{"id":426,"featured":0,"modified":"2026-06-09 20:15:34","latitude":30.723526299999999622514224029146134853363037109375,"longitude":-95.550777100000004793400876224040985107421875,"title":"James Gillaspie","subtitle":"","fullsize":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/4ce7853cf24e20d0c15cfb61a9d66d51.jpg","address":"","all_locations":[],"zoom":14,"creator":["Paola Vicenty"],"description":"A veteran of three wars and a career public servant, James Gillaspie played a leading role in the development of early Huntsville. Born on January 5, 1805, in Virginia to William and Elizabeth Gillaspie, young James moved with his parents to Tennessee in 1810. When the Texas Revolution broke out in 1835, Gillaspie joined thirty-five fellow Tennesseans to support the Texian cause. Elected by the soldiers of Joseph L. Bennett’s volunteer company as their first lieutenant, Gillaspie was then quickly promoted to Captain of the Sixth Company on April 8, 1836. Given his new rank, Gillaspie commanded the Second Regiment of Texas Volunteers under the command of Colonel Sidney Sherman. In March and April 1836, he helped to cover the retreat of the Texian Army as it eluded Santa Anna’s forces at the Battle of San Jacinto. On April 20, Gillaspie participated in Sherman’s charge at the Battle of San Jacinto and helped to capture retreating Mexican forces. [1]<br />\r\n<br />\r\nOn May 29, 1836, Gillaspie mustered out of the army and returned to Tennessee, where he married the nineteen-year-old Susan Faris. Susan’s father, Hezekiah Farris, likely introduced the two, having served with Gillaspie during the war. In the early 1840s, the young couple moved to Huntsville to claim a land grant from the Texas Republic as compensation for Gillaspie’s military service. Over the next two decades, the Gillaspies had seven children. [2]<br />\r\n<br />\r\nIn 1846, war broke out between the United States and Mexico. Organizing a local company of soldiers, Gillaspie and his followers formed the First Regiment, Texas Mounted Volunteers, under Colonel John Coffee “Jack” Hays. A veteran of the Monterrey Campaign and the occupation of Northern Mexico, Gillaspie served by providing reconnaissance, escorting supply trains, and conducting night raids against Mexican forces. Following the war, Gillaspie created a mail route from Houston to New Cincinnati in 1848, which later became a community northeast of Huntsville. [3]<br />\r\n<br />\r\nRemaining active in public service, he drew on his military experience to establish a reputation as a good leader and organizer. In 1850, Gillaspie became superintendent of the Texas State Penitentiary in Huntsville, a position he held for eight years. The penitentiary, established in 1849 as the first state prison in Texas, was nicknamed the “Walls Unit.” As superintendent, Gillaspie oversaw daily operations, maintained inmate discipline, and dispatched prisoners to work details. He used prisoner labor to manufacture goods and undertake local construction projects, which contributed to Huntsville&#039;s growing economy. Under his watch, the penitentiary became self-supporting, reducing state expenses. In time, the penitentiary created job opportunities for local citizens, attracted state funding, and fueled population growth throughout Walker County. The penitentiary also became a beacon for local merchants who supplied the prison system with food, clothing, linens, and other supplies. Under Gillaspie’s leadership, Huntsville solidified its position as a crucial hub in the Texas prison system, a position it still maintains today. Over the course of his life, Gillaspie served not just Texas but his local community, helping Huntsville grow from a small town into a major administrative and political center. [4]<br />\r\n<br />\r\nWith the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861, Gillaspie joined the Confederate Army, commanding a company in the Fifth Regiment, Texas Infantry Volunteers. Stationed on Galveston Island, Gillaspie and his men defended the Texas coastline from Union naval operations. As a Confederate supply and communication center, Galveston constituted a strategically important location. Following the war, Gillaspie went back to Huntsville and resumed his previous position as prison superintendent. He held the position until he died in 1867, when he was buried at Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville, along with his wife, Susan Faris, who had died several years earlier. [5]<br />\r\n<br />\r\nGillaspie’s military service during three conflicts left a considerable influence on his reputation. As a penitentiary superintendent, he remained influential in Huntsville throughout his later years. Through pragmatic leadership, he helped transform Walker County from a small frontier settlement into a booming town. As such, he left a legacy in the development of both Huntsville and Walker County.<br />","sponsor":null,"accessinfo":"","lede":"","website":"","related_resources":["[1] San Jacinto Museum of History, “James Gillaspie,” San Jacinto Veteran Biographies, accessed February 12, 2026, https://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/Discover/The_Battle/Veteran_Bios/Bio_page/?id=338&army=Texian.","[2] Ibid.","[3] San Jacinto Museum of History, “James Gillaspie,” San Jacinto Veteran Biographies, accessed February 12, 2026, https://www.sanjacinto-museum.org/Discover/The_Battle/Veteran_Bios/Bio_page/?id=339&army=Texian.","[4] San Jacinto Museum of History, “James Gillaspie.”","[5] Ibid."],"factoids":[],"files":{"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/4ce7853cf24e20d0c15cfb61a9d66d51.jpg":{"id":3053,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"James Gillaspie","description":"Captain James Gillaspie, veteran of Battle of San Jacinto, let troops in War with Mexico, and Civil War; probably the first rural mail carrier in Walker County. He planned and constructed the first unit of the penitentiary, and was its first superintendent. ","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/4ce7853cf24e20d0c15cfb61a9d66d51.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/8e2085a2d386609f2e9ebcdeb9f56c42.jpg":{"id":3045,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Welcome sign at the front of the memorial park.","description":"The Gillaspie Sesquicentennial Park holds the historic monuments which were build as a centennial project in 1936 to honor the Huntsville men who had served Texas during the Texas Revolution, the Mexican War of 1845 and the Civil War. | https://laserfiche.huntsvilletx.gov/","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/8e2085a2d386609f2e9ebcdeb9f56c42.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/ff17b92caae18e41d02ea6e9bfd14669.jpg":{"id":3046,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"James Gillaspie Monument – Oakwood Cemetery, Huntsville, TX","description":"This historic monument marks the grave of James Gillaspie.  The monument is a stone memorial at his gravesite and includes inscriptions listing the units he commanded during various conflicts, such as the Second Regiment, Texas Volunteers — Sixth Company Infantry, Texan Revolutionary Army and other mounted and volunteer units.  | https://www.texasescapes.com/","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/ff17b92caae18e41d02ea6e9bfd14669.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/56b489dd008bc06022d55c917d984e33.jpg":{"id":3047,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"Texas Penitentiary at Huntsville","description":"The Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville was established as Texas’s first state prison following legislation passed in 1848. Huntsville, in Walker County.  James Gillaspie  was appointed superintendent of the Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville in 1850, just as the institution was beginning its operational life. He served in that role from 1850 until 1858, and again briefly in 1867 before his death.","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/56b489dd008bc06022d55c917d984e33.jpg"},"https://easttexashistory.org/files/fullsize/ab26781a2893071beaf040951d1de48a.jpg":{"id":3048,"mime-type":"image/jpeg","title":"San Jacinto Map","description":"Map shows various trails and is used to represent the battle locations were james Gillaspie lead the Sixth Company Second Regiment of Texas Volunteers during the Texas Revolution.  looking at a San Jacinto battlefield map, Gillaspie’s company would be one of the smaller unit groups represented on the Texian side — primarily in the infantry that charged across open terrain toward Santa Anna’s lines.  | https://www.tshaonline.org","thumbnail":"https://easttexashistory.org/files/square_thumbnails/ab26781a2893071beaf040951d1de48a.jpg"}}}