Individual Details
James Rufus Evans
(24 Dec 1839 - 11 Dec 1922)
Evans, James Rufus, b-1840; Pyron's 2d Cav, Pvt, Co H (Palo Pinto and Parker Co's, TST), A-239, A-312.
He died January 11, 1922 in Coleman County,Texas. Family legend has it that he and all his brothers fought in the Civil War and that they were all rangers for a short time both before and after the war. James Rufus was a private in Captain Harris A. Hamner's Company H of the Texas Mounted Rifleman, Second Regiment with Colonel John S. Ford commanding. His brother, Henry Evans, was also in Company H. The company was ordered to be raised and organized by Governor Clark under provisions of the Ordinance of the Convention; 3 M R, dated April 17, 1861, May 23, 1861 and March 15, 1862.
The Texas 2nd Cavalry Regiment, about 1,200 strong, was organized in May, 1861, under the designation of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles. It was reorganized in April, 1862, as the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. The men were recruited in San Antonio, Houston, Marshall, and Beeville, and the counties of Anderson, Houston, Nacogdoches, and Cherokee. Serving in the Trans-Mississippi Department, it was active in various conflicts in the New Mexico Territory and Louisiana, then saw action in the defense of Galveston. In November, 1862, the unit totaled 752 effectives, had 19 officers and 167 men in July, 1864, and about 150 present in April, 1865. Although it was included in the surrender on June 2, it had previously disbanded.
The field officers were Colonels John S. Ford and Charles L. Pyron; Lieutenant Colonels John R. Baylor and James Walker; and Majors John Donelson, Matthew Nolan, William A. Spencer, and Edward Waller, Jr.
FORT CLARK. Fort Clark was established on June 20, 1852, at Las Moras Springs in Kinney County by companies C and E of the First Infantry under the command of Maj. Joseph H. LaMotte. The name Las Moras ("the mulberries") was given by Spanish explorers to the springs and the creek they feed. The site was long favored by Coahuiltecan Indians and later by the Comanches, Apaches, and other tribes. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the big spring was a stopping place on the eastern branch of the great Comanche Trail into Mexico. In 1849 Lt. W. H. C. Whiting, during his reconnaissance for a practicable wagon route between San Antonio and El Paso, recognized its military potential and recommended the location as a site for a fort. The post was originally named Fort Riley in honor of the commanding officer of the First Infantry, but on July 15, 1852, at Riley's request, it was renamed in honor of Maj. John B. Clark, a deceased officer who had served in the Mexican War. A formal military lease for Fort Clark was made on July 30, 1852, when Lt. Col. D. C. Tompkins signed an agreement with Samuel A. Maverick, who owned the land, for a period not to exceed twenty years. The fort was strategically located as anchor to the cordon of army posts that had been established along the southwest Texas border after the Mexican War. The fort's purpose was to guard the Mexican border, to protect the military road to El Paso, and to defend against Indian depredations arising from either side of the Rio Grande. By November 1852 Fort Clark had two companies of the First Infantry under the command of Capt. W. E. Prince, and for the next three years officers of the First Infantry and Mounted Rifles served as post commanders.
