The last of the breed
Benjamin McCulloch was born in Rutherford County, TN on Nov.
11, 1811 to Alexander and Francis McCulloch and would be one
of 12 children born to the couple. The young McCullochs were
originally Scots-Irish stock from North Carolina, but their
families had eventually migrated to the frontiers of Tennessee,
where the couple married in Nashville. The cast their fortunes
in the backwoods of the region and soon became one of early
Tennessee’s leading families.
While Ben was still an infant, problems began with the Red Stick
Creeks leading Alexander McCulloch and his brother, like many
other men in the region, to enlist in the Tennessee militias
being raised to check the Creek’s British-backed campaign
against the Southern settlers.
Alexander McCulloch was an educated man and his quick thinking
abilities soon had him posted as an aide-de-camp to General
John Coffee. He and his brother made a name for themselves at
the Battles of Horseshoe Bend, Tallahassee, and New Orleans,
where Alexander McCulloch’s brother was killed in combat.
McCulloch’s actions under fire during the campaigns earned
the respect of fellow soldiers Ensign Sam Houston and Sgt. David
Crockett. As with many men, who serve together in combat, close
ties formed between them and the men became close friends.
When they returned to Tennessee, the men began building their
lives in the frontier state. Both Crockett and Houston had moved
from their homes in East Tennessee and migrated westward. While
studying law, Houston resumed his career as a teacher and among
his students were Ben McCulloch’s older brothers. Crockett
also relocated near the family and soon the men found their
lives intertwined in the growing state of Tennessee. Young Ben
McCulloch looked up to Crockett and Houston and he soon began
spending a lot of time in the backwoods with Crockett and forging
a reputation as a hunter in his own right. The two families
would eventually become inseparable and Crockett’s influence
on young Ben McCulloch would rival that of his own father and
lead him to a life in the frontier that would make him a legend
in the Old West.The McCulloch family followed their fortunes,
however, and moved to Florence, Al. where Ben grew up learning
all he could from the Cherokee and other Native Americans living
in the region. He picked up the art of making dugout canoes
and soon developed into one of the best in the region –
building a large one to transport supplies and a small one to
use in the backwoods on his hunting expeditions.
When Ben was 17-years-old, he and his family moved back to Tennessee’s
Dyer County. The sons began clearing the land and building the
home’s outbuildings. Ben camped himself under a sugar tree
near the homeplace and, as years went by, would never let anyone
cut it down. He made his home in Dyer County and was soon one
of its most popular residents, especially when it came to hunting
bears. He was credited with killing as many as 80 bears in a
single year rivaling Crockett and Henderson Clark for the title
of champion bear hunter in the region. In fact, Ben McCulloch
and David Crockett’s sons became good friends and often
hunted together in the backwoods for days at a time. One of
Ben’s weaknesses, however, was his lack of formal education.
While his mother and father had helped him learn how to read,
the young man felt he should better educate himself if he wanted
to do more with his life. He looked up to and admired David
Crockett and Sam Houston and knew they had sacrificed a lot
to gain an education. Following their example, Ben fought to
overcome his gap in education by becoming a voracious reader.
Whenever opportunity prevented itself, he took the chance to
learn everything he could and didn’t rely only on books
to do so. His time with the Indians had made him a good student
of human character and McCulloch learned how to fit himself
into almost any situation.
When he wasn’t hunting, McCulloch was on rafting trips
often with his younger brother Henry. The two traveled as far
as New Orleans, where Ben took time out to unsuccessfully try
and locate the grave of his fallen uncle. It wasn’t too
long before the wanderlust common to the men of that era soon
fell upon Ben and his brother.
In the early 1830s, Ben made arrangements to join a trapping
expedition in St. Louis bound for the Rocky Mountains, but arrived
too late and chose instead to go to Wisconsin where he worked
as a lead miner. After a couple of years, the Tennessean returned
to his home in Dyer County and heard that David Crockett was
forming an expedition to go to Texas.
The men who wanted to go with Crockett, but couldn’t leave
during harvest, were to rendezvous with the group at Nacogdoches
on Christmas. Ben and his brother Henry took out after his mentor,
but, upon reaching the border, the older Ben picked up some
information that led him to convince Henry he should return
home for a year before coming west to join him.
