Discussions

 

Home
Members
Officers
Photo Gallery
Schedule
Discussions
Contact Information

 

John Summerfield Griffith

 

 

John S Griffith was born June 17, 1829, in Montgomery County, Maryland.  His father was Michael Berry Griffith and his mother was Lydia Rigley Crabb.  John was the third of six children.  His family moved to San Augustine, Texas, arriving on April 15, 1839.  There he grew to manhood and married Sarah Emily Simpson of Nacogdoches County on December 18, 1850.  He was in the mercantile business in San Ausustine and continued that trade when he moved to Kaufman County, around 1859, settling where Rockwall is today.  He also was in the business of raising livestock.

 

He continued in active business until the opening of the War in 1861, when he organized and was elected captain of the Rockwall Militia Co No 1, 13th Brigade, Texas State Troops on June 1, 1861.  Three months later the company was offered to Col. Warren B. Stone's 6th Texas Cavalry and became Company (B) of that regiment on September 9, 1861.  On September 1861 he was elected Lieutenant-Colonel upon the formal organization of the 6th Regiment in Dallas.

 

He was in the battles of Oak Hills and Elkhorn.  An account of one of these battles states "the first real engagement of the Company occurred with Federal Indians at Chustenahalah, where Col. Griffith was in Command of a battalion of his Regiment.  Col. McIntosh placed the 6th on the right of the line and ordered it's commander to await further orders.  Griffith, however, seeing an opportune moment for striking the enemy, moved his troops against the enemy, without orders, charged over a deep gulch, and was the first man to engage the Indians in a hand to hand encounter with pistol and saber.  Three times this charge was repeated by Col. Griffith before the stubborn enemy fled the field, and an inventory of his own casualties showed the Colonel to have received a blow on the head from an Indian's gun, a hore shot under him, a tuft of beard shot from his chin, and his clothing perforated with mini balls."  According to one account by a fellow officer of the history of the raid on Holly S., Col. Griffith's health began to fail; he suffered from asthma and diseases of the liver and bowels.  The formal date of his resignation was August 14, 1863, but he had been back in Texas for some time.

 

Upon his return to Texas, Col. Griffith was elected a member of the Tenth Texas Legislature, where he became chairman of the Committee on military affairs.  On March 1, 1864, Griffith was appointed Brigadier General for District No. 2 by Governor Pendleton Murrah of the newly reorganized Texas State Troops.  This District embraced practically all of the counties along the Brazos and Trinity Rivers and east to Van Zandt County.  However, during his period, there was a great clash between the conscription law (draft) passed by the Confederate Congress and the recent law passed by the Texas Legislature for militia groups.  A letter of April 14, 1864, from Confederate headquarters for Conscription recommended that the Texas State Troops be disbanded.  The new military career of J. S. Griffith came to an end almost as soon as it began; however, he was to be known as General Griffith through the remainder of his life. 

 

 


 Copyright or other proprietary statement goes here.
For problems or questions regarding this web contact [ProjectEmail].
Last updated: 03/12/07.