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Dear Sentinel: I saw it stated in one of our state daily papers that Jake Lewis was dead. I have missed some numbers of our home paper. If it be true, or not be true, that J.J. Lewis is dead, I can't resist the inclination to say, that dead or alive, he was a man among men, and well worthy of special mention. I think he was born in Nacogdoches County, Texas. His father was Jacob Lewis, a genuine San Jacinto veteran, and more than that, he was one of the heroes, that fought beside the Immortal Ben Milam, who fell in the streets of San Antonia, and who, at a most critical moment before the seige of that city, assembled the few Texans there in the line and drew a line in front of them with his sword, and called upon all who would fight with him to the death to toe the line, They all stepped up to the test line. The mother of J.J. Lewis was a Skillern, one of the earliest and most patriotic families, probably a Texan by birth. No wonder then that this son, J.J. Lewis, with such blood in his veins, was one of the heroes of the Lost Cause, a volunteer soldier in the Confederate army. He left home January 1st 1862, in Capt Bill Clarks Company. Clark later became the Colonel of the Regiment 8th Texas Infantry. On the second day after starting a man of the company named Ashworth made the mistake of trying Jakes metal. No one tried it again. Jake Lewis never showed the white feather any where, whether in the battle or in private peaceful life. He was always true and did not need to be tried. His retiring rural life was of the model type, his sense of honor was the highest. His children proved their blood by their deportment. When J.J. lewis died the world lost a man. Written by Dr. E.J. Mayfield |