Jack Shackelford (March 20, 1790 – January 22, 1857) was an American doctor, politician and soldier. He raised and led a unit in Courtland, Alabama called the

Red Rovers The Red Rovers, commonly referred to as the Alabama Red Rovers, was a military volunteer company organized in Courtland, Alabama to support the Texas Revolution. Raised by doctor and planter Jack Shackelford in November 1835, the unit took its na ...

or the Alabama Red Rovers to fight in the Texas Revolution. He was one of the few survivors of the Goliad massacre.

Early life

Jack Shackelford was born in

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

, to Richard Shackelford. After obtaining his M.D., he moved to

Winnsboro, South Carolina Winnsboro is a town in Fairfield County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 3,550 at the 2010 census. The population was 3,215 at the 2020 census. A population decrease of approximately 9.5% for the same 10 year period. It is the ...

, where he opened his medical practice. He married local Maria Young or Youngue. In the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It ...

, he joined the Army and served on

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame a ...

's staff, being wounded at Charleston. In 1818, he moved to

Shelby County, Alabama Shelby County is located in the central portion of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census the population was 223,024. The county seat is Columbiana. The largest city is Alabaster. The county is named in honor of Isaac Shelby, Govern ...

, and purchased a

cotton plantation A plantation is an agricultural estate, generally centered on a plantation house, meant for farming that specializes in cash crops, usually mainly planted with a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Th ...

. He was elected to the

Alabama State Senate The Alabama State Senate is the upper house of the Alabama Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Alabama. The body is composed of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, with each district conta ...

three times, in 1822, 1823 and 1824. However, he was forced to sell his plantation after standing

surety In finance, a surety , surety bond or guaranty involves a promise by one party to assume responsibility for the debt obligation of a borrower if that borrower defaults. Usually, a surety bond or surety is a promise by a surety or guarantor to pa ...

for a cousin whose business failed. He was employed as the head of the United States Land Office in Courtland, Alabama, and also as treasurer of the

Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad Incorporated on January 13, 1832, the Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad was a railroad in Alabama, the United States. The Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad ran from Decatur in Morgan County through the northern half of Lawrence ...

Red Rovers and Texas Revolution

In 1835, Dr. Jack Shackelford raised a company to fight against the Mexicans in the Texas Revolution. Nearly 70 strong, it included his oldest son, Fortunatus; two nephews; and almost half the men of Courtland. They came to be called the Red Rovers because of the color of their jeans or uniforms. Under the command of Colonel James Fannin, they fought in the Battle of Coleto on March 19–20, 1836. The Texians were defeated and forced to surrender. Most of the prisoners, including Fannin and Fortunatus Shackelford, were executed in the infamous Goliad massacre, but Jack Shackelford and several other doctors were spared to care for the Mexican wounded. During the Mexicans' retreat after their defeat at the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto ( es, Batalla de San Jacinto), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engage ...

, Shackelford and Dr. Joseph Henry Barnard managed to escape. Shackelford was honorably discharged and returned home to Alabama. He wrote of his war experiences in a

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobio ...

entitled "Some Few Notes upon a Part of the Texas War".

Post-Texas Revolution years

After his wife died in 1842, Jack Shackelford married Martha Chardevoyne. Dr. Jack Shackelford died in Courtland on January 22, 1857. The following year, Shackelford County, Texas, was named in his honor.

References

External links

Massacre at Goliad--Captain Jack Shackelford's Account / Commander Alabama Red Rovers

Letters from Dr. Jack Shackelford in Goliad, Texas, to his wife, Maria, and his son, Edward, in Courtland, Alabama.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shackelford, Jack 1790 births 1857 deaths People of the Texas Revolution Army of the Republic of Texas officers United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 Physicians from South Carolina Alabama state senators Politicians from Richmond, Virginia 19th-century American politicians