William Harrison Martin

(1822 - 1898)
Home State: Texas
Branch of Service: Infantry
Unit: 4th Texas Infantry

Before the Antietam Campaign:
He studied the law in Troy, AL, passed the bar, and moved to Texas in 1850. He was a member of the Texas State Senate 1853-57. He commanded Company K, 4th Texas Infantry when it was organized in May 1861 in Athens, Henderson County, TX.

In the Antietam Campaign:
He led about 100 men of the 4th Texas Infantry to a position just north of the Miller Cornfield on the afternoon of 16 September, as ordered by General Hood in response to Federal crossings of the Antietam.

The remainder of the War:
He was promoted to Major of the Regiment in April 1864, and was with them to Appomattox in April 1865.

After the War:
He practiced law in Athens and was elected district attorney in 1872. He was elected to fill a vacancy to the US Congress, later elected to a full term, serving from 1887-91. He then returned to his law practice.

References, Sources, and other notes:
Basic information from Davis 1. Details on his role at Sharpsburg from Carman 2. Personal information from his Congressional Biography3, which includes a picture of him c.1891. Other references have his birthplace as Twiggs County, GA and the year as 1823.

Birth Date: 09/02/1822 Place of Birth: Barbour County, AL
Death Date: 02/03/1898 Death Place: Hillsboro, TX Burial Place: Hillsboro Cemetery, Hillsboro, TX

Notes

1 Davis, Rev. Nicholas A., The Campaign from Texas to Maryland, Houston: Telegraph Book and Job Establishment, 1863, pp. 164 - 165 [AotW citation 1927]

2 Carman, Ezra Ayers, and Dr. Thomas G. Clemens, editor, The Maryland Campaign of September 1862, 2 volumes, El Dorado Hills (CA): Savas Beatie, 2010-12, Vol. 2, pg. 31 [AotW citation 10670]

3 US Congress, Congressional Biographical Directory, Published c. 2000, first accessed 01 January 2002, <http://bioguide.congress.gov/biosearch/biosearch.asp>, Source page: /scripts/biodisplay.pl?index=M000203 [AotW citation 10671]

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