Archibald Yell
Archibald Yell | |
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Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Arkansas's at-large district |
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In office March 4, 1845 – July 1, 1846 |
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Preceded by | Edward Cross |
Succeeded by | Thomas Willoughby Newton |
In office December 14, 1836 – March 4, 1839 |
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Preceded by | District created |
Succeeded by | Edward Cross |
2nd Governor of Arkansas | |
In office November 4, 1840 – April 29, 1844 |
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Preceded by | James Conway |
Succeeded by | Samuel Adams (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | Morristown, Tennessee |
August 9, 1797
Died | February 23, 1847 Coahuila, Mexico |
(aged 49)
Resting place | Evergreen Cemetery, Fayetteville, Arkansas 36°03′51″N 94°10′09″W / 36.064167°N 94.169167°W |
Nationality | American |
Political party | Democratic |
Military service | |
Allegiance | United States |
Service/branch | United States Volunteers |
Years of service |
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Rank | Colonel Bvt. Brigadier General |
Unit |
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Commands | Arkansas Regiment of Mounted Volunteers |
Battles/wars |
Archibald Yell (August 9, 1797 – February 22, 1847) was an American politician who served as the U.S. Representative from Arkansas from 1836 to 1839, and 1845 to 1846. He was the Second Governor of Arkansas, serving from 1840 to 1844. Yell was killed in action at the Battle of Buena Vista on February 23, 1847.[1]
Contents
Early life[edit]
Yell was likely born in Morristown, Tennessee, although his headstone lists North Carolina as his birthplace. His family first settled in Jefferson County in the eastern part of the state, then moved to Rutherford in Middle Tennessee, and finally settled in Bedford County to the south. As a youth, Yell participated in the Creek War, serving in 1813 and early 1814 under General Andrew Jackson, who became a special friend. In 1814 and 1815, during the War of 1812, he served with Jackson in Louisiana, including in the Battle of New Orleans. He was also active in freemasonry, and was the grand master of Tennessee in 1830. He returned to Tennessee, and read law as a legal apprentice. He was admitted to the bar in Fayetteville, Tennessee. In 1818, he joined Jackson’s army during the First Seminole War in Florida.[1]
Political career[edit]
Active in the Democratic Party, Yell moved to the Arkansas Territory in 1831 to head the federal land office in Little Rock. The federal government offered him the governorship of the Florida Territory the following year, but he declined. He was a strong supporter and personal friend of President James K. Polk. Just prior to taking office in 1835, Polk sent Yell to Texas to advocate for its annexation to the union. In 1835, he was appointed by the Polk administration as an Arkansas territorial judge. He is reported to have single-handedly retrieved a criminal from a local saloon and physically brought him to his court.[1]
Yell was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1836, after Arkansas was admitted to the Union. He served one term, from 1836 to 1839. While in Washington, he was a strong supporter of Texan statehood and favored a stronger military. Around this time that he formed the first Masonic lodge in Arkansas at Fayetteville.[1]
In 1840, Yell was elected Governor of Arkansas. He focused on internal improvements, as infrastructure was needed to benefit planters and farmers. He also worked to better control banks and supported public education. Yell resigned his post as governor to run again for Congress in 1844 at age 47, and won the seat. He is reported to have been the consummate campaigner. At one stop during the campaign, he is said to have won a shooting match, donated meat to the poor, and bought a jug of whiskey for the crowd.[1]
Mexican-American War[edit]
Soon after he took his seat in Congress, the Mexican-American War began. Yell returned to Arkansas and formed the Arkansas Regiment of Mounted Volunteers. Several of his men later achieved notability in Arkansas, including the future governor John Selden Roane, and future Confederate generals Albert Pike, Solon Borland, and James Fleming Fagan. His cavalry compiled a record of insubordination. During the Mexican-American War, he was brevetted a Brigadier General of United States Volunteers.[1]
Death[edit]
On February 23, 1847, Yell was killed at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico at age 49. He was originally buried on the battlefield in Mexico. His body was removed and returned to Arkansas for burial at Waxhaws Cemetery in Fayetteville. When Evergreen Cemetery was established in the city, the Freemasons arranged for his body to be relocated and reinterred in the Masonic section of that cemetery.[1]
Personal life[edit]
Yell met Mary Scott in Bedford County, Tennessee, where they were neighbors. They married in 1821 after he had started to establish his law practice. She had one daughter, Mary, who was born January 5, 1823. Mary Scott Yell died from complications following their daughter's birth. A few years later in 1828, he married Nancy Moore of Danville, Kentucky. They had four children before her death. He later married Maria (McIlvaine) Ficklin, a widow. They had no children. Maria died on October 15, 1838, while he was serving in Congress. His nephew James Yell became Major-General of the Arkansas Militia during the American Civil War.[1]
Legacy[edit]
Yell County and Yellville, Arkansas, are named after him.[2] An antebellum militia company from Helena, known as the "Yell Rifles", was also named after him.[3]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h Donovan, Timothy P.; Gatewood Jr., Willard B.; Whayne, Jeannie M., eds. (1995) [1981]. The Governors of Arkansas: Essays in Political Biography (2nd ed.). Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press. pp. 8–12. ISBN 1-55728-331-1. OCLC 31782171.
- ^ "Profile for Yellville, Arkansas, AR". ePodunk. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
- ^ "Civil War Comes to Arkansas". The Historical Marker Database. Retrieved August 10, 2012.
External links[edit]
- Archibald Yell at Find a Grave
- Archibald Yell at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture
- Archibald Yell at the National Governors Association
- Archibald Yell at The Political Graveyard
- United States Congress. "Archibald Yell (id: Y000017)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
- 1797 births
- 1847 deaths
- American Freemasons
- American military personnel killed in the Mexican–American War
- Arkansas Democrats
- Arkansas Jacksonians
- Burials in Arkansas
- Deaths in Mexico
- Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives
- Democratic Party state governors of the United States
- Governors of Arkansas
- Members of the Tennessee House of Representatives
- Members of the United States House of Representatives from Arkansas
- Tennessee Jacksonians
- United States Army generals