Bvt. Lt. Col. W. G. Freeman inspected Fort Clark on August 1, 1853, as a part of his tour of the Eighth Military Department, and reported it to be "a point of primary importance...from its salient position looking both to the Rio Grande and Indian frontiers." Freeman was the first to recommend the fort as being "well fitted for a Cavalry station." The quartermaster, according to Freeman, had only eight wagons available for hauling the materials needed to build the post. This was an inadequate number since the depot at Corpus Christi was 280 miles distant and wagons required thirty days, under favorable conditions, to make the round trip. Mail came to the post from San Antonio, "being brought weekly by special express." From their campsite near the spring and from tents pitched along the banks of Las Moras Creek, soldiers began construction of the fort on an adjacent high limestone ridge. The first barracks and houses were Mexican-type jacals and crude log huts of palisade construction. A few buildings of limestone, some of which are still standing, were begun in 1856-57. The ruins of the old post headquarters building has the date 1857 over the doorway. With the establishment of Fort Clark, a neighboring settlement of Las Moras came into existence when Oscar B. Brackett established a supply village for the fort. The town's name was changed to Brackett in 1856 and later to Brackettville. The stage from San Antonio to El Paso ran through the settlement, and for almost a century the town and the fort remained closely identified. In the summer of 1854 the Indian menace in Texas prompted Gen. Persifor F. Smith, the department commander, to make a requisition to Governor Elisha M. Pease for six companies of Texas Rangers to conduct a campaign against the raiders. Two companies of these Texas military volunteers, under captains Charles E. Travis and William Henry, were sent to Fort Clark, where they assisted the regulars in patrolling the road. Col. J. K. F. Mansfield inspected the post in early June 1856 and reported the presence of one company of the First Artillery and two companies of Mounted Rifles under the command of Bvt. Lt. Col. J. B. ("Prince John") Magruder. Mansfield observed that although the adjutant's office, guardhouse, bakery, and magazine were built of stone, the other buildings were of log construction. He recommended that "stone quarters for the officers of these Companies be immediately commenced."
In February 1861 Texas voted to secede from the Union, and almost immediately state troops began demanding the surrender of United States posts in Texas. On March 19 Capt. W. H. T. Brooks, with three companies of United States Third Infantry, surrendered Fort Clark to a small company of the Provisional Army of Texas. In June 1861, after the outbreak of the Civil War, Fort Clark was garrisoned by companies C and H, Second Regiment of Texas Mounted Rifles, with Capt. H. A. Hamner as post commander. In August 1862 all Confederate troops were withdrawn from Fort Clark. After the war the fort was regarrisoned in December 1866 by Troop C, Fourth United States Cavalry, under the command of Capt. John A. Wilcox, with the task of protecting the road to El Paso. Although the post was dilapidated and required extensive repairs, a program for new construction was not begun, perhaps in part because the government was still leasing the land. In fact, a deed to the fort property was not secured until 1884, when Mary A. Maverick was paid $80,000 for the 3,965-acre tract. Despite efforts at patchwork repairs, more than five years went by before any significant progress was made. Between 1873 and 1875 most of the buildings, still in use in the historic district in 1990, were built of quarried limestone in an ambitious rebuilding project. A twenty-acre post was developed with the construction of barracks, officers' quarters, hospital, bakery, stables, and guardhouse. By 1875 the fort had quarters built of stone for more than 200 officers and men, including a commanding officer's house and eight officers' row duplexes accommodating sixteen families, as well as four previously built log quarters.
Sources:
Death Certificate
Coleman Cemetery Survey
Family History
He died January 11, 1922 in Coleman County,Texas. Family legend has it that he and all his brothers fought in the Civil War and that they were all rangers for a short time both before and after the war. James Rufus was a private in Captain Harris A. Hamner's Company H of the Texas Mounted Rifleman, Second Regiment with Colonel John S. Ford commanding. His brother, Henry Evans, was also in Company H. The company was ordered to be raised and organized by Governor Clark under provisions of the Ordinance of the Convention; 3 M R, dated April 17, 1861, May 23, 1861 and March 15, 1862.
The Texas 2nd Cavalry Regiment, about 1,200 strong, was organized in May, 1861, under the designation of the 2nd Texas Mounted Rifles. It was reorganized in April, 1862, as the 2nd Cavalry Regiment. The men were recruited in San Antonio, Houston, Marshall, and Beeville, and the counties of Anderson, Houston, Nacogdoches, and Cherokee. Serving in the Trans-Mississippi Department, it was active in various conflicts in the New Mexico Territory and Louisiana, then saw action in the defense of Galveston. In November, 1862, the unit totaled 752 effectives, had 19 officers and 167 men in July, 1864, and about 150 present in April, 1865. Although it was included in the surrender on June 2, it had previously disbanded.
The field officers were Colonels John S. Ford and Charles L. Pyron; Lieutenant Colonels John R. Baylor and James Walker; and Majors John Donelson, Matthew Nolan, William A. Spencer, and Edward Waller, Jr.
