William P. Hardeman

Gotch Hardeman came to Texas in 1835 with his father, Thomas Jones Hardeman, and fought at Gonzales that October. With his brother Thomas Monroe Hardeman he rode with a small relief column to the Alamo, which had fallen just before they arrived; they abandoned their exhausted horses and escaped on foot. An illness from exposure probably kept him out of the battle of San Jacinto. In the Mexican War he scouted the routes to Monterrey ahead of Taylor's army. In April 1862 he led the successful defense of the Confederate depot at Albuquerque against a much larger force.

What the plaque says

William P. Hardeman Indian fighter, frontiersman, explorer. Veteran of Texas Revolution, Cordova Rebellion and Mexican War. Entered Confederate Army 1861 as Captain 4th Texas Mounted Volunteers. Served 1862 New Mexico campaign to secure gold and access to Pacific. Role in brilliant cavalry charge Battle Valverde made him Colonel. Led brigade Red River campaign to stop invasion Texas. Promoted Brigadier General 1865. First president State Confederate Home. Known affectionately as "Old Gotch." An Aggie, fighter, and Southern gentleman. (1963)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Texas State Cemetery — steps away
  A hill east of the Capitol that began with one general's grave in 1851 and now holds Stephen F. Austin, governors, Barbara Jordan and more than 2,000 Confederate veterans and widows.
• French Legation State Historic Site — 0.3 mi
  A raised pine house built in 1840 and 1841 for France's envoy to the Republic of Texas, who left Austin in a rage over a neighbor's pigs before it was finished.
• George Washington Carver Museum — 0.4 mi
  East Austin's museum of Black history and culture, grown from a segregated branch library moved across town in 1933, with a permanent exhibit on Juneteenth at its core.
• Texas State Capitol — 1.0 mi
  Austin's fourth statehouse, a Renaissance Revival capitol of 1888 that stands 311 feet to its Goddess of Liberty and was restored after the 1983 fire.

More markers nearby

• General Moseley Baker — steps away
• Thomas Jones Hardeman — steps away
• Bailey Hardeman — steps away
• Gen. Alexander Watkins Terrell — steps away