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John Wilkins Whitfield was born in Franklin, Tennessee, on March 11, 1818. After being reared and educated in Tennessee, Whitfield volunteered for military service in the Mexican War. In 1853, he moved to Independence, Missouri, and worked as an Indian agent in Missouri and Arkansas. After about a year, he moved to he newly-organized Kansas Territory, and was elected territorial delegate to Congress (1854-56). When the Civil War began, Whitfield was working as register of the land office at Doniphan, Kansas. He joined the Confederate military, serving as major of the 4th Battalion Texas Cavalry. Whitfield fought at Pea Ridge in March of 1862, then charged Union lines and was wounded at Iuka in the autumn of 1862. Promoted to brigadier general on May 9, 1863, he participated in the defense of Vicksburg in the summer of that year. He was paroled at Columbus, Texas in June of 1865, and remained in Texas after the Confederates surrendered. He settled in Lavaca County, and was elected to the state legislature. Whitfield died on October 27,1879, near Hallettsville, Texas.
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