Moses Lapham (October 16, 1808 – 1838) was a soldier in the Texas Army during the Texas Revolution, noted for a daring action during 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 ...

that helped seal the decisive

Texian Texians were Anglo-American residents of Mexican Texas and, later, the Republic of Texas. Today, the term is used to identify early settlers of Texas, especially those who supported the Texas Revolution. Mexican settlers of that era are referr ...

victory.

Early years

Moses Lapham was born near the town of

Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town that is located in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. It includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Hanton City, Stillwater and Greenville. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 cens ...

on October 16, 1808 to Amos and Marcy Aldrich Lapham. He moved to

Mechanicsburg, Ohio Mechanicsburg is a village in Champaign County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,644 at the 2010 census. History Mechanicsburg was platted in 1814. The village was so named for the fact a large share of its settlers worked as mechan ...

with his father and attended college at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio, for a few years.

Career

Lapham arrived in Texas in the middle of 1831, and he taught school at

San Felipe, Texas San Felipe ( ), also known as San Felipe de Austin, is a town in Austin County, Texas, United States. The town was the social, economic, and political center of the early Stephen F. Austin colony. The population was 747 at the 2010 census. Histor ...

. He lived in the household of Thomas H. Borden, while assisting Borden with surveying work for about a year. Lapham spent three years in Ohio. However, by December 1835, he had returned to Texas and resumed work as a surveyor. Lapham enlisted in the Texas Army on February 23, 1836 and served as a scout. When General Sam Houston evacuated his troops from

Gonzalez, Texas Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. It is the county seat. The population was 7,165 at the 2020 census. The "Come and Take It" flag in the War for Texas Independence from Mexico originated in Gonzales. Its economy is en ...

, Lapham was one of three sentinels who did not receive the orders. At one point, he was close enough to the advancing Mexican forces to be seen. Eventually he abandoned his post and fled to safety. In 1836 he enlisted in the Texas army, was a member of Captain Moseley Baker's "San Felipe Company", and fought at the

, where he was one of the men who destroyed Vince's Bridge. The others who were with him on that mission were

Deaf Smith Erastus "Deaf" Smith (April 19, 1787 – November 30, 1837), who earned his nickname due to hearing loss in childhood, was an American frontiersman noted for his part in the Texas Revolution and the Army of the Republic of Texas. He fought in ...

, John Coker,

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Young Perry Alsbury Young may refer to: * Offspring, the product of reproduction of a new organism produced by one or more parents * Youth, the time of life when one is young, often meaning the time between childhood and adulthood Music * The Young, an American ro ...

John T. Garner John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Seco ...

and

Edwin R. Rainwater The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures. People * Edwin of Northumbria (die ...

. After his release from the Army in the fall of 1836, Lapham rejoined Gail and Thomas Borden to work as a surveyor. He helped to lay out the new town of Houston, Texas in October 1836.

Death

Lapham was later employed as a deputy surveyor by

Samuel Maverick Samuel Augustus Maverick (July 23, 1803 – September 2, 1870) was a Texas lawyer, politician, land baron and signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. His name is the source of the term " maverick," first cited in 1867, which means "inde ...

of San Antonio to survey land for him. The party of five, (Mr. Maverick, the sixth member had returned home was on October 20, 1838) was attacked by Comanche Indians on Leon Creek about four miles from

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

and Moses Lapham, Cornelius Skinner, a Mr. Jones, and one other of the party were killed. The surviving members returned to town and spread the news. Thirteen prominent men headed by Benjamin Franklin Cage, a San Jacinto veteran, hurriedly left San Antonio and went to the place where the massacre had occurred. The Indians, estimated at a hundred or more, surrounded the Texans and killed Captain Cage, Dr. Henry G. McClung, R. M. Lee, a Mr. O'Blye, Peter Conrad, John Pickering and a Mr. Green, and badly wounded General Richard Dunlap and Major William H. Patton. The next day a search party brought in the remains of the dead. On the following day, their remains were interred in a single grave just outside the Catholic Cemetery. Judge Robinson delivered the funeral oration.

References

Sources

*” Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Muster Rolls of the Texas Revolution (Austin, 1986). *” Joseph Milton Nance, Attack and Counterattack: The Texas-Mexican Frontier, 1842 (University of Texas Press, 1964). *” The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813-1863 (University of Texas Press, 1938) http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=lapham&GSfn=moses&GSbyrel=all&GSdyrel=all&GSob=n&GRid=129246629&df=all&

Early years

Career

Death

See also

References

Sources

Further reading