Haden Harrison Edwards (1812–1865) was a Texan, born in Virginia but brought to

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchitoch ...

as a youngster by his father, onetime ''

empresario An empresario () was a person who had been granted the right to settle on land in exchange for recruiting and taking responsibility for settling the eastern areas of Coahuila y Tejas in the early nineteenth century. The word in Spanish for entrep ...

Haden Edwards Haden Edwards (August 12, 1771 – August 14, 1849) was a Texas settler. Edwards County, Texas on the Edwards Plateau is named for him. In 1825, Edwards received a land grant from the Mexican government, allowing him to settle families in East T ...

. Haden Harrison Edwards worked as a livestock trader, soldier, politician and railroad executive. He founded the Sabine Pass and East Texas Railway and was that company's first president.Edwards, Haden Harrison

Handbook of Texas The ''Handbook of Texas'' is a comprehensive encyclopedia of Texas geography, history, and historical persons published by the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA). History The original ''Handbook'' was the brainchild of TSHA President Wal ...

. Retrieved on June 6, 2011.

Military career

Edwards was already a well-travelled cattle trader when the Texas Revolution broke out. He was soon elected captain of a company of volunteers which served at the

Siege of Bexar A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characterize ...

. Further military service in Indian campaigns after the Revolution led to the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

government's appointing him as a

brigadier general Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...

. After the

annexation of Texas The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico ...

, the Texas military was dissolved and its commissions no longer recognized, so when the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

subsequently broke out, Edwards enlisted as a

private Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

in Company E, Second Regiment of the Texas Mounted Rifles. However, he was granted a discharge due to disability on August 31, 1846.

Politics

Edwards was elected to the

1st Congress of the Republic of Texas The First Congress of the Republic of Texas, consisting of the Senate of the Republic of Texas and House of Representatives of the Republic of Texas, met in Columbia at two separate buildings (one for each chamber) and then in Houston at the pres ...

as a Representative for a district centered around Nacogdoches. Following statehood, he was also a member of the 1st and 8th

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

s, again representing the Nacogdoches area, and also represented that area as a delegate to the Texas Succession Convention, which voted to leave the

Union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

in 1861.

Business

Edwards served as president of the Sabine Pass and East Texas Railway, beginning in 1858. Construction began and some rails were in place when the outbreak of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

halted all activity. Subsequently, the rails which had been laid were taken up and used in the fortification of

Sabine Pass Sabine Pass is the natural outlet of Sabine Lake into the Gulf of Mexico. It borders Jefferson County, Texas, and Cameron Parish, Louisiana. History Civil War Two major battles occurred here during the American Civil War, known as the First and ...

. As soon as the war ended, Edwards began working to revive the railroad, and was in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

in August, 1865 trying to arrange financing for it when he died.

Personal

Edwards married the former Sarah Forbes in Nacogdoches on October 22, 1843. Mrs. Edwards subsequently gave birth to eight children. The eldest, Peyton Foster Edwards (1844–1918), served as a Confederate soldier and then followed his father into the political arena, becoming known as "the red rooster of Nacogdoches", representing the area for two terms in the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...

prior to moving to

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the s ...

References

External links

Edwards, Haden Harrison

. 1812 births 1865 deaths People from Nacogdoches, Texas Republic of Texas politicians Texas Revolution Members of the Texas House of Representatives 19th-century American politicians {{texas-bio-stub