As he crossed over into Texas alone and started down the Brazos
River, an illness soon fell upon him that left Ben in bad shape
and needing medical attention. He fortunately came upon the
home of a former Dyer County native, who nursed him back to
health, but it meant he couldn’t join up with Crockett.
The sickness unknowingly saved his life. When he recovered,
he learned that Mexican General Santa Anna had stormed the Alamo
Mission and killed all who were there, including Crockett and
his neighbors.
Ben McCulloch determinedly rode further south along the Brazos
River and into the camp of Gen. Sam Houston where he immediately
volunteered for the Texas Army. The fellow Tennessean was glad
to see an old friend and immediately put him in charge of one
of two cannons known as the "Twin Sisters". When Gen.
Santa Anna marched his troops into San Jacinto, McCulloch remained
at his post through the harshest of combat and kept his guns
blazing. His resolve under fire amazed those who fought with
him earned the respect of his commanding officers. When the
battle ended, Gen. Sam Houston found McCulloch and promoted
him on the spot to First Lieutenant for his actions.
Following the battle, McCulloch returned to Dyer County to raise
his own militia. In the process, he took enough time out while
home to learn surveying. He, his brother Henry, and David Crockett’s
son Robert soon returned to Texas with the new militia, but
the war had ended.
Ben decided to resign his commission and turned the militia
over to Robert Crockett. He and his brother moved to the City
of Seguin where Ben worked as a surveyor. In addition, he ran
for and was elected to the Congress of the Republic of Texas
in 1839. As is the case in most newly formed nations, political
turmoil was rife and soon Ben McCulloch found himself on the
field of honor in a duel with a rival. The Tennessean was severely
wounded in the fight and lost most of the use of his arm, but
it didn’t slow him from accomplishing his goals or proving
his abilities as a fighter.
In 1840, he led a militia force against the Comanches, who were
staging their great raid on the Texas settlers, and defeated
them as well as containing Mexican raiders who were riding over
the border to wreak havoc on the settlers. McCulloch’s
cleverness on the field and under fire became legendary in Texas.
President Sam Houston under Capt. John Hayes soon brought Ben
and his men into the Texas Ranger Company where he assumed his
old rank as First Lieutenant.
Many former veterans of the Texas War for Independence made
up the Texas Rangers and they quickly earned a reputation for
being the best law enforcement agency in America. In order to
become a Ranger, it was often said that a man had to know how
to ride like a Mexican, track like a Comanche, shoot like a
Tennessean, and fight like the devil. While Rangers belonged
to military-style companies, many operated individually as law
enforcement officers because of the vastness of the Texas region.
Gun maker Samuel Colt and a Texas Ranger had designed and produced
the Walker Colt repeating revolver that gave Rangers the ability
to be effective in small groups or as individuals.
While working as such, Ben McCulloch again ran for office and
was elected to the Texas legislature following the republic
becoming a state. The Tennessean proved himself well equipped
to handle the frontier arenas of politics and military life
and soon became one of the leading men of Texas.
In 1846, McCulloch was called upon to raise a group of volunteers
for the Mexican War where he was appointed major and became
chief of Scouts for General Zachary Taylor. His service in the
war lived up to its billing. One of his greatest feats was disguising
himself and leading his men 100 miles behind Gen. Santa Anna’s
lines to gather intelligence reports on troops strengths and
tactical positions. In addition, he proved to be a great spy
and was able to slip in and out of Mexican towns with ease.
His abilities quickly caught the attention of American military
command and reportedly correspondents covering the war. One
of which who wrote:
"McCulloch is as vigilant as a tiger... he is a border
man, a ranger, and an Indian fighter... more than this Ben McCulloch
is a great man. I fancied him a perfect devil, a backwoodsman,
a ruffian, and unpolished desperado. Instead he is a thinker
with a precise and clear mind, but isn’t much of a talker.
With him, ‘it is!’ or ‘it is not!’
Following the war, McCulloch grew restless and joined the 1849
gold rush to California. He, like many others, struck out in
the fields, but took a job as Sheriff of Sacramento County,
California where he proved himself an able sheriff and earned
a reputation as a hard fighter and a fast hand with a gun.
