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| George Washington Rogers |
A polka, sheet music, and a dancer are the prompts for this week's Sepia Saturday. Come on over to see what others have posted there.
I'm a former pianist. I also used to love to swing around the floor dancing a polka. But do I have any photos of these pursuits? Indeed, do I have any old photos of anything like it?
Nope, no luck.
So I'll just continue with my family information which I save here as a personal archive.
This is about my grandfather's grandfather, George Washington Rogers. He was injured in the Mexican American War of 1846. I usually avoid talk about war, being a "peace-nik" myself. But when an ancestor had a name like George Washington Rogers, he had to be a hero, right?
My Ancestry.Com information says:
G.W. Rogers served in the War in Mexico - under Captain Gillespie; Col. John C. Hays: 1st Regiment Texas Rangers, Gen. Zachary Taylor. He was wounded on assault on Bishop's Palace, Monterrey, Mexico. His name is on the Gillespie Monument in Huntsville, Texas. After the battle (from war department 1846) Col. George Washington Rogers lay wounded on battle field all night, during icy storm. He contracted tuberculosis. After recuperating, he returned to his home in Gibbsland, LA.
In Wikipedia the information about the Battle of Monterrey (not to be confused with Monterey, CA) says:
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 Texas Rangers under the command of General Zachary Taylor.Go to this site to read the entire battle information. I'll just give you a picture or two, from that site.
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| Battle of Monterrey - Americans fighting within the city |
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| Monterrey from Independence Hill, in the rear of the bishop´s palace. On stone by F. Swington. Colored by G. & W. Edicott, New York. The image depicts the Saddle Hill and the bishop´s house in Monterrey Mexico after the Battle of Monterrey in 1846. |
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| The Battle of Monterrey |
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| Storming of Palace Hill at the Battle of Monterrey |
George W. Rogers married Lucinda Benson Gibbs after he recuperated in 1848. They then moved to Huntsville, Texas, where they were among the elite and owned a large plantation style home.
![RogersHouse1418UniversityAveHntsvlleTX-NorthPortico-020203[1]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_uHb-oyYOIW4fCgKh4M4dneqETpOtq4V7dRFPaxdLBkroXTcE7tH3ZTtzU7rbYZQ4yAYQzObMT-P5KK9bOGJJf48ZCS6pvKT2LV0osHARcf8qyRFsdS48Mw8ZhOu60PL5aFG4SYmwA_W1z3gFFAjJsP8_MrPe5FzHQObEsDpf2CIkHiaMfuyZwJbrjAv6_7OwNX_Q1_lj716Mv7wRExKQ=s0-d) | ||
| North Portico of the house George Washington Rogers and Lucinda Benson Gibbs built on the 200 acres they purchased from Pleasant Gray in 1844. |
Thus they had planned to move to Huntsville before GWR went to Mexico in 1846, and then got sick...thus delaying their marriage and move to their own home. It's likely the home had wood steps which no longer are part of the portico.
Some great pictures and I'm glad your great great-grandfather (is that right?) survived, else - well, you know! :)
ReplyDeleteIt really is a very interesting read. The photos of the area with the mountains in the background are great prints.
ReplyDeleteThe idealized artists renditions of war scenes are interesting..no blood and guts, everybody looks clean and orderly - not one bit like war really is. Your relative must have been a strong person to survive war and then go on to be successful in civilian life. How they did it, I'll never know.
ReplyDeleteAt least they are vintage, L.D!
ReplyDeleteGail, yes, G.G. grandfather!
Wow -- wouldn't you love to see that house in its glory? 9 over 6 window panes -- love those!
ReplyDeleteWould have been better if they were dancing the polka ;) The pictures look great I suspect the reality of fighting would have been different. The soldiers would have been very dashing dance partners in their uniforms though.
ReplyDeleteWendy, I never noticed those windows...they are rare, aren't they? And Anne, aren't you smart to think of how dashing young men looked at dances in their uniforms! I've swooned over a few myself.
ReplyDeleteExcellent story about your gg grandfather, and great that his lovely home still stands. My husband also has a relative with the forenames George Washington. There must have been a great many sons patriotically named after the 1st President.
ReplyDeleteLike you I often find it hard to make the connection to the theme but I enjoy it when I can record a bit of a story relating to family history. We'd be missing quite a few posts if we were to ban war stories ! I'm glad yours ended well.
ReplyDeleteWonderful engravings, and that’s a very imposing house!
ReplyDeleteAmazing that he made it through a night out in the freezing rain, wounded and all. And then recovered from TB back in those days. He was meant to live.
ReplyDeleteWho cares about linking to themes when you get posts as interesting as this one.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your thoughtful comments, fellow Sepians! I don't know the condition of the Rogers house in Huntsville today. But I did sign up for newsletters from the Walker County Historical Association. So far nothing has mentioned Rogers, who were founding members of Huntsville, Texas. I think many politically active families named their sons after presidents...just a guess.
ReplyDeleteA fine post as I don't think I've encountered anyone with ancestors who fought in the Mexican-American War. It was a very difficult conflict that was poorly planned and generated quite a strong anti-war opposition in the US, mainly because it was recognized as a land grab for Texas and more. I recently read a great history on the subject that I can recommend: A Wicked War: Polk, Clay, Lincoln, and the 1846 U.S. Invasion of Mexico by Amy S. Greenberg.
ReplyDeleteOh my, what a wonderful house, it could really be something to call home! With of course a lot of TLC!
ReplyDeleteGreat postcards! Gosh I haven't heard the term "peace-nik" in awhile. Shades of the Commie witch-hunts! Anyway I guess it's pretty hard to find ancestors who weren't involved in some war or other, sadly!
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