> From: ben hawkins <captnemo1958@yahoo.com> > Subject: Re: [KYMASON] David Murphy > > Doug, > Does that mean that Johnston resigned his commission > in the US army to join the Texas Army, and then was > re-commissioned in the US Army after Texas won its > independence? When in doubt, there's always Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Johnston . According to this article, Johnston was actually leading a Texas Army unit when he participated in the Mexican-American War. Incidentally, the cousin that I mentioned -- Alfred Donovan -- stayed on in Texas after the War of Independence, as he had been given land grants in exchange for his services. But then in 1841 (or thereabouts) he signed onto another military venture that became known as the "Santa Fe Expedition". It was an attempt to invade New Mexico and annex land for Texas, but it was badly led and ill prepared. After getting lost in the Texas High Plains for a while, they were attacked by a band of Kiowa Indians and many (including Alfred) were slain. The entire expedition was later captured by the Mexican Army and led off to jail for a while before a negotiated release. Alfred's father back in Mason Co. eventually applied for and received Alfred's back pay for the mission. Doug Gordon