Benjamin Franklin Highsmith (1817 - 1905)

Born 11 Sep 1817 in Missouri,United States

Ancestors

Husband of Elizabeth (Turner) Highsmith — married 12 Sep 1853 in Bastrop, Bastrop, Republic of Texas

Descendants

Died 20 Nov 1905 at age 88 in Uvalde, Texas, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Mary Richardson [send private message]

Biography

Alamo Courier, Survivor

Uncle Ben is a descendant of Mayflower Passenger Myles Standish

Uncle Ben is a descendant of Mayflower Passenger Edward Doty

The Highsmith family migrated from Kentucky in 1800 to settle in the Femme Osage District of St. Charles, in Lincoln County, Missouri. Benjamin was born Sept 11, 1817, in Mississippi Territory to parents Ahijah M. and Deborah (Turner) Highsmith. His father had served in the War of 1812 as a scout. By Dec 24, 1823, the family had immigrated to the Texas colony via a raft on the Sabine River. The family settled near the Colorado River in what is now La Grange, Fayette County.

Benjamin participated in the battles of the Texas Revolution, i.e. the Gonzales "Come and Take It" cannon, the battle of Concepción, the Grass Fight, and the Siege of Bexar^[1]

Following the 'Siege of Bexar, Ben remained in Bexar County in January and February 1836 as part of the Alamo garrison. Colonel William Barrett Travis had advance warning from couriers that the Mexican army was approaching. Travis sent Benjamin out on a courier mission, Feb 18, 1836, to ask for aid for the Alamo Defenders. His trip was to request aid from Colonel James W Fannin Jr. in Goliad to send troops to the Alamo Defenders' aid. Fannin did not send men to the aid of the Defenders.

The Mexican Army arrive at the Alamo on Feb 23, 1836, and began the Siege of the Alamo. After Feb 23, 1836, Ben returned to find that the Alamo was surrounded by the Mexican army who spotted him near a hill and chased him. Ben went to Gonzales next to report his mission to General Houston, of Col. Fannin's decision not to abandon Goliad or give aid to the Alamo, and the status of the Alamo Siege. ^[1]

Highsmith next was a courier for General Houston, taking a message to Col. Fannin to abandon Goliad. He fought in the San Jacinto battle April 21, 1836. ^[2]

Ben was the messenger who brought the message to Fayette County from Capt. Jack Hays to alert Fayette County men of the Vasquez invasion in 1842. ^[2] After the Battle of Bandera Pass, Highsmith joined the Rangers, commanded by Jack Hayes to establish order in San Antonio.Ben Highsmith. Soon Hays and the company are reported to to have been in battles such as Nueces Canyon, Pinta Trail Crossing, Enchanted Rock, and Bandera Pass.^[2]

The next battle for him was the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). He was wounded at the Battle of Buena Vista. ^{[2] [1][3]}

In 1853 Ben married Elizabeth Turner and there were 13 children. He eventually retired from his battling days and moved to Bandera County, Texas. ^[4]

Benjamin Highsmith died in Uvalde County, Texas.^[1][5]

Highsmith's obituary was published in the December 2, 1905 edition of the Galveston Daily News. Part of the somberly written obituary reads: Few who read this notice know that it not only announced the death of a man who had survived more battles with the Mexicans and Indians than any man in Texas, but also announced the death of the intrepid soldier boy who bore through many dangers the last dispatch sent out from the doomed fortress of the Alamo, and that there who died, in old age, blindness and obscurity, at a lonely ranch house in the mountains of Uvalde County. Prior to his death, Highsmith was the last man left among the living who saw and talked with Travis, Bowie, and Crockett in the Alamo.

The state of Texas erected a headstone with the double inscription:

BENJAMIN F. HIGHSMITH Served in the Army of Texas 1835—1836 A Ranger Under Capt. Jack Hays. A Member of the Somervell Expedition, 1842. He was born in Mississippi on September 11, 1817. Died in Uvalde County, Texas, on November 20, 1905. His Wife, ELIZABETH TURNER HIGHSMITH Born in Missouri, March 22, 1836. Died October 7, 1900, In Uvalde County, Texas. Erected by the State of Texas 1936.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fhi08
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3} Survivor
3. ↑ https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc177194/m2/1/high_res_d/thesis.pdf
4. ↑ http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/bexar/military/alamo/alamo.txt
5. ↑ http://files.usgwarchives.net/tx/bexar/military/alamo/alamo.txt

• FamilySearch Person: LWFF-ZS5
• "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXLJ-DT9 : 23 December 2020), Benjamin Highsmith in household of Robert H Grimes, Bastrop, Bastrop, Texas, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
• "Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XL79-FM4 : 10 March 2021), Benjamine F Highsmith and Elizabeth Turner, 12 Sep 1853; citing Bastrop, Texas, United States, county courthouses, Texas; FHL microfilm 965,226.
• https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/highsmith-benjamin-franklin
• https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Alamo_Reader/_CdnP1P3QFsC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=benjamin+highsmith+deposition+1900&pg=PA230&printsec=frontcover
• https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc177194/m2/1/high_res_d/thesis.pdf
• https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/highsmith-benjamin-franklin
• https://www.frontiertimesmagazine.com/ecomm
• https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/sources/LWFF-ZS5

• Image 7: By Maude Wallis Traylor, Cuero, Texas

Provided by Daniel Landrum

• Image: First colorized photo is from my cousin, I have edited

I was granted permission to use this next photo for the family tree from Jim Rogers www.frontiertimesmagazine.com photo was taken in 1900 age 83 Thank you so much for this.

• Image: "Frontier Times Magazine", Vol 15 No. 07, April 1938

• Historical marker

• Last photo is of the tintype from my cousin. I have a great appreciation for it, Thank you cousin.