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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RIAL, JOHN W. -- Enlisted in Captain Sidney Sherman's Company of Kentucky Rifles December 18, 1835, and reached Texas with that organization in January, 1836. In Headright Certificate No. 166 for one-third of a league of land, issued to him February 6, 1836 by the Board of Land Commissioners of Nacogdoches County, it is stated that he arrived in Texas in February, 1836 but this is probably a mistake.

Captain William Wood succeeded Captain Sherman as Commander of the Kentucky Company and Mr. Rial served under him at San Jacinto. On December 5, 1851 he was issued Donation Certificate No. 396 for 640 acres of land for having participated in the battle. On page 136 of the army rolls in the General Land Office, he is shown as having enlisted in Captain E. L. R. Wheelock's Company of Rangers May 8; 1836. He did not receive a Bounty Certificate for his other services.

The land on Mr. Rial's Headright Certificate was surveyed in the Bexar Land District in 1839 by John James. The Deed Records of Nacogdoches County show him living in Tyler County May 13, 1847, when he sold the land.

The Probate Records of Tyler County do not show that Mr. Rial died in that county.

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. William Wood

Personal Statistics

  • Alternate Names: Rail
  • Origin: Kentucky
  • Came to Texas: 1836 Jan
  • Donation Certificate: 396