John Henry King Burgwin (July 1, 1810 - February 7, 1847), was a

US Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

officer and 1830 graduate of

West Point The United States Military Academy (USMA), commonly known as West Point, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York that educates cadets for service as Officer_(armed_forces)#United_States, comm ...

. J. H. K. Burgwin was born on a plantation in

New Hanover County, North Carolina New Hanover County is a county located in the U.S. state of North Carolina. As of the 2020 census, the population was 225,702. The county seat is Wilmington. Though the second-smallest county in North Carolina by land area, it is one of the m ...

, the eldest son of George William Bush Burgwin and Maria (Nash) Burgwin, a daughter of

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

Governor

Abner Nash Abner Nash (August 8, 1740December 2, 1786) was an American politician who served as the second governor of North Carolina from 1780 to 1781 and as a member of the Continental Congress from 1782 until his death. Life story Nash was born the so ...

. He was appointed a Second Lieutenant in 1833 when the US 1st Dragoons (later changed to 1st Cavalry) were established. He then served at

Fort Gibson Fort Gibson is a historic military site next to the modern city of Fort Gibson, in Muskogee County Oklahoma. It guarded the American frontier in Indian Territory from 1824 to 1888. When it was constructed, the fort was farther west than any ot ...

, in what is now

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

, and by 1837 had been promoted to Captain. By early 1847, he was serving under Colonel

Sterling Price Sterling Price (September 14, 1809 – September 29, 1867) was an American politician and military officer who was a senior General officers in the Confederate States Army, officer of the Confederate States Army, fighting in both the Weste ...

. Responding to the

Taos Revolt The Taos Revolt was a popular insurrection in January 1847 by Hispano and Pueblo allies against the United States' occupation of present-day northern New Mexico during the Mexican–American War. Provisional governor Charles Bent and severa ...

, Burgwin moved towards Taos and led a contingent of the US dragoons at the Battle of Embudo Pass on January 29, 1847.Lavender, David, ''Bent's Fort'', Doubleday & Company, Inc., Garden City, N. Y., 1954 p. 290 The following day Burgwin joined Col. Price and the combined force marched to Taos where the

Mexicans Mexicans () are the citizens and nationals of the Mexico, United Mexican States. The Mexican people have varied origins with the most spoken language being Spanish language, Spanish, but many also speak languages from 68 different Languages o ...

and Natives they were pursuing had retired. He was severely wounded on February 4 during the

Siege of Pueblo de Taos The siege of Pueblo de Taos was the final battle during the main phase of the Taos Revolt, an insurrection against the United States during the Mexican–American War. It was also the final major engagement between American forces and insurgent ...

and died February 7, 1847. In 1852

Cantonment Burgwin Cantonment Burgwin (also known as Fort Burgwin) was a U.S. Army fort in the southwestern United States, located south of Taos, New Mexico, southeast of Ranchos de Taos. History Established in 1852 to protect the Taos Valley from Utes and ...

(often referred to as "Fort Burgwin"), named after Captain Burgwin, was set up 10 miles outside of Taos, and was to remain a US Army outpost until 1860.

References

External links

Service Profile
1810 births History of Taos, New Mexico American military personnel killed in the Mexican–American War United States Army officers 1847 deaths United States Military Academy alumni People of the Taos Revolt {{US-army-bio-stub