John Selden Roane (January 8, 1817April 7, 1867) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Governor of Arkansas from 1849 to 1852. Prior to this he commanded the Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment following the death of Colonel

Archibald Yell Archibald Yell (August 9, 1797 – February 23, 1847) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the U.S. representative from Arkansas from 1836 to 1839, and 1845 to 1846. He was the second governor of Arkansas, serving from 1840 to 18 ...

at the

Battle of Buena Vista The Battle of Buena Vista (February 22–23, 1847), known as the Battle of La Angostura in Mexico, and sometimes as Battle of Buena Vista/La Angostura, was a battle of the Mexican–American War. It was fought between the US invading forces, l ...

. Roane also served as a senior

officer An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...

of the

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

who commanded

infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and marine i ...

in the Trans-Mississippi Theater of the American Civil War.

Early life and career

John Selden Roane was born in

Wilson County Wilson County is the name of four counties in the United States: *Wilson County, Kansas *Wilson County, North Carolina *Wilson County, Tennessee *Wilson County, Texas Wilson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 202 ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

, and educated at Cumberland College, which at the time was located in

Princeton, Kentucky Princeton is a home rule-class city in Caldwell County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 6,329 during the 2010 U.S. Census. Princeton is home to several notable attractions such as Adsmore Museum, ...

. He migrated to the new

state State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

in 1837, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He was Prosecuting Attorney for the 2nd Judicial District of Arkansas from 1840 to 1842, a member of the

Arkansas House of Representatives The Arkansas State House of Representatives is the lower house of the Arkansas General Assembly, the state legislature of the US state of Arkansas. The House is composed of 100 members elected from an equal amount of constituencies across the ...

from 1842 to 1844, and the fourth Governor of Arkansas from 1849 to 1852.

Mexican War

At the outbreak of the Mexican War, Roane was appointed

Lieutenant-Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

of the Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment, succeeding to command when Colonel

was mortally wounded repelling the charge of the Mexican lancers at the Battle of Buena Vista. Roane was officially appointed Colonel on February 28, 1847. He was known to be jealous of the honor of his state and once challenged

Albert Pike Albert Pike (December 29, 1809April 2, 1891) was an American author, poet, orator, editor, lawyer, jurist and Confederate general who served as an associate justice of the Arkansas Supreme Court in exile from 1864 to 1865. He had previously se ...

to a duel over what he perceived as derogatory statements made about the regiment's actions in the war. The duel was fought, but neither combatant was injured.

American Civil War

On March 20, 1862, Roane was appointed to the grade of

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 ...

in the Confederate States Army. After most Confederate troops were moved from Arkansas across the

Mississippi River The Mississippi River is the second-longest river and chief river of the second-largest drainage system in North America, second only to the Hudson Bay drainage system. From its traditional source of Lake Itasca in northern Minnesota, it f ...

, he was placed in charge of the defense of Arkansas. At this time Arkansas was nearly defenseless; and Roane, with the newly appointed commander of the Trans-Mississippi District (also known as Department Number Two), Major-General

Thomas Hindman Thomas Carmichael Hindman Jr. (January 28, 1828 – September 28, 1868) was an American lawyer, politician, and a senior Officer (armed forces), officer of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. Born in Knoxville, Tennessee ...

, cobbled together a reasonable defensive force. Roane took part in numerous battles within the Trans-Mississippi Theater, including the battles of Whitney's Lane and Prairie Grove.

Personal life

On February 1, 1855, Roane married Mary Kim Smith (1833–1907) of

Dallas, Arkansas Dallas is an unincorporated community in Polk County, Arkansas, United States. The community is approximately three miles south of Mena. History Pioneers arrived in Polk County around 1830, mainly from Tennessee, Illinois and Kentucky. They settle ...

Later life

Roane died in Jefferson County,

, and is buried at Oakland Cemetery,

Little Rock ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...

References

* * * *

External links

John Selden Roane
at the ''

Encyclopedia of Arkansas The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) ''Encyclopedia of Arkansas'' is a web-based encyclopedia of the U.S. state of Arkansas, described by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as "a free, authoritative source of information ab ...

'' *
John Selden Roane
at

National Governors Association The National Governors Association (NGA) is an American political organization founded in 1908. The association's members are the governors of the 55 states, territories and commonwealths. Members come to the association from across the politica ...

John Selden Roane
at

The Political Graveyard The Political Graveyard is a website and database that catalogues information on more than 277,000 American political figures and political families, along with other information. The name comes from the website's inclusion of burial locations of ...

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roane, John Selden 1817 births 1867 deaths 19th-century American lawyers 19th-century American politicians Adjutants General of Arkansas Arkansas lawyers American duellists American lawyers admitted to the practice of law by reading law American militia officers American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American planters American slave owners Burials in Pulaski County, Arkansas Confederate States Army brigadier generals Cumberland College (Princeton, Kentucky) alumni Democratic Party governors of Arkansas Farmers from Arkansas Neurological disease deaths in Arkansas People from Wilson County, Tennessee People of Arkansas in the American Civil War Recipients of American presidential pardons Speakers of the Arkansas House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Arkansas House of Representatives United States Army colonels