John Joseph Kennedy (1813–1880) was a

Scotch-Irish American Scotch-Irish (or Scots-Irish) Americans are American descendants of Ulster Protestants who emigrated from Ulster in northern Ireland to America during the 18th and 19th centuries, whose ancestors had originally migrated to Ireland mainly from t ...

lawyer and sheriff of

Harrison County, Texas Harrison County is a county on the eastern border of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, its population was 68,839. The county seat is Marshall. The county was created in 1839 and organized in 1842. It is named for Jon ...

that helped end the Regulator-Moderator War in East Texas. He was an artillery officer in the United States Army and a cavalry captain for the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War. Kennedy was also a

Freemason Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...

and member of Marshall Lodge #22.

Biography

He served as a first lieutenant in the United States Army under General Abraham Eustis in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

and

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans in the United States, Native Americans and ...

. In 1836 he immigrated 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 ...

receiving a 1,240 acre land grant from Anson Jones. He and his brother-in-law, Joseph Upton Fields, ended the Regulator-Moderator War while he was sheriff of Harrison County, Texas. Kennedy was also a Harrison County commissioner. Kennedy ran for the Texas Senate campaigning against the Compromise of 1850. He was initially declared the winner, but then was defeated. According to the 1860 United States Census Kennedy owned 21 slaves, making him a planter. During the American Civil War Kennedy served as Captain of Company K, 17th Texas Cavalry, also named

Clough Rangers Clough ( ; ) is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It sits about 3 miles from Dundrum on the A2 between Newcastle and Belfast. The A2 continues via Downpatrick and the coast via Strangford and the Portaferry - Strangfor ...

.Southern Community in Crisis, 206 He fought in the Battle of Arkansas Post where he evaded capture.

Notes

Sources

* B. B. Paddock, ''History and Biographical Record of North and West Texas'', 1906

External links

* * 1814 births 1880 deaths United States Army officers Confederate States Army officers People from Hallsville, Texas Irish emigrants to the United States Texas local politicians 19th-century American politicians Military personnel from Texas {{Texas-politician-stub