Charles Edward Travis - Masonic Cemetery - Chappell Hill, TX
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N 30° 09.235 W 096° 15.662
14R E 763808 N 3339009
Charles E. Travis, the son of famous Texas hero Col. William Travis, is not known for what be became but what he ultimately did NOT achieve in his lifetime: a military fame in the footsteps his father's legendary prowess.
Waymark Code: WMMD91
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 09/03/2014
Views: 5
"William B Travis stands next to Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett as the immortal Texas heroes who defended the Alamo to the death in the cause of Texas Independence; he is forever remembered for commanding the Texan garrison and drawing his famous line in the sand. A few days before the fall of the Alamo, he wrote a letter requesting that his little boy, Charles Edward Travis, be taken care of if he were to die in defense of his country, the Republic of Texas.
Even though Charles never really knew his father, they had at least ONE thing in common: he died young, just like his father. Charles was, unfortunately, NOT covered in laurels and military legend like his father: he was buried in Chappell Hill's Masonic cemetery in some unmarked grave at the time, although he does now have a marker today. How could the son of the commander of the Alamo die in such obscurity? He should have had a bright future ahead of him with his name alone. It carried a lot of weight in Texas and when he moved to Brenham in 1848 it seemed like his future was bright indeed.
Charles Travis started his adult life by being admitted to the bar and representing Caldwell and Hays counties in the Texas Legislature in 1853. He served as Captain of Company E in the Texas Rangers in 1855 and the same year he received a commission as a captain in the United States Second Cavalry. His future did indeed seem bright. The Second Cavalry was called “Jeff Davis’s Own” because most of the officers were handpicked by the future President of the Confederate States of America. Jefferson Davis was Secretary of War in 1855 and had free reign to chose and promote whom he saw fit. The Second Cavalry officers list is practically the Confederate All-Star Team. Eleven future Confederate generals came out of that regiment alone. Albert Sidney Johnston commanded the Second while Robert E. Lee served as a lieutenant colonel. Other officers of note were John Bell Hood, Edmund Kirby Smith and George H. Thomas. These men were the crème de la crème of the United States military and all but Travis and one other man were West Point graduates.
Apparently, Travis rubbed everyone the wrong way almost as soon as he joined the Second Cavalry. He put his foot squarely in the fire ant bed when he told a fellow officer that he thought a certain Lieutenant Wood had stolen money from him. This Lieutenant Wood was the nephew of Jefferson Davis, the man who had handpicked the unit and who each officer in the unit owed his position to. It was not a wise thing for Travis to do.
Johnston had Travis arrested and confined to quarters for “conduct unbecoming of an officer and a gentleman,” as soon as the Second was stationed at Fort Mason. He was arrested on three charges: slander, being absent without leave and cheating at cards. All of these charges were very serious, being accused of cheating at cards by itself usually ended in someone getting shot. Travis's very future was at stake, if he were found guilty, his reputation and future would be ruined.
At Fort Mason Travis’s meteoric rise hit a brick wall. The trial lasted about a month from March 15, 1856 to April 11. The trial was the most sensational thing to happen in the state in 1856 and everyone paid attention. Travis was doomed from the beginning, practically all the officers testified against him including Johnston and Lee. He was found guilty on all charges and in May he was dismissed from the service.
Back in Texas, he rallied what supporters he could and the Texas Legislature convened a joint committee to look into the charges and the findings of the court martial. The Legislature was outraged, they looked over the evidence and testimony and thought Travis was wronged and the charges spurious. Former Supreme Court Justice Charles S. West sat on the committee and read their findings into the official record. The Legislature petitioned President Franklin Pierce to order a new trial. Pierce did not order a new trial. Travis and his allies saw conspiracy where plain old politics was to blame. In reality, Travis was a small fish. The country was already on the brink of Civil War and Jefferson Davis was a powerful man. Had Pierce ordered a new trial it would have been a declaration of hostilities between the president and his own cabinet member.
Travis whiled away the next few years trying to regain his lost honor as the country and the Second Cavalry marched on to the Civil War. Travis contracted tuberculosis and eventually died at his sister’s house in Brenham in 1860, forgotten by all but a handful of people. Would Travis have measured up to his father during the Civil War had he kept his mouth shut? Who knows? We do know the only Travis history remembers is William Barrett, not Charles Edward."
Excerpts from (and minor additions/corrections to) Will Erwin's biography of Charles Edward Travis on the official Texas State Cemetery records.
Description:
Charles E. Travis is the son of Texas Commander William Travis who commanded the troops at the Alamo. There were very high expectations for Charles to follow his father's military footsteps, but an unfortunate political incident indirectly involving both Jefferson Davis and General Albert Sidney Johnston (of the Confederacy) all but ruined his future military career. His notoriety in Texas is not for what he became, but for what he did NOT achieve in his lifetime.
Date of birth: 08/09/1829
Date of death: 12/08/1860
Area of notoriety: Historical Figure
Marker Type: Headstone
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Cemetery visiting hours: dawn to dusk
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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