Captain William Wood

U.S. Military Flintlock Pistol, Model 1836, R. Johnson,

.54 caliber, smooth bore, lock dated 1836.

backstrap inscribed "Captain William Wood Republic of Texas 1836"

 

 

See more pictures below.

This pistol was converted to percussion and subsequently reconverted back to flintlock.  The pistol was missing the ramrod and one was added.   The three line proofs of “US”, “P”, “JH”, normally on the top of the barrel.  have been lost due to the conversion/reconversion.

 Various references, state that most of the approx. 41,000 Model 1836 pistols, made by Johnson and Waters, were converted to percussion in the  1850’s

This pistol was passed down through a Mexican/American family, formerly of Texas and now living in Georgia.  By family tradition, the pistol was acquired by a family member that served in “Sam Houston’s Army” in 1836 and is so stated in a letter from the family.   The name of the original family member, is Martin Flores.  I have been able  to confirm that Martin Flores was a Hispanic native that joined Texas in the War of Independence and was a Musician in The Regular Infantry – Company A at the Battle of San Jacinto and later in 1836 with Company B, 1^st Regt. Infantry, Texas Army.

William Wood was Captain of Company A, 1^st Regt., Texas Volunteers at the Battle of San Jacinto.  2^nd Sergeant James Sylvester, served in Company A under Captain Wood and carried the only flag flown by the Texans at San Jacinto.  Further, 2^nd Sergeant James Sylvester was credited with the capture of Santa Ana the day after the battle.

 Bio from San Jacinto Museum web site:

 

WOOD, WILLIAM

Enrolled December 18, 1835, in Newport, Kentucky, as a First Lieutenant in Captain Sidney Sherman's Company of "KENTUCKY RIFLES" and arrived with the company in Texas in January, 1836. At Nacogdoches January 14, 1836, all of the members of the company swore allegiance to the Government of Texas. On March 12, 1836, at Gonzales, Captain Sherman was elected Lieutenant Colonel of the First Regiment of Texas Volunteers, of which Edward Burleson was Colonel, and on the following day Lieutenant Wood was elected Captain and succeeded Sherman in command of the company, then officially designated Company A, First Regiment of Texas Volunteers. Later the Second Regiment was formed, and Sherman, promoted to the rank of Colonel, was placed in command. Colonel Sherman's old company was then in a different regiment from the one he commanded.

On January 25, 1847 Captain Wood was issued Bounty Certificate No. 292 for 1280 acres of land for having served in the army from December 18, 1835 to October 20, 1836. In Service Record No. 6329 it is certified that he remained in the army until May 22, 1837. The House of Representatives of the Fourth Congress of the Republic passed an Act February 2, 1839, directing the Treasurer of the Republic to pay to Captain Wood the sum of $402.00 "for his dividend at San Jacinto". On December 20, 1838, he was issued Donation Certificate No. 141 for 640 acres of land for having participated in the battle.

Retiring from the army, Captain Wood settled in Brazoria County. On March 1, 1838, he received a Headright Certificate for a league and labor of land from the Brazoria County Board. In about 1849 he moved to Houston where he died June 7, 1854. In his will signed the day before he died he said: "It is my desire that my body be buried on the battleground of San Jacinto and I request my comrades in arms to see to this". He stated that he was heir to an estate in England through his uncle, William, and his aunt, Elizabeth Holbrook. He asked that his comrade-in-arms, Judge Algernon P. Thompson, be appointed administrator of his estate, and requested that Judge Thompson be given his watch. The rest of his estate he willed to his two daughters, Ann Elizabeth and Jane Wood.

The following notice of Captain Wood's death was published in the "Central Texian", Anderson, Texas, June 17, 1854. It was reprinted from a Houston paper: "Death of Capt. Wm. Wood - This gentleman, one of the officers commanding a company at the Battle of San Jacinto, died this morning at the Pierce House. Capt. W. had been in declining health for many months. We understand it was one of his last wishes that his remains should be interred on the battlefield, where he and his brave comrades achieved fame, and for their country, victory and independence.

We are happy to state that through the liberal contributions of our citizens, measures have already been adopted to carry out his wishes, and that accordingly his remains will go down to the battleground this afternoon on the steamer, Eclipse. A Procession will escort them from the Pierce House at 2 o'clock, p.m. The citizens generally are invited to meet. The old soldiers of Texas and the survivors of San Jacinto in the city will be present." The State of Texas caused a monument to be erected at Captain Wood's grave on the battlefield in 1936.

February 28, 1837. {At Columbia} Saw Lt. Woods, of Sherman's Company; he was married to a Mexican woman; bought lots here, and is improving them, in the woods; a pretty place.

William Fairfax Gray,: From Virginia to Texas, 1835, 213.

Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.