John Seldon Roane: Arkansan, Veteran, Governor

John Seldon Roane: Arkansan, Veteran, Governor

With Veterans Day recently passed, the latest column is on former governor and general John Roane, a veteran of both the Mexican War and the Civil War.

John Seldon Roane was one of the early leaders of Arkansas in the period just after statehood. He arrived in Arkansas in its formative years and led the state in time of war and in time of peace. He would eventually serve as a lawyer, general, and governor.

Roane was born in Lebanon, Tennessee, in January 1817. His father was a well-known merchant, and his family was fairly wealthy and had many political connections. One of his uncles had served as the state's governor. As a young man, Roane attended and graduated from Cumberland College, a small, Presbyterian institution.

Not long after his graduation in 1837, Roane headed to Arkansas in pursuit of the opportunities the new state promised. He settled in Pine Bluff where his older brother, Samuel, was already one of the most successful planters and lawyers in the state. He studied law and was quickly admitted to the bar. He soon settled in Van Buren in the western part of the state and was elected Prosecuting Attorney for the Second Judicial District in 1840.

He ran for the Arkansas House of Representatives in 1842. He won re-election easily in 1844 and was elected Speaker of the House.

When war erupted with Mexico in 1846 over the disputed boundary of Texas, Roane, along with tens of thousands of other men rushed to join the army. Roane gave up a potential third term for the opportunity to fight. Arkansas volunteers organized the Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment. Congressman Archibald Yell, a former governor and popular politician, resigned his seat to take command as colonel, while Roane was named lieutenant colonel. The unruly men soon became known as 'Yell's Mounted Devils.'

At the Battle of Buena Vista in February 1847, American forces met the Mexican Army in northern Mexico in one of the fiercest battles of the war. The armies clashed for two days. On the first day of the battle, Yell was struck down and killed while repelling an attack. Roane stepped forward and assumed command. By the end of the next day, American forces had prevailed. Within months, Roane was back in Arkansas after a resounding American victory.

However, Albert Pike, a captain in the regiment and a widely-known lawyer and writer, wrote a blistering letter to the editor to the Arkansas Gazette questioning how well the regiment fought at Buena Vista and further insinuated that Roane's position as lieutenant colonel was given to him for political reasons rather than for his military skills. Roane was deeply offended by Pike's comments. A court of inquiry was held in May and seemed to settle the matter in Roane's favor, but the matter escalated further when a series of letters written by Roane surfaced suggesting that Pike was not even present at the battle.

In a rage, Pike challenged Roane to a duel. On July 29, the two met in the Indian Territory (present-day Oklahoma), not far from Fort Smith. The terms were established by their seconds, and the two would fight with pistols. Roane's seconds were future U. S. Senator Robert Johnson and future governor Henry M. Rector. Pike and Roane met. They stepped off, turned, and fired. Both men missed their targets. The pistols were reloaded for a second round. They fired, but the shots reportedly only grazed the men and resulted only in the most minor injuries. Instead of a third round, the two decided that honor had been satisfied, shook hands, and walked away.

As dueling was very common in the South at that time, though considered by many to be a serious social problem, little more was said about the matter. There had been duels among prominent Arkansas politicians in the past, but this one did not end in death as so many others had. Instead, Roane's political fortunes rose further still with his election as governor the next year.

After the Mexican War and later duel, he had contented himself with his law firm in Jefferson County and his prospering plantation when an opportunity suddenly appeared. Gov. Thomas S. Drew, who was facing serious personal financial problems, had resigned after winning the 1848 general election. Arkansas now had to hold a special election. Democrats gathered at a special convention in December 1848 and gave him a lackluster nomination for the election to be held in four months. The opposition Whig Party nominated State Senator Cyrus Wilson of Pulaski County. Roane was excited and campaigned energetically; but Arkansans were worn out by the political season, and the race for governor attracted little attention. After the March 14 special election, the results came in. Roane won the special election by the slimmest margin in state history for a governor's race — a mere 62 votes out of more than 6,500 cast.

Roane was sworn in as the state’s fourth governor and embarked on an ambitious agenda that initially garnered broad, bipartisan support. He called for the construction of new roads and improvement of state finances. The State Bank and the Real Estate Bank, both controlled by the state, both crashed soon after they were created in the midst of a global economic panic. The bills had pushed the state to the point of bankruptcy. However, legislators refused to support his plans and pushed to have state monies directed to the counties.

He also called for establishing a state university. Up to this point, no colleges existed

“History Minute” By Dr.

Ken Bridges at all in the state; and the federal government had allowed proceeds from the sales of certain federal lands in the state to finance a college.

Legislators, however, rejected his plan. As a result, the University of Arkansas would not be established for another 20 years.

Frustrated, he decided not to seek re-election in 1852 and returned to his law practice.

He left office in 1853 but continued to speak out on political issues. He married and raised a family in the interim.

As the nation drew closer to the Civil War, Roane offered spirited defenses of the South and slavery. He openly supported secession in 1861.

Roane initially stayed away from military service but was made a brigadier general in March 1862, just weeks after the bitter defeat of Confederate forces at the Battle of Pea Ridge in Northwest Arkansas. As most of the troops and resources had been shifted back to the East, the state was left with very little to defend itself with. What troops remained were steadily pushed back and the state’s economy nearly cratered under the pressures.

Roane was effectively the state’s senior military officer, but he was unable to turn the tide.

Roane, and his old friend, Gov. Henry M. Rector, were bitterly criticized for the worsening. Rector’s term was cut short, and he was thrust from office. Former Congressman Thomas C.

Hindman, another Roane ally, took command of the troops in July. At the Battle of Prairie Grove near Fayetteville in December, Hindman, Roane, and Confederate forces attempted to strike back at Union forces but were unable to dislodge them. For the remainder of the conflict, Roane commanded small garrisons throughout the Trans-Mississippi Theater. In 1865, he surrendered to Union forces. Defeated, Roane returned home from the heartbreak of the war.

He would not be a leader in the difficult years after the Civil War. His health collapsed soon after his return. In April 1867, Roane died at his farm in Jefferson County at the age of 50.

Dr. Kenneth Bridges teaches history and geography at South Arkansas Community College. He is co- editor of the “ South Arkansas Historical Journal” and author of numerous history articles and books.

By Dr. Kenneth Bridges