View source for Jack Shackelford

{{Short description|American doctor, politician and soldier}}
{{Infobox politician
| office              = Member of [[Alabama Senate|Alabama State Senate]]
| termstart           = 1822
| termend             = 1824
| birth_place         = [[Richmond, Virginia]]
| birth_date          = March 20, 1790
| death_date          = January 22, 1857 (aged 66)
| death_place         = [[Courtland, Alabama]]
| branch              = [[Texian Army]]
| unit                = [[Red Rovers]]
| battles             = [[Texas Revolution]]
| image               = Dr. 'Jack' Shackelford.jpg
| rank                = [[Captain (armed forces)|Captain]]
| serviceyears        = 1835-1836
}}
'''Jack Shackelford''' (March 20, 1790 &ndash; January 22, 1857) was an American medical doctor, politician and soldier. He raised and led a unit in [[Courtland, Alabama]] called the  [[Red Rovers]] or the Alabama Red Rovers to fight in the [[Texas Revolution]]. He was one of the few survivors of the [[Goliad massacre]].<ref name=Handbook>{{cite web |url=http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fsh01 |title=Shackelford, Jack |publisher=[[Handbook of Texas]] |accessdate=May 1, 2014}}</ref>

==Early life==
Jack Shackelford was born in [[Richmond, Virginia]], to Richard Shackelford. After obtaining his M.D., he moved to [[Winnsboro, South Carolina]], where he opened his medical practice.<ref name=Marker>{{cite web |url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WMEF8C_Dr_Jack_Shackelford |title=Dr. Jack Shackelford |publisher=[[Texas Historical Commission]] |accessdate=May 1, 2014}}</ref> He married local Maria Young<ref name=Handbook/> or Youngue.<ref name=Marker/>

In the [[War of 1812]], he joined the Army and served on [[Andrew Jackson]]'s staff, being wounded at Charleston.<ref name=Marker/>

In 1818, he moved to [[Shelby County, Alabama]], and purchased a [[cotton plantation]].<ref name=Marker/> He was elected to the [[Alabama State Senate]] three times, in 1822, 1823 and 1824.<ref name=Handbook/> However, he was forced to sell his plantation after standing [[surety]] for a cousin whose business failed.<ref name=Handbook/> He was employed as the head of the [[United States Land Office]] in Courtland, Alabama, and also as treasurer of the [[Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad]].<ref name=Handbook/>

==Red Rovers and Texas Revolution==
In 1835, Dr. Jack Shackelford raised a company to fight against the Mexicans in the Texas Revolution. Nearly 70 strong, it included his oldest son, Fortunatus; two nephews; and almost half the men of Courtland.<ref name=Marker/> They came to be called the Red Rovers because of the color of their jeans<ref name=Handbook/> or uniforms.<ref name=Marker/> Under the command of Colonel [[James Fannin]], they fought in the [[Battle of Coleto]] on March 19–20, 1836. The Texians were defeated and forced to surrender. Most of the prisoners, including Fannin and Fortunatus Shackelford, were executed in the infamous Goliad massacre, but Jack Shackelford and several other doctors were spared to care for the Mexican wounded. During the Mexicans' retreat after their defeat at the [[Battle of San Jacinto]], Shackelford and Dr. Joseph Henry Barnard managed to escape.<ref name=Handbook/><ref name=Marker/> Shackelford was honorably discharged and returned home to Alabama. He wrote of his war experiences in a [[memoir]] entitled "Some Few Notes upon a Part of the Texas War".<ref name=Handbook/>

==Post-Texas Revolution years==
After his wife died in 1842, Jack Shackelford married Martha Chardevoyne.

Dr. Jack Shackelford died in Courtland on January 22, 1857.

The following year, [[Shackelford County, Texas]], was named in his honor.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/goliadshackelford.htm Massacre at Goliad--Captain Jack Shackelford's Account / Commander Alabama Red Rovers]
* [http://digital.archives.alabama.gov/cdm/ref/collection/voices/id/1702 Letters from Dr. Jack Shackelford in Goliad, Texas, to his wife, Maria, and his son, Edward, in Courtland, Alabama.]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shackelford, Jack}}
[[Category:1790 births]]
[[Category:1857 deaths]]
[[Category:People of the Texas Revolution]]
[[Category:Army of the Republic of Texas officers]]
[[Category:United States Army personnel of the War of 1812]]
[[Category:Physicians from South Carolina]]
[[Category:Alabama state senators]]
[[Category:American slave owners]]
[[Category:Politicians from Richmond, Virginia]]
[[Category:19th-century American legislators]]
[[Category:19th-century Alabama politicians]]