Samuel Hamilton Walker (February 24, 1817 – October 9, 1847) was an American

army officer An officer is a person who holds a position of authority as a member of an armed force or uniformed service. Broadly speaking, "officer" means a commissioned officer, a non-commissioned officer, or a warrant officer. However, absent contex ...

. He served as a Texas Ranger captain and officer of the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from M ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

armies. Walker served in several armed conflicts, including the

American Indian Wars The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, were fought by European governments and colonists in North America, and later by the United States and Canadian governments and American and Canadian settle ...

and the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Second Federal Republic of Mexico, Mexico f ...

Biography

Samuel Hamilton Walker was born on February 24, 1817, at

Toaping Castle The Toaping Castle was a house in present-day Greenbelt, Maryland, built by Charles, Isaac and Nathan Walker, three brothers who fled to America from Scotland. The Walker brothers constructed the house on a land grant in an area that eventually ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; ...

, to Nathan and Elizabeth (Thomas) Walker, and was the fifth of seven children.

Military career

Walker enlisted in the

Washington City Volunteers Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

for the Creek Indian Campaign in Alabama in 1836. The following year he mustered out and worked as a scout in Florida until 1841. He arrived in

Galveston, Texas Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Gal ...

in 1842 and served under Captain Jesse Billingsley against a

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

invasion led by General

Adrian Woll Adrian is a form of the Latin given name Adrianus or Hadrianus. Its ultimate origin is most likely via the former river Adria from the Venetic and Illyrian word ''adur'', meaning "sea" or "water". The Adria was until the 8th century BC the ...

. Walker was captured on December 26, 1842, and marched to

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

as a prisoner of war. He survived what became known as the Black Bean Episode and was held prisoner for two years before he escaped to Louisiana and returned to Texas. He joined the Texas Rangers in 1844 under the command of Captain

Jack Hays Christopher John Hays (12 December 1918 – 23 February 1983) was an English association footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are assoc ...

. Promoted to captain, he led a Ranger company during the

, serving with General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

and General

Winfield Scott Winfield Scott (June 13, 1786May 29, 1866) was an American military commander and political candidate. He served as a general in the United States Army from 1814 to 1861, taking part in the War of 1812, the Mexican–American War, the early s ...

's armies.

Walker Colt

Walker is best known as the co-inventor of the famous '' Walker Colt'' revolver, along with arms manufacturer

Samuel Colt Samuel Colt (; July 19, 1814 – January 10, 1862) was an American inventor, industrialist, and businessman who established Colt's Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company (now Colt's Manufacturing Company) and made the mass production of ...

. Walker is said to have self-funded a trip to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

to meet with Colt and proposed to him the concept of a weapon based on the then-popular five-shot

Colt Paterson The Colt Paterson revolver was the first commercial repeating firearm employing a revolving cylinder with multiple chambers aligned with a single, stationary barrel. Its design was patented by Samuel Colt on February 25, 1836, in the Unite ...

revolver, with many enhancements such as adding a sixth round, being powerful enough to kill either a man or a horse with a single shot and quicker to reload. Colt's firearms company was no longer in business, but the large order allowed Colt to establish a new company. He hired Eli Whitney Junior, already in the arms business, to make his new revolvers. Colt asked Samuel Walker, who happened to be temporarily stationed in Washington, to help him with the design. Colt used his prototype and Walker's improvements to create a new design. Whitney produced the first thousand-piece order, known as the Colt Walker. The company then received an order for an additional one thousand more. Colt's share of the profits was $10. By 1847, the new revolver was available. The United States Army's mounted rifle companies were issued them, and they proved extremely effective.

Death

On October 9, 1847, Walker was killed by a sniper's bullet while leading a cavalry charge at the Battle of Huamantla. The following year, his remains were moved to San Antonio. On April 21, 1856, as part of the 20th anniversary of 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 ...

, Walker was reburied in the Odd Fellows' Cemetery at San Antonio, along with Capt Robert Gillespie, a fellow veteran who was killed in action during the Mexican-American War.

Walker County, Texas Walker County is a county located in the east central section of the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 76,400. Its county seat is Huntsville. Initially, Walker County was named for Robert J. Walker, a legislator fr ...

, was renamed for him after its original namesake,

Robert J. Walker Robert John Walker (July 19, 1801November 11, 1869) was an American lawyer, economist and politician. An active member of the Democratic Party, he served as a member of the U.S. Senate from Mississippi from 1835 until 1845, as Secretary of the ...

(no relation), sided with the Union during the Civil War.

Biography

Military career

Walker Colt

Death

See also

References

Further reading