Matthew Winston Cartwright (1815-1884)

    Born January 22, 1815, in Washington County, Alabama, Matthew arrived in Texas December 22, 1832 after his father Peter bought some property there. He took part in some early engagements of the Texas revolution, notably at the Storming and Capture of Bexar, (December 5 - 10, 1835) as a member of Joseph L. Bennett's Company. He left the service on December 24 and returned to his father's farm in what is now Montgomery County. he and his brother William enlisted in the Texas army on April 12, 1836. Nine days later, as a member of William Ware's Company, both William and Matthew fought at the Battle of San Jacinto. The two left the army on the same day, June 13, 1836. Cartwright died December 4, 1884 and buried in the Cartwright family cemetery. The State of Texas erected a monument at his grave in 1936.

Rabon Chapel Cemetery
Keenan

COORDINATES

30° 20.630, -095° 38.127

Goree Chester Carter (1930-1990)

    Goree Carter was born in Houston, Texas on December 31, 1930. In late 1948 or early 1949, he and his jump blues band, The Hepcats, were discovered at a gig in the Eldorado Ballroom by a talent scout named Solomon Kahal, who quickly signed the group to his label Freedom Records and recorded their first release, Sweet Ole Woman Blues. At the age of 18, he recorded his best known single Rock Awhile in April 1949. It has been cited as a strong contender for the title of "first rock and roll record" and a "much more appropriate candidate" than the more frequently cited Rocket 88 by Ike Turner. However, Rock Awhile was not as commercially successful as later rock & roll records. Carter's electric guitar style was influenced by Aaron "T-Bone" Walker, but was over-driven and had a rougher edge which presaged the sound of rock and roll a few years later. His single-string runs and two-string "blue note" chords anticipated and influenced the pioneers of rock music - the intro to Rock Awhile, for example, closely resembles those in several of Chuck Berry's records from 1955 onwards. Carter recorded for several labels in the early 1950s, including Imperial, Coral and Modern, but last recorded in 1954. After a stint in the army during the Korean War, he returned home and continued to play occasional local gigs in Houston. Sadly, the popular demand for his unique style had slowed over the last few years and his last live performance was in 1970. Goree Carter, the man who beat Elvis Presley, Chuck Berry, and Ike Turner to the feat of inventing rock and roll died on December 27, 1990, at the age of 59.

Section J
Houston National Cemetery
Houston

COORDINATES

30° 15.916,-097° 43.634

James Walker Fannin (1804-1836)

    James Walker Fannin, Jr., Texas revolutionary, was probably born on January 1, 1804, in Georgia, the son of Dr. Isham Fannin. He was adopted by his maternal grandfather, James W. Walker, and brought up on a plantation near Marion. He entered the United States Military Academy at West Point on July 1, 1819, under the name James F. Walker, but withdrew in November 1821. He returned to Georgia and several years later married Minerva Fort, with whom he had two daughters. In the autumn of 1834 he and his family moved to Texas and settled at Velasco, where he supposedly was a plantation owner. His letters affirm the fact that he was a slave trader. Fannin became an agitator for the Texas Revolution and on August 20, 1835, was appointed by the Committee of Safety and Correspondence of Columbia to use his influence for the calling of the Consultation. On August 27 he wrote to a United States Army officer in Georgia requesting financial aid for the Texas cause and West Point officers to command the Texas army. In September Fannin became active in the volunteer army and subscribed money to an expedition to capture the Veracruzana, a Mexican ship at Copano; but the expedition did not materialize, and Fannin went to Gonzales, where, as captain of the Brazos Guards, he participated in the battle of Gonzales on October 2, 1835.

    On October 6 he was one of a committee urging Stephen F. Austin to bring all possible aid to Gonzales, and when Austin brought up the whole Texas army and moved toward Bexar, James Bowie and Fannin were sent as scouts to determine conditions between Gonzales and Bexar and to secure supplies. On October 27 Bowie and Fannin selected a campsite near Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña Mission and on October 28 led the Texas forces in the battle of Concepción. On November 10 Fannin was ordered to cut a Mexican supply route between Laredo and San Antonio but returned to headquarters when he was not joined by a supporting force. On November 13 Sam Houston, commander in chief of the regular army, offered Fannin the position of inspector general, but Fannin received an honorable discharge from the volunteer army on November 22 and began an urgent campaign for a larger regular army. On December 5 the General Council, acting on Fannin's advice, established an auxiliary volunteer corps. Houston commissioned Fannin as a colonel in the regular army on December 7, and on December 10 the council ordered him to enlist reinforcements for the army and to contract for war supplies in the campaign against Bexar. Bexar had surrendered on December 9, so the accumulated supplies were used in the 1836 campaign. Continuing as an agent of the provisional government, Fannin, on January 9, 1836, began recruiting volunteers for the Matamoros expedition. After Houston withdrew from the expedition, Fannin was elected colonel of the Provisional Regiment of Volunteers at Goliad on February 7 and from February 12 to March 12 acted as commander in chief of the army. When he learned that the Mexicans under José de Urrea had occupied Matamoros, Fannin went no further with plans for the expedition and fell back to strengthen defenses at Goliad. Other elements of the expedition, under James Grant and Francis W. Johnson, were destroyed by Urrea, who then proceeded to attack Goliad. On March 12 Fannin dispatched most of his force to aid Texans near Refugio. On March 14 he received Houston's order to retreat to Victoria, which rescinded a previous order to relieve the Alamo. Waiting for the forces under Amon B. King and William Ward to return from Refugio, Fannin delayed retreating until he heard of their capture.

