Alfonso Steele

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Alfonso (Alphonso) Steele (1817 – July 8, 1911) was the last remaining survivor of the Battle of San Jacinto during the Texas Revolution.

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[edit] Life

He was born in 1817 in Hardin County, Kentucky. At seventeen, he traveled to Louisiana, where he joined Captain Daggett's volunteers bound for Texas in 1835. Upon arriving at Washington-on-Brazos, he found that Texas had not yet declared independence from Mexico. He worked at a local hotel and gristmill until the Declaration of Independence. He then joined a company that intended to aid Travis at the Alamo. After learning that the Alamo had fallen, they joined Houston's army.

[edit] Military

Steele was a private in Sidney Sherman's regiment at the Battle of San Jacinto (April 21, 1836), which is considered today[who?] to be one of the Ten Greatest Battles of World History (in terms of long-reaching affects and exchange of real estate). He was wounded during one of the first volleys of the battle, but continued to fight until it ended. Houston rode Steele's horse through part of the battle; it was one of the horses that were shot out from under Houston.

Discharged, Steele made his way to Montgomery County, where he recuperated. During his stay in Montgomery County, he farmed and raised cattle.

[edit] Family

In 1838, he married Mary Ann Powell. They both moved to Robertson County. They had several children, one of which being Hampton Steele, who wrote a sketch of the early history of Limestone County, where he lived. Hampton and his brother, Rado Steele, were the only survivors of the first families that are now in the county. He had another son named Alonso Steele, an army officer who fought for the South during the Civil War. Alonso Steele inherited the league of land that was paid to Alphonso Steele for his services provided during the revolution. The land is still owned by several direct descendents living in North Texas.

[edit] Death

Alfonso was honored in 1909 by the Thirty-First Texas Legislature as being one of the last two living survivors of the Battle of San Jacinto. Two years later, on July 8th, 1911, he died, having outlived his co-survivor. He is buried in Mexia.

A portrait of Steele currently hangs at the state capitol in Austin. There is also a roadside park dedicated in his honor in Limestone County.