Michael E. Van Buren
Capt.
Mich'l E.
Van Buren
U.S. MTD.
Rifles
Mex War
Photo Credit: Rosa G. Gonzales
1. Photograph of second headstone now missing
Photo taken in 1941
Provenance: Corpus Christi Public Libraries
2. Biography by Frank Wagner
Michael E. VanBuren, born 29 January 1817 in Baltimore, Maryland, died 11 July 1854 in Corpus Christi Military Hospital of wounds received in battle with Comanche near the present site of San Diego, Texas. Appointed 1st Lieutenant Regiment of Mounted Rifles, 27 May 1845, he was ordered to join Scott's Army of Invasion at Veracruz. He was with the besieging army at the surrender. He was with the Regiment at the affair of Puerta del Medio, 24 March 1847 when he led a bayonet assault upon the Mexican entrenchments and carried the entire line. At Cerro Gordo on the 17th and 18th April he distinguished himself leading his men into battle. It was his custom to lead the color-bearer into the fight. With the assaulting columns at Contreras, on the 20th August, 1847, he was wounded severely while leading his men into the fortifications. For this extraordinary gallantry under fire, he was brevetted Captain. At the end of the war, he was promoted to Captain, 9 October 1847.[1] He marched his company across the plains to Oregon in 1849. His health was poor, so he obtained a furlough to visit Europe.
When he returned through Corpus Christi, he was assigned to Fort Inge (near Uvalde). On July 4, 1854, Captain Van Buren with 11 men and 2 noncommissioned officers were sent scouting from Fort Inge toward the Rio Grande. Near Lake Espantosa, they encountered some men of the 8th Infantry from Fort Clark mounted on mules. The 8th Infantrymen were following an Indian trail from the northward, and their animals were exhausted. Van Buren took up the trail and followed it southward with superb diligence and under great difficulties until the evening of 11 July 1854. Late at night, he found the Indian camp some 13 miles from "Proscinas" (Presenas). There were some 30 Indians and though he had only 13 men, he attacked boldly. The Indians stood their ground stubbornly. The old Indian chief was killed early in the fight, and Van Buren kept his body. The Indians attacked repeatedly, evidently seeking to recover the body of their dead chief. During one of the attacks, Van Buren was wounded in the arm. He then dismounted his men so as to use their rifles more effectively. The Indians were soon routed from the field, leaving many lances, dead horses and even some of their comrades on the ground. Van Buren was shot through the body with an arrow entering just above the sword belt and coming out through it behind. Two other men were wounded, and Van Buren's horse was shot in the head. Since he could not pursue the Indians, he sent a corporal and 2 men to Fort Ewell for a surgeon and an ambulance. When no help came at sundown the next day, he sent out 2 other men to meet them and bring them in. These men were lost in following the trail, but wandered around to Palo Alto[2] and sent a message to General Persifor F. Smith at Corpus Christi. General Persifor F. Smith straightaway ordered 2nd Lieutenant Roger Jones with 9 Riflemen, who were waiting as an escort for Smith's journey to El Paso. A physician from the Corpus Christi Army Hospital went with them with an ambulance. The party that went to Fort Ewell returned with 20 men and met Lieutenant Jones at Palo Alto. Their leader was attacked with dysentery on the march, and had to go back to Fort Ewell with his command. The Indians were identified by Van Buren's Lipan Indian guide as being Comanches. The vigorous pursuit of the Indians for over 200 miles, followed by combat with superior numbers, was unmatched in its day for South Texas. The Indian chief was identified as Castillo, an old and much revered Comanche leader.
Rosalie Hart Priour[3] remarked upon the death of the young captain, and the funeral in Corpus Christi. Captain Van Buren was buried in Old Bayview Cemetery, Corpus Christi. His only sister erected a monument which was seen by Eli Merriman, but it now has disappeared. A simple marble slab provided by the Army was erected in the 1940s.
[1]Heitman, Francis B., Historical Register & Dictionary of the U.S. Army. Volume I.
[2]San Augustine Red Lander 12 August 1854, page 1 col. 3.
[3]Persifor F. Smith at Corpus Christi to S. Cooper, Adjutant General, Washington, D. C.
15 July 1854,
National Archives File No. S-498, in microcopy roll 567, reel 505, frames 657-664.
Frank Wagner
References:
1. Heitman, Francis B., Historical Register & Dictionary of the U.S. Army. Volume I.
2. San Augustine Red Lander 12 August 1854, page 1 col.
3. Persifor F. Smith at Corpus Christi to S. Cooper, Adjutant General, Washington,
D.C. 15 July 1854, National Archives File No. S-498, in microcopy roll 567, reel 505,
frames 657-664.
