Starting October 7, the San Jacinto Monument's Observation Floor will close for renovation, open on weekends, with discounted museum admission during this time.

Part of an old map of the San Jacinto area from the Texas Revolution

Veteran Bio

Texian Location:  Participant

The Kemp Sketch

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HOLMES, PETER W. -- Born in Kentucky. He came to Texas in January, 1836, as is shown in the Headright Certificate issued to him September 6, 1839 for one-third of a league of land by the Nacogdoches County Board of Land Commissioners. On page 114 of the army muster rolls at the General Land Office he is shown as having enlisted in the Volunteer Auxiliary Corps at Nacogdoches, January 14, 1836. He was issued Bounty Certificate No. 9243 for 320 acres of land, July 29, 1839, for having served in the army from March 15 to June 15, 1836. He was a member of Captain Hayden Arnold's "Nacogdoches Company" at San Jacinto.

On June 23, 1831, Mrs. Mary Ellen Holmes Maysfield of Maysfield, Mason County, Kentucky, was issued Donation Certificate No. 347 for 640 acres of land due Mr. Holmes for having participated in the battle of San Jacinto. In the Donation file assigned to Mr. Holmes in the General Land Office is an affidavit signed by Mrs. Maysfield in which she stated that she (in 1850) was the only surviving child of Mr. Holmes. She stated that Mr. Holmes left his home in Washington County, Kentucky for Texas and there participated in the battle of San Jacinto. She said that her father was killed in Mexico in 1847 while serving in the United States Army. She appointed James McCutcheon of Maysfield, Kentucky as her attorney to secure the land due her father for services rendered in the army of Texas and to sell the land situated in Rusk County, Texas, belonging to him.

In reply to a letter from L. W. Kemp, Houston, the Adjutant General's Department, Washington, on November 3, 1934 wrote:

"This is in further response to your letter of September 19, 1934, to be furnished with the service record of Peter W. Holmes who, it is stated, was killed in the Mexican War in 1847.

"The Records show that one Peter W. Holmes, private, Captain McClarty's Company I, 1st Regiment Texas Foot Riflemen, was enrolled June 1, 1846, in Rusk County; mustered in to date June 29, 1846, for six months, and was mustered out with the company August 24, 1846, at Carmargo, Mexico.

"The records show that one P. W. Holmes, not born as Peter W. Holmes, private, Captain Lamar's Company, Texas Mounted Volunteers, was enrolled and mustered in October 7, 1846, near Monterey, Mexico, for 12 months, and was discharged May 6, 1847.

"The records further show that one Peter W. Holmes, private, Captain Reed's CO, Chevallie's Battalion, Texas Mounted Volunteers, was enrolled and mustered in May 24, 1847, at Monterey, Mexico, for the war, and was killed November 6, 1847, near Monterey."



Written by Louis W. Kemp, between 1930 and 1952. Please note that typographical and factual errors have not been corrected from the original sketches. The biographies have been scanned from the original typescripts, a process that sometimes allows for mistakes in the new text. Researchers should verify the accuracy of the texts' contents through other sources before quoting in publications. Additional information on the veteran may be available in the Herzstein Library.


Battle Statistics

  • Died in Battle: No
  • Rank: Private
  • Company: Capt. Hayden S. Arnold

Personal Statistics

  • Birthplace: Kentucky
  • Origin: Kentucky, Washington County
  • Came to Texas: 1836 Jan
  • Date of Death: 1847 Nov 6
  • Comments: Killed while serving in U.S. Army, U.S.-Mexican War
  • Bounty Certificate: 9243
  • Donation Certificate: 347
  • Children: Mary Ellen Holmes Maysfield