Ripley A. Arnold (1817–1853) was a

major Major (commandant in certain jurisdictions) is a military rank of commissioned officer status, with corresponding ranks existing in many military forces throughout the world. When used unhyphenated and in conjunction with no other indicators ...

in the United States Army and founder of Camp Worth in 1849, later renamed

Fort Worth Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...

, Texas. In 2014 a 22-foot statue was dedicated to Arnold. It was erected along the Trinity River below the army camp site he established and named after one of his military commanders.

Early life

Arnold was born in

Pearlington, Mississippi Pearlington is a census-designated place (CDP) in Hancock County, Mississippi, United States, on U.S. Route 90, along the Pearl River, at the Louisiana state line. It is part of the Gulfport–Biloxi, Mississippi Metropolitan Statistical Area ...

, on January 17, 1817, to Willis Arnold.

Army life

He was appointed to

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 ...

in 1834 and graduated thirty-third in his class. He was sent to the

Second Dragoons The 2nd Cavalry Regiment, also known as the 2nd Dragoons, is an active Stryker infantry and cavalry regiment of the United States Army. The Second Cavalry Regiment is a unit of the United States Army Europe and Africa, with its garrison at ...

in Florida in 1838 and

brevetted In many of the world's military establishments, a brevet ( or ) was a warrant giving a commissioned officer a higher rank title as a reward for gallantry or meritorious conduct but may not confer the authority, precedence, or pay of real rank. ...

captain in 1842 for gallantry in the

Seminole War The Seminole Wars (also known as the Florida Wars) were three related military conflicts in Florida between the United States and the Seminole, citizens of a Native American nation which formed in the region during the early 1700s. Hostilities ...

and major in 1846 for his role in the

battle of Palo Alto The Battle of Palo Alto ( es, Batalla de Palo Alto) was the first major battle of the Mexican–American War and was fought on May 8, 1846, on disputed ground five miles (8 km) from the modern-day city of Brownsville, Texas. A force of so ...

. After 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 ...

, he was given command of Company F of the

and sent to Texas to establish a military post close to the Trinity River. After locating a suitable site, Arnold left

Fort Graham Fort Graham was a pioneer fort established in 1849 by Brevet Major R.A. Arnold (Companies F and I of the Second United States Dragoons) at the site of Jose Maria Village, an Anadaca camp on the western edge of present-day Hill County, Texas. It ...

with 42 dragoons to establish Camp Worth, named after his former commanding officer, who had recently died of cholera in

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 ...

. It was completed by the winter of 1849 and later renamed Fort Worth.

Personal life

He eloped with Catherine Bryant on August 26, 1839.

Death

Ripley Arnold was killed by Josephus Steiner in a duel at Fort Graham, Texas, where Arnold was the commanding officer and Steiner the physician. He was buried at Fort Graham, and was reinterred and reburied in Fort Worth at Pioneers Rest Cemetery.

References

American military personnel of the Mexican–American War American military personnel of the Indian Wars Military personnel from Mississippi Military personnel from Texas 1817 births 1853 deaths People from Hancock County, Mississippi Burials at Pioneers Rest (Fort Worth, Texas) {{US-army-bio-stub