FORT CLARK. Fort Clark was established on June 20, 1852, at Las Moras Springs in Kinney County by companies C and E of the First Infantry under the command of Maj. Joseph H. LaMotte. The name Las Moras ("the mulberries") was given by Spanish explorers to the springs and the creek they feed. The site was long favored by Coahuiltecan Indians and later by the Comanches, Apaches, and other tribes. During the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries the big spring was a stopping place on the eastern branch of the great Comanche Trail into Mexico. In 1849 Lt. W. H. C. Whiting, during his reconnaissance for a practicable wagon route between San Antonio and El Paso, recognized its military potential and recommended the location as a site for a fort. The post was originally named Fort Riley in honor of the commanding officer of the First Infantry, but on July 15, 1852, at Riley's request, it was renamed in honor of Maj. John B. Clark, a deceased officer who had served in the Mexican War. A formal military lease for Fort Clark was made on July 30, 1852, when Lt. Col. D. C. Tompkins signed an agreement with Samuel A. Maverick, who owned the land, for a period not to exceed twenty years. The fort was strategically located as anchor to the cordon of army posts that had been established along the southwest Texas border after the Mexican War. The fort's purpose was to guard the Mexican border, to protect the military road to El Paso, and to defend against Indian depredations arising from either side of the Rio Grande. By November 1852 Fort Clark had two companies of the First Infantry under the command of Capt. W. E. Prince, and for the next three years officers of the First Infantry and Mounted Rifles served as post commanders.
Bvt. Lt. Col. W. G. Freeman inspected Fort Clark on August 1, 1853, as a part of his tour of the Eighth Military Department, and reported it to be "a point of primary importance...from its salient position looking both to the Rio Grande and Indian frontiers." Freeman was the first to recommend the fort as being "well fitted for a Cavalry station." The quartermaster, according to Freeman, had only eight wagons available for hauling the materials needed to build the post. This was an inadequate number since the depot at Corpus Christi was 280 miles distant and wagons required thirty days, under favorable conditions, to make the round trip. Mail came to the post from San Antonio, "being brought weekly by special express." From their campsite near the spring and from tents pitched along the banks of Las Moras Creek, soldiers began construction of the fort on an adjacent high limestone ridge. The first barracks and houses were Mexican-type jacals and crude log huts of palisade construction. A few buildings of limestone, some of which are still standing, were begun in 1856-57. The ruins of the old post headquarters building has the date 1857 over the doorway. With the establishment of Fort Clark, a neighboring settlement of Las Moras came into existence when Oscar B. Brackett established a supply village for the fort. The town's name was changed to Brackett in 1856 and later to Brackettville. The stage from San Antonio to El Paso ran through the settlement, and for almost a century the town and the fort remained closely identified. In the summer of 1854 the Indian menace in Texas prompted Gen. Persifor F. Smith, the department commander, to make a requisition to Governor Elisha M. Pease for six companies of Texas Rangers to conduct a campaign against the raiders. Two companies of these Texas military volunteers, under captains Charles E. Travis and William Henry, were sent to Fort Clark, where they assisted the regulars in patrolling the road. Col. J. K. F. Mansfield inspected the post in early June 1856 and reported the presence of one company of the First Artillery and two companies of Mounted Rifles under the command of Bvt. Lt. Col. J. B. ("Prince John") Magruder. Mansfield observed that although the adjutant's office, guardhouse, bakery, and magazine were built of stone, the other buildings were of log construction. He recommended that "stone quarters for the officers of these Companies be immediately commenced."
