Re: Thomas Monroe Hardeman
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In reply to:
Re: Will Ella Hardeman and her siblings
Billy Polk 2/04/03
Hello Bill,
Sorry this has take a while to answer, but work has been incredibly busy lately.I do have a Polk question, but I will save it for the end.
I have a little information on Thomas Monroe Hardeman that could validate 1861 as the year that he died en route to Virginai as a member of Hood's Brigade.It can be documented that the various companies that formed Hood's brigade began forming officially in about May 1861.In this same time I assume, Thomas joined and was elected Major of his respective company, which set out for Virginia after acheiving it full strength posssible a few months.I then assume that in East Tennessee he died of some illness.The Winter of 1861-1862 was harsh and numerous troups died fom that severe winter, but I believe Thomas had already died of some other illness.
I have also seen the probate recode index that listed the 1861 dates and have visited the Polk Cemetery and saw the stone dated 1862 (I have only been once and it was in 1994). These dates were confusing to me as well.
Now after the assumption - here is a fact.The Hardeman Masonic Lodge in Luling, Caldwell County, Texas held a memorial on Saturday Evening, October 26, 1861 in the honor of their deceased brother.You may know that William Polk Hardeman was also a member of this lodge as well as it gaining its name from thier father Thomas Jones Hardeman, Formerly the Most Worshipful Master of the Grand Lodge of Texas.This memorial is documented in the Hardeman Lodge Minute Book and is cited in the book "The Hardeman Impact on Early Texas History" by Francis W. Wilson, 1986.
The best vignette on Thomas Monroe Hardeman that I have found is as follows.It, of course, has the wrong death date.
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Hardeman County Times
Bolivar, Tennessee
Thursday, October 6, 1949
Page 6 & 7
Thomas Monroe Hardeman
By W. M. Matthews
Thomas Monroe Hardeman was the oldest of the five children born to Thomas Jones Hardeman, for whom Hardeman County was named, and Mary Ophelia Polk Hardeman, the daughter of Col.Ezekiel Polk.He was born in Middle Tennessee in December, 1814, while his father was away in General Andrew Jackson's army in New Orleans.Captain Hardeman, fighting on the night of December 23, 1814, was taken prisoner, along with his brother-in-law, Capt. Glen Owen, they were confined on board a ship and were prevented from taking part in the glorious victory of January 8th.In fact, Capt. Hardeman was beaten over the head with a sabre for refusing to give the British information as to General Jackson's position when General Packenham, the British commander, was ready to attack.
A letter, written by Thomas Hardeman, Sr., to his son, Lieut. Peter Hardeman, at "Camp Jackson, below New 0rleans," and postmarked with pen and ink, "Franklin 31st, Jany. 1815," reads:
"Dear Son
"Yours of the 11th Inst. came safe to hand, in which I learn that two of my sons Glen & Thos are prisoners with the British.they will suffer no doubt in the hands ofsuch a savage foe, but there is still hope of their being exchanged for and return again to their friends.am glad it is no, worse, their wives had been informed they were both killed.But your letter coming has revived all I our hopes of their returning to us again.Our commanding General will no, doubt try to bring about an exchange of prisoners, as soon as times will, permit him to attend to it.
"My wife has been sick ever since you left us, and Jery quite useless ever since the 10 December last & I myself have been afflicted with rumatick pains, we must have suffered considerably if your brother John Hardeman had not sent Billey to cut fire wood.Those circumstances have preventedme from seeing your wife nor should I have seen Thos.J. Hardeman's wife if she had not come herself.She has a fine boy."
your affectionate
Father
Thos.Hardeman”
So we see that little Monroe Hardeman and his mother went to visit his grandfather, Thomas Hardeman, who was living in Williamson County at that time.His grandfather was also a soldier, having participated in the decisive Battle of King's Mountain during the Revolutionary War.He was a. delegate to the first Constitutional Convention of Tennessee in 1796.He had married Mary Perkins in 1770 and they were the parents of 14 children, ten sons and four daughters.The Perkins family can be traced back to 1411, where they owned vast estates in the County of Berks[hire].
