Samuel Hamilton Walker
1815 - 1847
Samuel Walker, Texas Ranger
Samuel Hamilton Walker was born in Maryland in 1815 and came to Texas in 1842.
As a scout for Captain Jesse Billingsley, he fought against Woll and his Mexican troops in San Antonio. Walker was among those captured during the attack on Mier and was marched in chains across the desert.
Caught after an attempted escape, he drew a white bean in Santa Anna's infamous "Black Bean" incident, in which seventeen men were executed. Successfully escaping a second time, he rejoined Hays in San Antonio. During the Mexican War, Walker served with Taylor's Army on the Rio Grande in 1846, and later with General Winfield Scott's Army. His discussions with inventor Samuel Colt led to the introduction of the "Walker" Colt in 1847, a revolver superior to those already in use.
On October 9, 1847, Walker was killed while leading a charge into Huamantla, Tlaxcala, Mexico. Samuel Walker's remains were later returned to Texas and buried with honors at San Antonio.
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Suggestions for further reading:
- Marilyn M. Sibley, ed. Samuel H. Walker’s Account of the Mier Expedition, Austin 1978
- Frederick Wilkins, The Highly Irregular Irregulars, Austin, 1990
- Frederick Wilkins, The Legend Begins, Austin, 1996
- Robert M. Utley, Lone Star Justice, Oxford, 2002
- Darren Ivey, The Ranger Ideal Volume 1: Texas Rangers in the Hall of Fame, 1823 – 1861, Denton, 2017
- Vertical Files, Armstrong Texas Ranger Research Center, Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, Waco, TX