In February 1861 Texas voted to secede from the Union, and almost immediately state troops began demanding the surrender of United States posts in Texas. On March 19 Capt. W. H. T. Brooks, with three companies of United States Third Infantry, surrendered Fort Clark to a small company of the Provisional Army of Texas. In June 1861, after the outbreak of the Civil War, Fort Clark was garrisoned by companies C and H, Second Regiment of Texas Mounted Rifles, with Capt. H. A. Hamner as post commander. In August 1862 all Confederate troops were withdrawn from Fort Clark. After the war the fort was regarrisoned in December 1866 by Troop C, Fourth United States Cavalry, under the command of Capt. John A. Wilcox, with the task of protecting the road to El Paso. Although the post was dilapidated and required extensive repairs, a program for new construction was not begun, perhaps in part because the government was still leasing the land. In fact, a deed to the fort property was not secured until 1884, when Mary A. Maverick was paid $80,000 for the 3,965-acre tract. Despite efforts at patchwork repairs, more than five years went by before any significant progress was made. Between 1873 and 1875 most of the buildings, still in use in the historic district in 1990, were built of quarried limestone in an ambitious rebuilding project. A twenty-acre post was developed with the construction of barracks, officers' quarters, hospital, bakery, stables, and guardhouse. By 1875 the fort had quarters built of stone for more than 200 officers and men, including a commanding officer's house and eight officers' row duplexes accommodating sixteen families, as well as four previously built log quarters.
Sources:
Death Certificate
Coleman Cemetery Survey
Family History
Events
| Birth | 24 Dec 1839 | Troup County, Georgia | |||
| Census (family)-shared | 31 Oct 1850 | (William George Evans Sr. and Susan James Owens) Smith County, Texas |  |  | |
| Census (family)-shared | 9 Jul 1860 | (William George Evans Sr. and Susan James Owens) Palo Pinto County, Texas | | | |
| Death | 11 Dec 1922 | Coleman County, Texas | | ||
| Burial | Coleman City Cemetery, Coleman County, Texas | | |
Families
| Father | William George Evans Sr. (1804 - 1878) |
| Mother | Susan James Owens (1809 - 1895) |
| Sibling | Green F. Evans (1828 - 1891) |
| Sibling | John B. A. "Jack" Evans (1829 - 1895) |
| Sibling | Jehu Owen Evans (1830 - 1893) |
| Sibling | Clarissa Jane Evans (1832 - 1862) |
| Sibling | Elizabeth Childs Evans (1833 - 1884) |
| Sibling | Josiah Washington Evans (1835 - 1901) |
| Sibling | William George Evans Jr. (1836 - 1911) |
| Sibling | Francis Marion Evans (1838 - 1907) |
| Sibling | Henry A. Evans (1841 - 1924) |
| Sibling | Louisa Sarepta Evans (1842 - 1914) |
| Sibling | Lee Andrew Evans (1845 - 1882) |
| Sibling | Christopher Columbus Evans (1847 - 1923) |
| Sibling | Camlin C. Evans (1848 - 1913) |
Notes
Census (family)-shared
William G Evans M 46 Georgia - FarmerSusan J Evans F 41 Georgia
Green F Evans M 22 Georgia - Farmer
Jehu O Evans M 19 Georgia - Farmer
Elizabeth C Evans F 16 Georgia
Josiah W Evans M 14 Georgia
William G Evans M 13 Georgia
Frances M Evans M 11 Georgia
Rufus Evans M 10 Georgia
Henry Evans M 8 Georgia
Louisa Evans F 7 Georgia
Leander Evans M 5 Georgia
Columbus Evans M 4 Louisiana
Camblin Evans M 2 Texas
Census (family)-shared
George Evans M 55 Georgia - FarmerSusan Evans F 50 Georgia
Francis Evans M 21 Georgia - Farm laborer
James Evans M 19 Georgia - Farm laborer
Henry Evans M 17 Georgia - Farm laborer
Louisa Evans F 16 Georgia
Leander Evans M 14 Georgia
Columbus Evans M 12 Louisiana
Camland Evans M 11 Texas
Death
or 11 Jan 1922Burial
PLOT Mpg 2, Sec 4Endnotes
1. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXLP-85V : 12 April 2016), Susan J Evans in household of William G Evans, Smith county, part of, Smith, Texas, United States; citing family 333, NARA microfilm publication M432 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.)..
2. "United States Census, 1860", database with images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXFT-FBS : 12 December 2017), Susan Evans in entry for George Evans, 1860..
3. Find A Grave Memorial 44572833.