4. Priour, Rosalie Hart, Autobiography/Adventures of a family of emigrants. MS edited
by Frank Wagner, in Corpus Christi Museum.
3. Excerpt from The Story of Corpus Christi, by Mary A. Sutherland
'Neath a lonely mound, marked by a simple marble slab, lies all that is mortal of Captain Van Buren, of the Mounted Rifles, who was mortally wounded in an engagement with the Indians in 1854, the stone erected, according to the epitaph, by his only sister. On the face of the stone is the mark showing where it was struck by two grape shot during the bombardment of the city by the Union fleet during the Civil War. Beside it lies another stone, shattered by shots fired at the same time.
Research by: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription by: Geraldine D. McGloin, Nueces County Historical Commission
4. News item, 1854
The following communications, from our valued correspondent at Fort Inge, gives some additional particulars of Capt. Van Buren's late desperate conflict with the Comanche. An account of which we gave in our last week's issue:
Fort Inge, Texas, July 20, 1854
Eds, News Official information has been received at this post, of a party of twenty-six Comanches having passed near Fort Clark, on the Las Moras; and of their being pursued by Capt. King of the 1st Infantry, with a detachment of soldiers---in the course of which pursuit one of the rear scouts of the Indians was killed. Capt. Van Buren, of the Rifles, with fifteen men, then took the trail, and following it overtook the Comanches about forty Mils from Fort Ewell on the Corpus Christi road. A desperate fight ensued, in which four Indians were killed. Capt. Van Buren was wounded in the wrist, by an arrow; and dangerously, in the pit of the stomach, by a lance-a horse being in a rearing position at the time the wound was inflicted. Of his command, there were two wounded; Viz: Corporal Fogarty, of Company II
and Private W. V. Smih, of company A Mounted Rifles. Col. Roberts, with all the force at Fort Ewell, went to Capt. Van Buren's assistance, and, it is hoped may again overtake the Indians. Four Scouts with an officer and twenty men each ---haven been sent
from this pot to intercept the return trail of the Indians, if possible. The Head-quarters and Band together with the Rifles, and Company A: from Fort Inge, and Companies B and D from Fort Ewell, have been ordered to Fort McIntosh, at Laredo.
Yours, & c.,
Corpus Christi, July 22nd 1854.
Editors Galveston News-------Before this reaches you, you will no doubt be in possession of the news relating to the late fight Capt. Van Buren had with the Comanches about sixty miles from this city, in which Capt. Van B. received a mortal wound in the abdomen with an arrow. I have now to report that the Captain died from the effects of his wound, on the 20th inst., at 2 P.M. He felt quite well in the morning and wrote two letters to hi relations; and as it was the 9th day since he had received the wound, he thought himself passed the crisis, as he stated. His funeral took place yesterday, and was attended by all the military, and
a large number of the citizens. Capt. Van Buren was appointed a first Lieutenant of the Rifles in 1845. He joined Gen. Scott's Army of the Invasion at Vera Cruz, served with
the besieging army before that city, and was present at its surrender. He was with the rifles at the affair at Puerto del Medio on the 24 Th of March, when the first Mexican entrenchment on that line was carried at the e point of a bayonet. He was with hi company in the battle of the 17th and 18th of April at Cerro Gordo, and bore himself with distinction and honor on both days. He was in the assaulting column at Contrerus, on the 20th of August, and was severely wounded, as the column entered the works. ---For his gallantry on this occasion, he was brevetted as Captain. The severity of his wound confined him to his bed during the
remainder of the campaign. He was promoted to a Captaincy after the close of the war in 1848, and in 1849, he marched his company over the plains to Oregon. He returned from that country with impaired health and was permitted to visit Europe for its benefit. He there devoted himself to his profession, visited the military schools in France, and in various ways collected valuable information relating to military science. He was a soldier and a gentleman, devoted to his profession, in which he had few superiors. He was brave without ostentation. His loss will be deeply regretted by the whole army and all who had a personal acquaintance with him. On dissection it was found that the arrow had cut an artery, and the inward bleeding was the immediate cause of his death. The weather continues hot in this place, the thermometer standing at 90 degrees, with plenty of rain. Yours, etc. G. N.