After a while, he grew homesick for Texas, however, and the
Tennessean returned. In March 1853, he was appointed a U.S.
Marshal by then- President Franklin Pierce for the Eastern District
of Texas.
Marshal McCulloch became a man who was much feared by criminals
because of his tenaciousness in tracking down and bringing in
the most hardened criminal. His cunning and wit on the trail
as well as his ability as a no-nonsense fighter made him a feared
man on the outlaw trails in the region. Whatever was called
for in pursuing a suspect, he did so with the intent of bringing
them back alive where they stood trial and most chose to face
a judge in a courtroom than Ben McCulloch in a fight.
In the wake of General Albert S. Johnson’s 1858 expedition
to negotiate a settlement with the Mormons in Utah, McCulloch’s
reputation as a negotiator and U.S. Marshal earned him an appointment
from President James Buchanan as a commissioner to aid in the
Mormon negotiations, which proved successful. A year later,
the Tennessean resigned from his Marshal’s post to pursue
other interests and became involved in the great debate over
whether or not Texas should secede from the Union.
When the state decided to secede from the Union and join the
Confederacy, Ben was appointed a Colonel in the Confederate
Army. Col. McCulloch immediately marched his troops to San Antonio
where he received the surrender of Union General David. E. Twiggs,
who was Commander of the Department of Texas, his troops, and
all federal supplies being held in the city, which included
numerous artillery pieces.
By February 1861, Col. McCulloch’s service had caught the
attention of upper command and he became the first Confederate
officer promoted to the rank of Brigadier General. The 50-year-old
McCulloch with white hair down to his shoulders was given command
of the Southwest Division comprising of Arkansas and the Indian
Territory. Eastern press reports suddenly started vilifying
the former U.S. Marshal and stating ridiculous facts such as
he wanted to kidnap Pres. Abraham Lincoln.
Gen. McCulloch moved his troops into the Indian Territory and
tried to come to agreement with Chief John Ross to locate his
headquarters in the region. He failed to do so and instead located
his headquarters at nearby Fort Smith, Arkansas where he started
a series of troop movements to secure the territory for the
South.
His forces were defeated at the Battle of Dug-Out Springs, but
he united with General Sterling Price’s troops and scored
a victory at the Battle of Wilson’s Creek, which came to
be referred to by later historians as the "Western theater’s
Bull Run".
A Union officer at the battle described the Confederate force
against them as "with not a tent, not a blanket, nor any
clothes, except the few they had on their back, and four-fifths
of the men were barefooted."
The Confederate forces were beaten back at first during the
battle, but soon rallied and forced the Union into retreat whereupon
the Confederate forces seized all but one of the federal artillery
pieces that were abandoned by the fleeing soldiers. In the battle
Union General Nathaniel Lyon, who had made a name for himself
in the Seminole War and secured Missouri for the North, was
killed when his flanks were suddenly exposed. More than 23 percent
of the 5,400-man Union force fell in the battle. Federal ambulances
crowding onto the battlefield to retrieve the wounded left in
such haste that their general’s body remained on the field
where he had fallen.
General McCulloch had Lyon’s body brought to his headquarters
where he ordered it returned to Union Major Sam Sturgis in Springfield,
MO for proper burial.
Following the battle, the General returned to Arkansas and with
General Earl Van Dorn began preparations for what would become
known as the Battle of Pea Ridge, Ark. From that geographical
point, it was thought the Confederate forces could begin a campaign
to sweep north and capture St. Louis, where the city was happily
making preparations to receive them. Full-blood Cherokee Colonel
Stand Watie and his men joined McCulloch and Dorn’s men.
Although the Indian units were largely made up of Cherokee,
there were other units of Choctaws, Chickasaws, and other western
bands filling out the ranks of the Confederate.
The night before the battle General Benjamin McCulloch reflected
on his boyhood in Tennessee. His thoughts also turned to the
fact the Battle of the Alamo had occurred 26 years ago to the
day and only by chance had he missed being at his mentor’s
side.