With a long line of distinguished ancestors on both sides, many of whom were soldiers, it is not surprising that Monroe grew up to become a soldier, also, and to engage in two conflicts, the Texas War for Independence and the Civil War.
Thomas Monroe was only six or seven years old when he came with the family to WestTennessee in the early 20's.They settled in the new county that was organized in 1823, and was named Hardeman County in honor of his father, Thomas Jones Hardeman, who became the first County Court Clerk, and served in' that capacity for 12 years.Thomas Monroe took advantage of the limited opportunities available for an education in pioneer times.
He was a member of' the Episcopal Church at Bolivar, which was organized as St. James Parish in 1834. The articles of association were signed by Calvin Jones, Thomas Jones Hardeman, J. H. Bills, W. H. Wood, E. C. Crisp, Prudence McNeal, Thomas Monroe Hardeman, A. T. McNeal, and others.
Book A, in the Hardeman County Register’s office has the following entry:
"Bailey Hardeman sold 640 acres to T. J. Hardeman, on Oct. 31, 1822, for $1000.00 cash.
Witnesses: William Anthony, William Hardeman, Thomas Hardeman, Jr., Blackstone Hardeman”
The Thomas Hardeman, Jr., referred to in this deed must have been a first cousin of Thomas Jones Hardeman’s.In fact, there are so many Hardemnans namedThomas that it has been very diffficult to keep them straight.That accounts for the error in some people thinking that our county was named for Thomas Hardeman the father, instead of Thomas Jones Hardeman, the son.However, it is Thomas Monroe Hardeman, the third, in direct line bearing the name of Thomas, who is the subject of this sketch.
After the death of his mother on Sept. 24, 1835, Thomas Monroe went to Texas with his father.
He arrived in Texas just in time to take part in the Mexican War.For the first fight took
place at Gonzales on Oct. 2nd and he was a participant.
The citizens at Gonzales had a small brass cannon given to them four years before by the Mexican Governmentas a protection against Indianraids.One of the Mexican generals asked the town to give up the cannon and they refused.They prepared to fight, dug up the cannon form the peach orchard, where it had been buried and mounted it on an oxcart.The blacksmith made bullets by cutting short pieces off of iron rods and trace chains to serve as loads for the cannon.The Texans had been re-enforced until they numbered 150 men, so they decided to attack the Mexicans who were on the other side of the rive.The little brass cannon roared again and again, but it did little damage.Only one man was I killed and he was a Mexican.But the Mexican army was put to fight.
On March 6th, 1836, Santa Anna, the Mexican General and his men massacred the force of about 185 men under Gcn. Wm. Barrett Travis in the Alamo.James Bowie, Travis himself and our own David Crockett met death at this place, which is now a shrine at San Antonio, Texas.
Twenty-one days after the slaughter at the Alamo, Col. Fannin and about 400 men were put to death at Goliad, after they had been defeated in the battle of Colita and made prisoners.
These high-handed acts of brutality had caused the Texans to become very angry and to seek revenge.
On April 12th, The battle of San Jacinto was fought.Gen. Sam Houston retreated and maneuvered until he got Santa Anna’s army just where he wanted it, then struck with lightning rapidity.Their battle cry as they chargedthe Mexican positions was “Remember the Alamo!Remember Goliad!”The main battle lasted only about 18 minutes, but the charge was so sudden and so furious that the Mexicans could not be held in line and were routed completely.
The report of General Sam Houston to President D. G. Burnett, who had been electedpresidentof the Republic of Texas a short time previous to the battle, stated that the loss of the Mexicans was 630 killed, 208 wounded and 730 prisoners.The loss of the Texans was six killed and 23 wounded.What a glorious victory!
Some historians think that there are mistakes in Houston's reports; that the number reported killed, wounded and prisoners would be more men than Santa Anna had with him in the fight.
Houston's report shows that there were 733 men in his army and he gives the name of every officer and private.That is conclusive proof.He stated that Santa Anna had over 1200 men, nearly twice as many as he had.