Source: Galveston Weekly, Aug. 1, 1854, P. 2 col. 3
Research: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription: Geraldine D. McGloin
Capt. Van Buren Dead
WE are pained to learn, from Mr. A. W. Caufield, who arrived in our city, a day or two since, direct from Corpus Christi, that the gallant Capt. Van Buren, of the Mounted Rifles' an account of whose admirable conduct, and of his being severely wounded, in a recent desperate conflict with a body of Comanches, we gave in our last died, of the wounds received, on a Friday, the 21 instant, at Corpus Christi. His death is represented as having been sudden, and quite unexpected, either by himself or his physicians. In truth, the general impression was, that he was out of danger and doing well. Mr. Canfield informs us tat the deceased wrote a couple of letters, on the morning of the same day of his death.
Source: Galveston Weekly, Aug. 1, 1854,p.1 col. 5
Research: Msgr. Michael A. Howell
Transcription: Geraldine D. McGloin
5. Obituary
Michael E. VanBuren, born 29 January 1817 in Baltimore, Maryland, died 11 July 1854 in Corpus Christi Military Hospital of wounds received in battle with Comanche near the present site of San Diego, Texas. Appointed 1st Lieutenant Regiment of Mounted Rifles, 27 May 1845, he was ordered to join Scott’s Army of Invasion at Veracruz. He was with the besieging army at the surrender. He was with the Regiment at the affair of Puerta Del Medio, 24 March 1847 when he led a bayonet assault upon the Mexican entrenchments and carried the entire line. At Cerro Gordo on the 17th and 18th April he distinguished himself leading his men into battle. It was his custom to lead the color-bearer into the fight. With the assaulting columns at Contreras, on the 20th August, 1847, he was wounded severely while leading his men into the fortifications. For this extraordinary gallantry under fire, he was brevetted Captain. At the end of the war, he was promoted to Captain, 9 October 18471. He marched his company across the plains to Oregon in 1849. His health was poor, so he obtained a furlough to visit Europe.
When he returned through Corpus Christi, he was assigned to Fort Inge (near Uvalde). On July 4, 1854, Captain Van Buren with 11 men and 2 noncommissioned officers were sent scouting from Fort Inge toward the Rio Grande. Near Lake Espantosa, they encountered some men of the 8th Infantry from Fort Clark mounted on mules. The 8th Infantrymen were following an Indian trail from the northward, and their animals were exhausted. Van Buren took up the trail and followed it southward with superb diligence and under great difficulties until the evening of 11 July 1854. Late at night, he found the Indian camp some 13 miles from “Proscinas†(Presenas). There were some 30 Indians and though he had only 13 men, he attacked boldly. The Indians stood their ground stubbornly. The old Indian chief was killed early in the fight, and Van Buren kept his body. The Indians attacked repeatedly, evidently seeking to recover the body of their dead chief. During one of the attacks, Van Buren was wounded in the arm. He then dismounted his men so as to use their rifles more effectively. The Indians were soon routed from the field, leaving many lances, dead horses and even some of their comrades on the ground. Van Buren was shot through the body with an arrow entering just above the sword belt and coming out through it behind. Two other men were wounded, and Van Buren’s horse was shot in the head. Since he could not pursue the Indians, he sent a corporal and 2 men to Fort Ewell for a surgeon and an ambulance. When no help came at sundown the next day, he sent out 2 other men to meet them and bring them in. These men were lost in following the trail, but wandered around to Palo Alto2 and sent a message to General Persifor F. Smith at Corpus Christi. General Persifor F. Smith straightaway ordered 2nd Lieutenant Roger Jones with 9 Riflemen, who were waiting as an escort for Smith’s journey to El Paso. A physician from the Corpus Christi Army Hospital went with them with an ambulance. The party that went to Fort Ewell returned with 20 men and met Lieutenant Jones at Palo Alto. Their leader was attacked with dysentery on the march, and had to go back to Fort Ewell with his command. The Indians were identified by Van Buren’s Lipan Indian guide as being Comanches. The vigorous pursuit of the Indians for over 200 miles, followed by combat with superior numbers, was unmatched in its day for South Texas. The Indian chief was identified as Castillo, an old and much revered Comanche leader.
Rosalie Hart Priour3 remarked upon the death of the young captain, and the funeral in Corpus Christi. Captain Van Buren was buried in Old Bayview Cemetery, Corpus Christi. His only sister erected a monument which was seen by Eli Merriman, but it now has disappeared. A simple marble slab provided by the Army was erected in the 1940s.
1Heitman, Francis B., Historical Register & Dictionary of the U.S. Army. Volume I.
2San Augustine Red Lander 12 August 1854, page 1 col. 3.
3Persifor F. Smith at Corpus Christi to S. Cooper, Adjutant General, Washington, D. C. 15 July 1854, National Archives File No. S-498, in microcopy roll 567, reel 505, frames 657-664.