From Wikipedia:
(
visit link)
"Gillespie was born on June 12, 1815, in Blount County, Tennessee, one of three sons of Robert Gillespie and his wife Patsy Houston Gillespie. By the time Gillespie was twenty-two years old, he and his brothers James and Matthew were operating the Gillespie & Brothers mercantile and land speculation business in Matagorda, Texas. Within two years, the three brothers had relocated their business to La Grange.
Gillespie participated in the 1840 upper Colorado River expedition with John Henry Moore of the Old Three Hundred, during the period when Moore was engaging the Comanche in battle.
From September 1842 to January 7, 1843, Gillespie held the rank of Private in a Texas Rangers company under John Coffee Hays, and participated in the 1842 Battle of Salado Creek. From June 1, 1843, to September 30, 1843, Private Gillespie was part of the Hays Spy Company. February 25, 1844, to June 26, 1844, Gillespie was still enlisted as a private in the Rangers under Hays. Gilllespie served under Hays during the 1844 Battle of Walker's Creek between Hays and Comanche chief Yellow Wolf, described by James Wilson Nichols in his journal Now You Hear My Horn, and suffered a lance wound during the battle. Gillespie rose to the rank of First Lieutenant for the Hays Texas Rangers roster of February 12, 1845, to September 28, 1845. On September 28, Gillespie formed the San Antonio Mounted Rangers, as part of the Hays Battalion of Texas Mounted Rangers, and served as its Captain until March 28, 1846.
During the Mexican-American War, the Rangers joined Zachary Taylor at the Battle of Monterrey. The first Ranger to breach the fort at the Independence Hill summit, Gillespie was wounded during the assault on Bishop's Palace of September 22, 1846. He succumbed to his wounds on September 23."
Wikipedia article on S.H. Walker:
(
visit link)
"Walker was born on February 24, 1817 at Toaping Castle in Maryland to Nathan and Elizabeth (Thomas) Walker and was the fifth of seven children.
Walker enlisted in the Washington City Volunteers for the Creek Indian Campaign in Alabama in 1836. The following year he mustered out of the Volunteers and worked as a scout in Florida until 1841. He arrived in Galveston, Texas in 1842 and served under Captain Jesse Billingsley against the Mexican invasion led by General Adrian Woll. Walker was captured by the Mexicans on December 26, 1842 and marched to Mexico City as a prisoner of war. He survived what became known as the Black Bean Episode and held prisoner for two years before escaping to Louisiana and returning to Texas.
He then joined the Texas Rangers in 1844 under the command of Captain John Coffee Hays. Promoted to the rank of captain, he later led a Ranger company in the Mexican–American War with General Zachary Taylor and General Winfield Scott's armies.
On October 9, 1847, Walker was killed in Huamantla, in Tlaxcala, while leading his troops in the Battle of Huamantla during the Mexican–American War. He was struck down by a shotgun (escopette, variously escopeta) round fired from a balcony, although popular legend often has claimed the weapon was a lance.
In 1848 his remains were moved to San Antonio. On April 21, 1856, as part of a battle of San Jacinto celebration, he was reburied in the Odd Fellows' Cemetery in San Antonio."
Text of Obelisk:
To the Memory
of
Capt.
R.A.Gillespie
&
S.H.Walker
by their
Companions
in Arms
Capt. S.H. Walker