John Henry King Burgwin (July 1, 1810 - February 7, 1847), was a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

officer and 1830 graduate of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...

. J. H. K. Burgwin was born on a plantation in

New Hanover County, North Carolina New Hanover County is one of 100 List of counties in North Carolina, counties located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 225,702. Though the second-smallest NC county in land a ...

, the eldest son of George William Bush Burgwin and Maria (Nash) Burgwin, a daughter of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

Governor

Abner Nash Abner Nash (August 8, 1740December 2, 1786) was the second Governor of the U.S. state of North Carolina between 1781 and 1782, and represented North Carolina in the Continental Congress from 1782 to 1786. Life story Nash was born the son of Co ...

He was appointed a Second Lieutenant in 1833 when the US 1st Dragoons (later changed to 1st Cavalry) were established. He then served at

Fort Gibson Fort Gibson is a historic military site next to the modern city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 to 1888. When it was constructed, the fort was farther west than any othe ...

, in what is now

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

, and by 1837 had been promoted to Captain. By early 1847, he was serving under Colonel

Sterling Price Major-General Sterling "Old Pap" Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was a senior officer of the Confederate States Army who commanded infantry in the Western and Trans-Mississippi theaters of the American Civil War. Prior to ...

. Responding to the

Taos Revolt The Taos Revolt was a populist insurrection in January 1847 by Hispano and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. Provisional governor Charles Bent and several ...

, Burgwin moved towards Taos and led a contingent of the US dragoons at the

Battle of Embudo Pass The Battle of Embudo Pass was part of the Taos Revolt, a popular insurrection against the American army's occupation of northern New Mexico. It took place on January 29, 1847, during the Mexican–American War, in what now is New Mexico. Backg ...

on January 29, 1847.Lavender, David, ''Bent's Fort'', Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, N. Y., 1954 p. 290 The following day Burgwin joined Col. Price and the combined force marched to Taos where the

Mexicans Mexicans ( es, mexicanos) are the citizens of the United Mexican States. The most spoken language by Mexicans is Spanish language, Spanish, but some may also speak languages from 68 different Languages of Mexico, Indigenous linguistic groups ...

and Natives they were pursuing had retired. He was severely wounded on February 4 during the

Siege of Pueblo de Taos The siege of Pueblo de Taos was the final battle during the main phase of the Taos Revolt, an insurrection against the United States during the Mexican–American War. It was also the final major engagement between American forces and insurgent ...

and died February 7, 1847. In 1852 Cantonment Burgwin (often referred to as "Fort Burgwin"), named after Captain Burgwin, was set up 10 miles outside of Taos, and was to remain a US Army outpost until 1860.

References

External links

Service Profile
1810 births History of Taos, New Mexico American military personnel killed in the Mexican–American War United States Army officers 1847 deaths United States Military Academy alumni People of the Taos Revolt {{US-mil-bio-stub