    On March 19 he began his retreat, but he and his men were surrounded and forced to surrender at the battle of Coleto. The Texans were imprisoned by the Mexicans at Goliad and subsequently murdered by order of Antonio López de Santa Anna on March 27, 1836. Fannin, because he was wounded, was shot separately at the mission on the same day. In the months leading up to the Goliad Massacre, Fannin had shown defects as a commander. Accustomed to the discipline of a regular army, he adapted poorly to his situation as head of volunteers. He scorned the idea of electing officers and was disturbed by the lack of a clearly established hierarchy among his forces. His arrogance and ambition earned him the contempt of many of the men under his command. One private, J. G. Ferguson, wrote in a letter to his brother: "I am sorry to say that the majority of the soldiers don't like [Fannin]. For what cause I don't know whether it is because they think he has not the interest of the country at heart or that he wishes to become great without taking the proper steps to attain greatness." In his final weeks, Fannin wrote repeatedly asking to be relieved of his command. Most historians now agree that Fannin made many serious mistakes as a commander. But despite his reluctance to carry on and his sometimes poor military judgment, he held out bravely until the end. Fannin County was named in his honor, as were the town of Fannin in Goliad County and Camp Fannin, a United States Army installation. Source


Fannin Memorial Monument
Goliad

COORDINATES

28° 38.766, -097° 22.780

Kenneth Stanley "Bud" Adams (1923-2013)

    Bud Adams was born Jan. 3, 1923 in Bartlesville, Okla. He played football, basketball and baseball at Culver Military Academy, and graduated in 1940. He attended Menlo College in California then transferred to the engineering department at the University of Kansas, where he also lettered in football. He joined the U.S. Naval Reserve in 1942 and was later sent overseas, assigned to a carrier unit, where he served as aviation engineering officer. He was discharged from the Navy in 1946, the same year he started ADA Oil Company. Always interested in sports, eventually he would own professional baseball and basketball teams, and was involved in boxing. Football went to the front burner in 1959, when Adams launched Houston's AFL franchise while Lamar Hunt started one in Dallas. Until his death he remained owner, chairman of the board, and president and CEO of the franchise that became the Titans in 1999 after a controversial departure from Houston. The Oilers were among the dominant AFL teams in the 1960s, playing in four championship games, and winning titles in 1960 and '61. In 1970, when the AFL merged with the long-established NFL, the Oilers continued to have success, making the playoffs 10 times. The Oilers played their final season in Houston in 1996. 

    In 1997, Adams moved them to the Volunteer State, where they were called the Tennessee Oilers while playing home games at the Liberty Bowl in Memphis (1997) and Vanderbilt Stadium (1998) in Nashville. In 1999, as finishing touches were placed on a new downtown stadium in Nashville, Adams changed the team nickname to Titans. The inaugural Titans team made an electrifying run to Super Bowl XXXIV in Atlanta, where it lost to the St. Louis Rams. The night before Super Bowl XLVI in January of 2012, the NFL honored Adams for his efforts in supporting U.S. service members and veterans. He was the first recipient of the Salute to Service Award presented by USAA, the league's official military appreciation sponsor. He was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 2006 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in '08. In 2008, Adams received the inaugural Lamar Hunt Award for Professional Football, which recognized his vision and his role in helping the NFL reach preeminent status. Adams was nominated for the Hall of Fame as a special contributor, and up until his death had been working on several prominent NFL committees, including Finance, Hall of Fame, and Legislative and Audit. He was one of only four NFL owners to reach the 350-win plateau, a milestone he shared with Ralph Wilson (Buffalo Bills), Dan Rooney (Pittsburgh Steelers) and Al Davis (Oakland/Los Angeles Raiders). Bud Adams passed away peacefully on October 21, 2013 of natural causes at his home in Houston. 

Section 400

Forest Park Westheimer
Houston

COORDINATES

29° 44.304, -095° 36.517