Micajah Autry
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Micajah Autry, the son of Theophilus and Elizabeth (Greer) Autry, was born in Sampson County, North Carolina, in 1794. Micajah Autry was an amateur poet, writer, artist, and musician. Between the ages of 17 and 18, he volunteered for service against the British in the War of 1812. He marched to Wilmington, North Carolina, as a member of a volunteer company and later joined the United States Army at Charleston, South Carolina, and remained in Charleston in the company of Captain Long until the Treaty of Ghent was signed in 1815. After the war his bad health forced him to quit farming and he became a teacher. Micajah Autry moved to Hayesboro, Tennessee, in 1823 and studied law. In 1824 he was married to a widow, Martha Wyche Putney Wilkinson. They had two children of their own and raised Martha's daughter from her first marriage. In 1828 Micajah Autry was admitted to the bar in Nashville, Tennessee. He practiced law in Jackson, Tennessee, between 1831 and 1835 in a partnership with Andrew L. Martin. In Nashville, Tennessee, Micajah Autry started an unsuccessful mercantile business with his law partner Mr. Martin. During a business trip to New York and Philadelphia, he heard of the opportunities in Texas. In 1835 he left his family and slaves in the care of Samuel Smith, his stepdaughter's husband, and set out for Texas by steamboat from Nashville, Tennessee. After arriving in Memphis, Tennessee, he wrote to his wife on December 7, 1835: "On the steamboat Pacific, I have met a number of acquaintances bound for Texas...I am determined to provide a home for you...or perish." From Natchitoches, Louisiana, he later wrote: "About twenty men from Tennessee form our squad...the war (in Texas) is going favorably for the Texans, but it is thought that Santa Anna will make a descent with his whole force in the spring. But there will be soldiers enough of the real grit in Texas by that time to overrun all Mexico. We have between 400 and 500 to foot it to the seat of government. We cannot get horses, but have sworn allegiance to each other." He was in Nacogdoches, Texas on January 13, 1836, where he enlisted in the Volunteer Auxiliary Corps of Texas. His letter to his wife written on that date indicated that he had set out for Washington-on-the-Brazos with David Crockett and others under the command of Capt. William B. Harrison. He arrived in San Antonio De Bexar with this company on February 9, 1836, and joined the Alamo garrison under the command of Lt. Col. William Barrett Travis. Micajah Autry was an expert marksman and was chosen by his company to eliminate Antonio López de Santa Anna, who often walked across the grounds near the Mexican battle lines. Micajah Autry raised his long rifle and took aim as his breathless companions watched, and fired. In that moment, the history of Texas and Mexico might have been changed, but either because of nervous tension or the great distance to the target, Micajah Autry's bullet went wild and Antonio López de Santa Anna scrambled for cover. Micajah Autry lived through all 13 days of the Alamo siege. He fell with his comrades at the stockade, overwhelmed by the Mexican troops.
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