Samuel Hamilton Walker (February 24, 1817 – October 9, 1847) was an American
army officer
An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service.
Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contextu ...
. He served as a
Texas Ranger captain and officer of 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 ...
and the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
armies. Walker served in several armed conflicts, including the
American Indian Wars
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...
and 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 ...
.
Biography
Samuel Hamilton Walker was born on February 24, 1817, at
Toaping Castle
The Toaping Castle was a house in present-day Greenbelt, Maryland, built by Charles, Isaac and Nathan Walker, three brothers who fled to America from Scotland. The Walker brothers constructed the house on a land grant in an area that eventually ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
, to Nathan and Elizabeth (Thomas) Walker, and was the fifth of seven children.
Military career
Walker enlisted in the
Washington City Volunteers for the
Creek Indian Campaign in Alabama in 1836. The following year he mustered out and worked as a scout in Florida until 1841. He arrived in
Galveston, Texas
Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...
in 1842 and served under Captain Jesse Billingsley against a
Mexican invasion led by General
Adrian Woll
Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water".
The Adria was until the 8th century BC the main ...
. Walker was captured on December 26, 1842, and marched to
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
as a prisoner of war. He survived what became known as the
Black Bean Episode and was held prisoner for two years before he escaped to Louisiana and returned to Texas.
He joined the Texas Rangers in 1844 under the command of Captain
Jack Hays
Christopher John Hays (12 December 1918 – 23 February 1983) was an English association footballer
A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are assoc ...
. Promoted to captain, he led a Ranger company 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 ...
, serving with General
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 ...
and General
Winfield Scott
Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...
's armies.
Walker Colt
Walker is best known as the co-inventor of the famous ''
Walker Colt''
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
, along with arms manufacturer
Samuel Colt
Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of r ...
. Walker is said to have self-funded a trip to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
to meet with Colt and proposed to him the concept of a weapon based on the then-popular five-shot
Colt Paterson
The Colt Paterson revolver was the first commercial repeating firearm employing a revolving cylinder with multiple chambers aligned with a single, stationary barrel. Its design was patented by Samuel Colt on February 25, 1836, in the Unit ...
revolver, with many enhancements such as adding a sixth round, being powerful enough to kill either a man or a horse with a single shot and quicker to reload.
Colt's firearms company was no longer in business, but the large order allowed Colt to establish a new company. He hired
Eli Whitney Junior, already in the arms business, to make his new revolvers.
Colt asked Samuel Walker, who happened to be temporarily stationed in Washington, to help him with the design.
Colt used his prototype and Walker's improvements to create a new design. Whitney
produced the first thousand-piece order, known as the Colt Walker. The company then received an order for an additional one thousand more. Colt's share of the profits was $10.
By 1847, the new revolver was available. The United States Army's mounted rifle companies were issued them, and they proved extremely effective.
Death
On October 9, 1847, Walker was killed by a sniper's bullet while leading a cavalry charge at the
Battle of Huamantla
The Battle of Huamantla was a U.S. victory late in the Mexican–American War that forced the Mexican Army to lift the siege of Puebla.Bauer, K.J., 1974, ''The Mexican War, 1846–1848'', New York: Macmillan,
Background
Santa Anna left Puebl ...
.
The following year, his remains were moved to San Antonio. On April 21, 1856, as part of the 20th anniversary of the
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto ( es, Batalla de San Jacinto), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged ...
, Walker was reburied in the Odd Fellows' Cemetery at San Antonio, along with Capt
Robert Gillespie
Robert James Gillespie (born 9 November 1933 in Lille, France) is a British actor, director and writer. Notable acting credits include '' Keep It in the Family'' (1980), '' At the Earth's Core'' (1976) and '' Force 10 from Navarone'' (1978). La ...
, a fellow veteran who was killed in action during the Mexican-American War.
Walker County, Texas
Walker County is a county located in the east central section of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 76,400. Its county seat is Huntsville. Initially, Walker County was named for Robert J. Walker, a legislator f ...
, was renamed for him after its original namesake,
Robert J. Walker (no relation), sided with the Union during the Civil War.
See also
*
History of the Texas Ranger Division
The origins of today's Texas Ranger Division trace back to the first days of Anglo#United_States, Anglo-American settlement of what is today the State of Texas, when it was part of the Media:Mexico states evolution.gif, Province of Coahuila y Tejas ...
References
Further reading
*K. Jack Bauer, The Mexican War, 1846–1848 (New York: Macmillan, 1974).
*Albert Gallatin Brackett, General Lane's Brigade in Central Mexico (Cincinnati and New York: Derby, 1854).
*Edmund L. Dana, "Incidents in the Life of Capt. Samuel H. Walker, Texan Ranger," Proceedings of the Wyoming Historical and Geological Society (1882).
*"Reminiscences of the War with Mexico, As Told by Col. Thos. Claiborne," Vedette 7 (April 1886). Marilyn M. Sibley, ed., Samuel H. Walker's Account of the Mier Expedition (Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1978).
*Charles D. Spurlin, "Ranger Walker in the Mexican War," Military History of Texas and the Southwest 9 (1971).
*Doug J. Swanson, Cult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers (New York: Viking, 2020)
1817 births
1847 deaths
American military personnel killed in the Mexican–American War
Colt's Manufacturing Company
Members of the Texas Ranger Division
Republic of Texas
United States Army officers
People from Walker County, Texas
People from Greenbelt, Maryland
People of the Republic of Texas
Military personnel from Texas
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