Solon Borland

Solon Borland

Solon Borland (born September 21, 1808 in Suffolk , Virginia , † January 1, 1864 in Houston , Texas ) was an American diplomat , general and politician of the Democratic Party . From 1848 to 1853 he sat for the US state Arkansas in the US Senate .

Early years

Borland was born in Suffolk. As a child, he moved with his parents to North Carolina , where he attended schools. He later studied medicine and opened a practice. Borland was married three times, first to Hildah Wright from 1831 to 1837 and to Eliza Buck Hart from 1839 to 1842. After her death, he moved to Little Rock , Arkansas. There he reopened a doctor's practice, founded a daily newspaper and married Mary Isabel Melbourne in 1845. A total of five children came from the three marriages.

Mexican-American War

He served as a major in the Mexican-American War . In January 1847 he was taken prisoner in Mexico. He was finally able to escape from captivity. His regiment was subsequently disbanded and he was released from the army in June 1847, but continued to volunteer with the army. He was General William J. Worth's aide-de-camp until 1849 .

Political activity

After the resignation of Ambrose Hundley Sevier , Borland was sent to the US Senate as his successor. He clearly represented southern views and made no friends in the Senate. There was even a physical argument with Senator Henry S. Foote . In 1853 he then announced his resignation. He was then until 1854 envoy of the United States in Nicaragua . After his recall, he returned to Little Rock. He worked in his doctor's office again and also opened a pharmacy .

Working in the Civil War, Last Years and Death

At the beginning of the Civil War , Borland was appointed commander of the state militia by Governor Henry Massey Rector . He ordered Fort Smith to be occupied, although Arkansas had not yet left the Union at that point. When Borland's troops arrived, the troops of the northern states had already withdrawn and they could occupy Fort Smith without force of arms. At the Arkansas Secession Convention he was deposed as commander, but was able to fill a post in northeast Arkansas.

From then on he recruited soldiers for the army of the Confederate States, including his son from third marriage, who was only 16 years old and later died on the battlefield. He never left Arkansas during the fighting. In 1862 he resigned from the army because he had irreconcilable personal differences with Governor Rector. He then moved to Texas, where he died in Houston in 1864. He was buried in Mount Holly Cemetery in Little Rock.

Web links

• Solon Borland in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress (English)

• Solon Borland in the database of Find a Grave (English)