**ASHWORTH, SAM,Enlisted in the service of the Confederate States of America, > served "Honorably" and gave his life in Battle for his Countries "Cause"; the "Cause" of "Liberty", at the "Battle of Shilo". (note: may have served > in Company "B", "Ragsdale's Battalion", "Texas Cavalry", C.S.A.) For those of you not familiar with Orange County's history, Sam Ashworth was also wanted for the murder of a deputy sheriff he allegedly shot for calling him a racial slur. The deputy had pressed charges against Cousin Sam "for talking sass to a white man," a violation of Texas law. Although White-identified, the Ashworths and about a dozen other families, were classified as Free Men of Color. This classification had followed them to Texas from South Carolina by way of Louisiana. To all of you who are so proud of your native American heritage, in the pre-Civil War South you would have been classified as Free Men of Color. Sam escaped from jail before the sentence was executed, and he and another cousin, Jack Bunch, went looking for the deputy and shot him. This resulted in the Ashworths and their related families being unlawfully driven from Texas by White vigilantes aided by the Texas militia. Jack was caught near San Antonio, brought back for trial and was hanged in Beaumont. Sam escaped capture and when the war broke out, joined the Confederate Army. Even today, the Ashworths are subjected to innuendo as to their racial make-up. The Ashworth family are American. We don't really have a hyphenated first part of our name, like Cuban-Am., or Italian-Am., or African-Am. Our grandfathers came to this country from England and married locally available women, sometimes of questionable racial lineage, had large families and moved west for the opportunity afforded by an opening frontier. We are proud of who we are, and we're proud of our contribution to this country.