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VITAL STATISTICS
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BORN: 1838 in Bentonsport, IA.
DIED:1898 in College Station, TX.
(Died of exposure while hunting)
CAMPAIGNS:Participated in 135 battles and engagements over the course of the war.
HIGHEST RANK ACHIEVED: Brigadier General
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BIOGRAPHY
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| Lawrence Sullivan Ross was born in Bentonsport, Iowa, on September 27, 1838. His family moved to Texas when he was an infant, and Ross developed a reputation as a fighter of Native Americans on the frontier. He graduated from Wesleyan University in Alabama, spending his vacations working on operations against the Comanches. Among his actions was rescuing Cynthia Ann Parker, the mother of Quanah (who became chief of the Comanches); and killing Chief Peta Necona in single combat. Sam Houston appointed Ross captain of a company of Texas Rangers, but Ross declined Gen. Winfield Scott's offer of a commission in the US Army. When Texas seceded, Ross joined the Confederate service as a private. He served in the Battle of Corinth, and was promoted to brigadier general on December 21, 1863. He commanded a brigade in the Atlanta Campaign. During his service in the war, "Sul" Ross took part in 135 battles and engagements, and had 5 horses shot under him. After the Civil War ended, he returned to Texas a poor man. He began farming, and his plantation eventually became a financial success. Ross served as sheriff of McLennan County, a member of the state constitutional convention and a state senator. Elected governor in 1887, and reelected two years later, he served as president of Texas Agricultural and Mechanical College. Ross died from exposure while he was hunting along the Trinity River, on January 3, 1898. He is buried in Waco, Texas. |
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