on Williams, Leonard Goyen
  • Gary Pinkerton on Williams, Leonard Goyen
  • Christy on Williams, Stephen
  • Daniel Nowlan on Nowlan, James
  • KENDRA FINCHER on Siege of Bexar Participants
  • Glenn Willams on Williams, Stephen
  • Cindy Porter on Ryan, Isaac
  • William Foster on Ryan, Isaac
  • Home
  • Biographies
  • Archives
  • Contact
  • email webmaster

Copyright © 1998-2019 · The Siege of Bexar Descendants · Built on the Genesis Framework Enterprise Pro theme

Copyright © 2019 · Siege of Bexar Descendants Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in