As the next day dawned, he and his men took the field near Elkhorn
Tavern and the General, who always had a dislike for military
uniforms, was dressed in a dove colored coat with blue pantaloons,
Wellington boots, and a Maynard rifle slung over his shoulder.
The first day of battle, McCulloch’s troops had pushed
the Union’s left flank back and captured numerous pieces
of federal artillery. In the afternoon, the General was riding
his horse in front of the 16th Arkansas Infantry and just behind
his front line skirmishers who were testing the enemy’s
strength.
During this time, Union forces were moving towards the Confederate
skirmishers. Infantryman Peter Pelican of the Thirty-Sixth Illinois
Infantry, Company B had taken up position behind a fence near
Sugar Creek and readied himself for the Confederate force that
was approaching. Without knowing it, the Illinois Infantryman
took aim at a Confederate officer and fired. He saw him tumble
off of his horse and hit the ground. The Union soldiers charged
on the Confederate lines and drove them back, but they quickly
rallied and pushed the Union force into retreat.
As the Confederate line moved back to its original position,
one of the officers recognized the dove-colored coat and blue
pantaloons of Gen. Ben McCulloch. A bloodstain began appearing
on the front of his coat and the officer noticed McCulloch’s
rifle, sidearms and gold watch had been taken from his body.
Although two more Southern generals would fall and Louisiana
commander Louis Herbert would be captured, Confederate forces
were able to claim an expensive victory.
The body of Gen. Benjamin McCulloch was retrieved from the battlefield
and returned to Texas where he was laid to rest with full honors
in the Texas National Cemetery. Although his final career was
short, it had maintained all the brilliance that had made him
a folk hero on the frontier. His death also signified the ending
of an era in American history. Ben McCulloch was one of the
last of the rough and tumble frontier statesmen that had dominated
American politics in the early 1800s – one that helped
forge the backbone of a movement that would lead the young American
Republic to not only expand but help secure its boundaries to
the shores of the Pacific Ocean.
Numerous descendants of Ben McCulloch still live in Texas and
in Tennessee. The grave of his father Alexander McCulloch is
located three miles west of the City of Dyersburg, Tenn. near
McCulloch’s Chapel. The grave is located on the old homestead
site of the McCulloch family.
Although he is largely remembered for his actions in Texas,
Ben McCulloch was one of thousands of Tennesseans who made a
name for themselves in Texas. In "The Harper Encyclopedia
of Military History", they round out his biography with
this sentence: "A classic frontiersman with an aversion
to wearing military uniform, McCulloch was also an able combat
leader and his death at Pea Ridge was a notable loss to the
Confederacy." Like every other battle fought west of Virginia,
the Battle of Pea Ridge is little mentioned in history books,
but the other Confederate officers who fought that day would
go on to have an impact in the war years later. Full-blood Cherokee
Col. Stand Watie would eventually go on to achieve the rank
of General in the Confederate Army and distinguish himself numerous
times in combat. In fact, he would be the last Confederate general
to surrender in the War Between the States.
A biography on the Tennessean was written in 1888 by Victor
M. Rose entitled "The life and services of Gen. Ben McCulloch".
The 110-year-old biography is impossible to find, however, and
only a few antique collectors are known to possess copies of
it. What information is available can be found in various histories
on the founding of the Texas Republic and the annals of the
Mexican War. All who knew him in his day, held him in legendary
status and his colorful antics in law enforcement earned him
respect at the nation’s highest levels. McCulloch’s
colorful antics fighting Comanches and other "renegade"
Indians also brought him respect among Native Americans, who
thought more of a man who would fight than one who would retreat
or show weakness to them. McCulloch wasn’t described by
them as being prejudice, but as being a hard man in a fight
and worthy of being left alone.
The one thing that separated the Tennessean apart from most
adventurers in his day, however, was his quest to educate himself.
In both Tennessee and Texas, Ben McCulloch was regarded as one
of the best read men in the territory and spent many hours clutching
a book and obtaining the latest publications, which was no easy
feat in a day where only the most necessary supplies were transported
west. It was ironic that he would die at the same age and in
the same manner 26 years and one day to the date of the Battle
of the Alamo. Only luck had kept McCulloch from dying that day
in 1836 with the man whom he had looked up to and emulated his
entire life.