Thomas Monroe Hardeman took part in this historic battle.And for his service received 2,436 acres of land.He volunteered from Bastrop County and was in Company F, commanded by Captain William J. E. Heard.This company was in Col. Edward Burleson’s regiment of Texas Volunteers occupying the center position in the line of battle.Colonel Burleson was also from Hardeman County, Tennessee.
In the State of Texas there are 15 counties named for men who took part in this battle and six of them were from Tennessee.
There is a painting on the wall in the Capitol at Austin, Texas, representing the surrender of Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto.It shows Santa Anna, a prisoner, before General Houston, who lay wounded under an oak tree.There are a number of officers and men in this painting and they are numbered.No. 18 in the picture is Thomas Monroe Hardeman.
L. W. Kemp, President of the Texas Historical Comruission, called my attention to an error I made in my sketch of Thomas Jones Hardeman, published in The Bolivar Bulletin on Aug. 23, 1943, when I stated that there was a life-size portrait of Bailey Hardeman in thepainting styled, "Surrender of Santa Anna."(I had been misinformed by none other than the Archivist of the State Library in Austin and she later admitted her error.)Mr. Kemp sent me a small reproduction of the painting so there is no mistake this time.
After the Battle of San jacinto, Thomas monroe Hardeman was elected, major of volunteers and in this capacity, under Gen. Felix Huston, who was a leader of the Texas Rangers, led a company at the Battle of Plum Creek and defeated them on Aug. 12, 1840.There is now a town about eight miles from this battle field, Luling, founded in 1874, with a population of 6,000, in the center of a large oil producing area.
Colonel Hardeman participated in the Vasquez Campaign in San Antonio in 1842.The following year he married Susan Burleson, a grandniece of Gen. Edward Burleson, and the daughter of Joseph and Lizzie Burleson.At the time he married Colonel Hardeman had been a resident of Texas eight years and was 29 years old.He andhis wife moved to Caldwell County, Texas, and named the settlement founded by them, "Prairie Lea.”They were living there when Mrs. Hardeman died in 1860.There were four children born to them--William Fawcett, Monroe, Cora, and Lizzie.All of them are dead.Thel grandchildren who were living in 1940 were:Mrs. Hall Hanna of Houston; Judge Wm. H. Thompson and Fentress Thompson of San Marcos, Texas; Mrs. Charles Martin and Mrs John Starkley of Houston.
In 1839, Hardeman was a member of the Austin Lodge No. 12 in Austin, Texas, and was Worshiful Masterof Prairie Lea Lodge No. 114 at Prairie Lea from 1853 to 1858.He affiliated with Hardeman Lodge No. 179 soon after it was Chartered (first at Plum Creek, now at Luling.) It was chartered two years after the death of Thomas Jones Hardeman in 1854 and was probably
named in honor of this Past Grand Master.
Colonel Hardeman entered the Confederate rmy in Hood’s Brigade on the 30th of September, 1861, only a few months after the beginning of the War Between the States.After serving a year, he was en route to Virginia when he died in Knoxville, September, 1862.He was only 48 years old.His remains were brought to Bolivar and interred in the lot in Polk Cemetery, where his mother is buried.His grave is unmarked.
Thomas Monroe Hardeman was a resident of Texas 27 years and rendered the state service at a time of great need.He never shirked a duty and was always willing and eage to perform his part of any task, however irksome it might be.A staunch citizen, honest and true; a fine descendant of a line of pioneers, soldiers and statesmen. A worthy father, bearing the name of Hardeman.
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I hope this helps.By the I descend from William Polk Hardeman through his son John Hamilton Hardeman.
OK, you have probably seen the portrait of Ezekiel Polk that can be found in the 1984 reprint of Angelotti's "Polks" genealogy and I have seen it in some other book but cannot cite it.In the Angelotti reprint it is cited as being from Evelyn Tate Buchanan.I wonder where it is now ?...and really I would like to know anything about it that is known about it.Truthfully, as well, it it really Ezekiel Polk?
Also, I have not come across any Hardman's in my line.They seem to have all kept the "e" in the name.
William Hardeman
More Replies:
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Re: Thomas Monroe Hardeman
TINA KEENE PEDDIE 7/25/03
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Re: Thomas Monroe Hardeman
Billy Polk 2/22/03