The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 14, July 1910 - April, 1911 Page: 315

Micajah Autry, a Soldier of the Alamo

315

MICAJAH AUTRY, A SOLDIER OF THE ALAMO
ADELE B. LOOSCAN
Near the entrance to the Capitol at Austin, there stands a monu-
ment erected by the state o f Texas to the memory of the men who
fell in the Alamo. The names thereon engraved are read with
reverential feeling, suggesting as they do a picture of sublime self-
sacrifice, of lives offered up willingly, that "Texas might have
breathing time." These names are arranged in alphabetical order,
and that of Micajah Autry, a native of North Carolina, stands
among the first.
From his only daughter, Mrs. Mary Autry Greer, of Beaumont,
Texas, I have learned some incidents of the life and some traits
of the character of this man whose name is ineffaceably traced on
the graven tablet and indelibly written on the pages of Texas his-
tory. Through the courtesy of Judge James L. Autry, his grand-
son, I have had the privilege of reading copies of letters written
by him to his wife Martha, while on his journey from Tennessee
to Texas. I have used such extracts from these as seem best to
describe the men whom he met and the trials and the hardships
which encompassed him, as well as the ardent hope and fervor of
purpose which enabled him without faltering to persevere through-
out this fateful last journey. The muster roll, dated Nacogdoches,
January 14, 1836, and containing for the most part the names of
Tennesseeans, forms a kind of sequel to the last letter written by
Autry to his wife from the same place. The newspaper obituary
published after his death may not be perfectly accurate in all its
details, yet it agrees in its main features with family tradition.
The hastily written note of Nat G. Smith, without date, portrays
vividly the anxiety which filled the hearts of devoted relatives,
awaiting with mingled hope and dread the news to be gathered
from passengers on the stage coaches. Such documents need little
comment from the compiler; they reflect the character of the times,
and, more forcibly still. the character of the gentleman, the affec-
tionate husband and father, the patriot, soldier, and hero who is
the subject of this sketch.