Robert Addison Gillespie (1815–1846) was a business man, land speculator, and Captain in the Texas Rangers under

John Coffee Hays John Coffee "Jack" Hays (January 28, 1817 – April 21, 1883) was an American military officer. A captain in the Texas Rangers and a military officer of the Republic of Texas, Hays served in several armed conflicts from 1836 to 1848, including a ...

and

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

. Gillespie died in the

Battle of Monterrey In the Battle of Monterrey (September 21–24, 1846) during the Mexican–American War, General Pedro de Ampudia and the Mexican Army of the North was defeated by the Army of Occupation, a force of United States Regulars, Volunteers and ...

Gillespie County, Texas Gillespie County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 26,725. The county seat is Fredericksburg. It is located in the heart of the rural Texas Hill Country in Centra ...

, was named in his honor.

Early life

Gillespie was born on June 12, 1815, in

Blount County, Tennessee Blount County is a county located in the East Tennessee Grand Division of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 135,280. The county seat is Maryville, which is also the county's largest city. Blount County is ...

, one of three sons of Robert Gillespie and his wife Patsy Houston Gillespie. By the time Gillespie was twenty-two years old, he and his brothers James and Matthew were operating the Gillespie & Brothers

mercantile Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exchan ...

and land

speculation In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, good (economics), goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline i ...

business in

Matagorda, Texas Matagorda () is a census-designated place in Matagorda County, Texas. It is located near the mouth of the Colorado River on the upper Texas coast in the United States. In 2020, its population was 313. Matagorda is primarily a tourist town, with ...

. Within two years, the three brothers had relocated their business to La Grange.

Texas Rangers

Gillespie participated in the 1840 upper Colorado River expedition with John Henry Moore of the

Old Three Hundred The "Old Three Hundred" were 297 grantees who purchased 307 parcels of land from Stephen Fuller Austin in Mexican Texas. Each grantee was head of a household, or, in some cases, a partnership of married men. Austin was an American approved in 18 ...

, during the period when Moore was engaging the

Comanche The Comanche or Nʉmʉnʉʉ ( com, Nʉmʉnʉʉ, "the people") are a Native American tribe from the Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the federally recognized Comanche Nation, headquartered in La ...

in battle. From September 1842 to January 7, 1843, Gillespie held the rank of Private in a Texas Rangers company under

, and participated in the 1842 Battle of Salado Creek. From June 1, 1843, to September 30, 1843, Private Gillespie was part of the Hays Spy Company. February 25, 1844, to June 26, 1844, Gillespie was still enlisted as a private in the Rangers under Hays. Gillespie served under Hays during the 1844 Battle of Walker's Creek, between Hays and Comanche chief Yellow Wolf, and suffered a lance wound during the battle. Gillespie rose to the rank of First Lieutenant for the Hays Texas Rangers roster of February 12, 1845, to September 28, 1845. On September 28, Gillespie formed the San Antonio Mounted Rangers, as part of the Hays Battalion of Texas Mounted Rangers, and served as its Captain until March 28, 1846. During 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 ...

, the Rangers joined

at the

. The first Ranger to breach the fort at the Independence Hill summit, Gillespie was wounded during the assault on Bishop's Palace of September 22, 1846. He succumbed to his wounds on September 23.

Legacy

His body was returned to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

for burial. On April 21, 1856, Gillespie's remains were interred at the Odd Fellows Cemetery.

, was named in honor of Captain Gillespie.

References

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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillespie, Robert Addison 1815 births 1846 deaths Immigrants to the Republic of Texas Gillespie County, Texas Members of the Texas Ranger Division People from Blount County, Tennessee People from Fayette County, Texas People from Matagorda County, Texas