The LAST Mexican War Veteran - Waco, TX
N 31° 38.110 W 097° 03.703
14R E 683818 N 3501629
The headstone marking the final resting place of Elijah Goodnight in historic Concord Cemetery, Waco, TX, indicates that he was the last Mexican War veteran.
Waymark Code: WM14H72
Location: Texas, United States
Date Posted: 07/09/2021
Views: 5
Mr. Goodnight is likely the last veteran of the Mexican-American War
buried in Texas, as Owen Thomas Edgar (1831-1929) generally comes in as the name given as
the last. Besides this distinction, Mr. Goodnight's brother, Charles Goodnight -- there is a serious family resemblance -- was one of Texas's greatest cattlemen and ranchers. He is buried with other Goodnight family members here in the cemetery, with a marble headstone marking his final resting place. It has a book at the top, with "Come Ye Blest" above the Gates of Heaven on the front, and the family name is on the plinth. The inscription reads:
Elija
Goodnight
Born
Oct. 16, 1831
Died
Dec. 1, 1920
The Last Mexican
War Veteran, 1848
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His Findagrave page (see below) notes that he was what they used to call an "Indian fighter", and after his service in the Mexican War, he fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War. At the time of his death, he was a farmer, and this cemetery was in the Concord community that now belongs to the ages.
The 2015 Texas Historical Marker at the front of the cemetery bolsters the idea that Mr. Goodnight was the last Mexican War veteran to be buried in Texas, and it elaborates:
In 1866 the Concord Baptist Church organized in the Concord community. Originally the Tehuacana Baptist Church, its name was changed in 1872. The first interments in the adjacent cemetery were Elizabeth Boddie Parrish and her triplets in November 1869. The cemetery is all that is left of the town of Concord, which once had a general store, cotton gin, school, and a church. Many veterans are interred on the grounds. Elija Goodnight (1831-1920) is considered the last veteran of the U.S.-Mexico War to be buried in Texas. According to the cemetery bylaws, one must be a direct descendant of a person buried at Concord in order to be interred on the grounds.
Your best bet for parking is near the south end of the cemetery, in open space across the road that goes through the grounds, but do be careful of mud. There are a few places on the headstone side of the grounds where you can park along the road, but please be careful of the graves.