When AJ mentions "we" as the compilers of the list of Famous Pates, I was part of that we. If my memory serves me correctly, and more and more it does not these days, I was the one who suggested Henry Clay Pate. By consensus we agreed not to include him. I like Henry Clay Pate. I have researched him to a great extent. I have compiled multiple pages of information about him. I assisted in the preparation of a paper presented to the New England Civil War Roundtable on him. I also assisted the Kansas Historical Society in trying (unsuccessfully) to locate a living descendant of Henry Clay Pate to attend a ceremony unveiling a marker near the pre-civil war battle site at Black Jack near Pottawatomie Creek [http://skyways.lib.ks.us/history/blackjac.html]. I have several postings on Henry Clay Pate in the archives of the Pate List Serve. Each February, at our annual Lee-Jackson Banquet, I light and then extinguish two candles to commemorate two Confederate soldiers who gave their lives defending their country against the arrogance and tyranny of their nation. One candle is for my great great great grandfather, Thomas Pate, who died of wounds received in the Wilderness and the other is for Henry Clay Pate. By the measure we used, Henry Clay Pate is not famous; nor is he infamous. He was a bright, articulate, passionate, and energetic young man. He was a skilled writer, newspaper editor, weapons designer and later a brave and dedicated cavalry commander. He was a cousin to Jinks Pate Lee. His older brother, William D Pate was a West Virginia State Senator, who with his father. Edmund Pate founded and operated the Coal River Navigation Co. in West Virginia. Henry Clay Pate's younger brother, Ortho K Pate was an ordained Episcopal priest. All three were Confederate officers. Joel On 5/25/2010 9:41 AM, AJ wrote: > When we were compiling the list of Famous Pate's, Henry Clay Pate was discussed as a possible honoree. Though he undoubtedly displayed bravery on occasion, we felt that his overall record was rather checkered and undistinguished. His main claim to fame was leading a military unit to capture John Brown. The humiliating result was losing to John Brown's smaller ragtag "army" in two hours and having to surrender himself. Those interested can learn more about him here: http://kansasboguslegislature.org/mo/pate_h_c.html This appears to be an article biased against him, but nevertheless contains enough factual information to arrive at a conclusion. > > A. J. Pate > > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > > > http://skyways.lib.ks.us/history/blackjac.html -- PATE DNA PROJECT http://www.familytreedna.com/public/pate-dna-project Sharing Our Past, Our Present and Our Future PATE LIST SERVE [email protected] A free E-Mail Forum for PATE Researchers