Benjamin Johnson

Benjamin Johnson enlisted three times in 1835 and 1836. He signed on November 12, 1835, in Capt. Willis H. Landrum's company, fought in the Grass Fight and the siege of Bexar, and was discharged on January 1, 1836. He re-enlisted under Capt. James Gillaspie in the Second Regiment of Texas Volunteers under Col. Sidney Sherman, which fought at San Jacinto. On June 30, 1836, he signed a third time as second sergeant in Capt. John G. W. Pierson's company at Washington and was discharged on September 30. His house hosted the 1838 wedding of Jacob Garner and Matilda Hayes.

What the plaque says

Benjamin Johnson (1815-1872) Born in Louisiana; settled in Texas in 1832. Fought in victorious Texas Army at Bexar, Dec. 1835; in Capt. James Gillaspie's company, 2nd Regiment, Battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836. Married (1) 1838, Rachel Garner, who died 1856; (2) 1861, Matilda Myers. Esteemed and respected, he was a farmer, stockman, patriarch. (1972)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Sabine Pass Battleground State Historic Site — 1.9 mi
  A waterfront park at the mouth of the Sabine where the earthwork of Fort Griffin stood, with a Dowling statue, a Union memorial, wartime magazines and a walkway for fishing.
• Sea Rim State Park — 7.3 mi
  Texas's far southeast corner: nearly two miles of Gulf shoreline backed by 4,000 acres of marsh, reached by boardwalk or paddle trail, rebuilt after Rita and Ike.
• Museum of the Gulf Coast — 11 mi
  Port Arthur's regional museum in a former bank building: fossils, Native Americans, the petroleum story, a 125-foot history mural and Halls of Fame for musicians, athletes and artists.
• Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum — 24 mi
  A re-created oil boomtown on the Lamar University campus, with a derrick, period shops, a 1941 granite monument and an optional re-enactment of the January 1901 Lucas gusher.

More markers nearby

• Jacob Harmon Garner — steps away
• Kate Dorman — steps away
• Kate Dorman — steps away
• Sabine Pass Cemetery — steps away