Richard Montgomery Gano
Encyclopedia
Richard Montgomery Gano (June 17, 1830 – March 27, 1913) was a physician
, Protestant minister, and brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States
during the American Civil War
.
in Bourbon County, Kentucky
, the son of John Allen Gano, who was the son of Gen. Richard M. Gano, veteran of the War of 1812
. John Allen Gano was a minister in the Disciples of Christ and was active in the Restoration Movement
with Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone
. The first General Richard Gano was the son of Rev. John Gano
and Sarah Stites. (Rev. John Gano was the first pastor of the First Baptist Church of New York City and was known as the "Fighting Chaplain" for his Revolutionary War exploits. He is also credited with having baptized George Washington in the Potomac River.)
Richard was baptized into the church at age ten, and at twelve he entered Bacon College in Harrodsburg, Kentucky
(Bacon was the progenitor of the University of Kentucky
). He completed his course of studies at Bethany College
in Bethany, Virginia
(now West Virginia
) about 1847, and then attended Louisville Medical University in Louisville, Kentucky
, from which he graduated in 1849.
Gano practiced medicine first in Kentucky, then in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
(including two years as physician to the Louisiana State Prison), until 1858. He married Martha ("Mattie") Jones Welch of Crab Orchard, Kentucky
, March 15, 1853 in Garrard County, Kentucky
, and they had twelve children, nine of whom lived to adulthood. Martha was born October 8, 1832 and died September 22, 1895 in Dallas, Texas
. Allene Stone Gano, mother of aviation billionaire Howard Hughes
was General Gano's granddaughter.
In 1859, Gano moved his family to Grapevine Prairie, Texas
, in northeast Tarrant County
(roughly on the present site of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport), and began farming and stockraising, as well as continuing to practice medicine. He was particularly interested in introducing Kentucky race horse breeds to Texas. He was soon involved in community efforts to pursue Comanche
raiding parties, and was presented a sword for his efforts by local citizens. In 1860, he was elected to the Texas legislature from Tarrant County, where he was active in debates on frontier defense and agricultural issues.
's 2nd Kentucky Cavalry at Chattanooga, Tennessee
. Capt. Gano, commanding Company G, took part in Morgan's first Kentucky raid in July 1862 as well as Morgan's raid on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in August. During the latter campaign, he was promoted to major
in command of a full cavalry squadron (his original two companies plus a third company raised in Tennessee), which he led at the Battle of Gallatin.
In September 1862, Gano's squadron became the nucleus of the new 7th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment and he was promoted to colonel
in Gen. Morgan's new cavalry brigade. The regiment took part in all the actions of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith
's invasion of Kentucky in the fall of 1862, culminating in the Battle of Perryville
on October 8, the Battle of Lexington on October 17, and the retreat into east Tennessee. The 7th Kentucky Cavalry subsequently took part in Morgan's second Kentucky raid, December 1862 to January 1863, and by February Gano (though still a colonel) was in command of the First Cavalry Brigade of Gen. Morgan's cavalry division. On April 3, the brigade was attacked at Snows Hill, Tennessee by some 8,000 Union infantry and cavalry and was forced to withdraw to McMinnville
. Shortly after this, Morgan's forces were essentially destroyed during Morgan's Raid
, and the remnants rejoined Gano's depleted brigade. On September 18, 1863, Col. Gano commanded both his own brigade and Morgan's survivors under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest
at the Battle of Chickamauga
.
Gano left active service for a period because of illness, then was promoted to brigadier general (though he did not receive his "official" promotion until March 17, 1865) and took the eighty-odd survivors of his original Texas cavalry unit (now called the "Gano Guards") back to Bonham, Texas
. There he assumed command, October 10, 1863, of all Texas cavalry operating in the Trans-Mississippi Department. On December 27, Gano's brigade captured and occupied Waldron, Arkansas
, and in April 1864 he suffered an arm wound at a skirmish at Moscow, Arkansas. Two months later, he commanded the attack on Fort Smith, Arkansas
, and on July 27, 1864 he led an attack on the 6th Kansas Cavalry
at Massard Prairie, Arkansas.
A few weeks later, Gano's brigade, with accompanying artillery
, moved to Indian Territory
and on September 19 he commanded both the Fifth Texas Cavalry Brigade (made up of the 29th, 30th, and 31st Texas Cavalry and Howell's Artillery Battery) and Brig. Gen. Stand Watie
's First Indian Brigade (consisting of Cherokee
, Creek, and Seminole
) at the second Battle of Cabin Creek
. (His commission reportedly predated Stand Watie's by one month, putting him in command by seniority—but it also seems unlikely that his Texas troopers would have allowed themselves to be commanded by a Cherokee.) In this action, the general was wounded again but Confederate forces totalling about 2,000 captured a federal supply train of some three hundred wagons and 750 mules, valued at more than two million dollars. In a congratulatory telegram, Gen. Kirby Smith called this "one of the most brilliant raids of the entire war".
In January 1865, as part of a last reorganization of troops west of the Mississippi by Kirby Smith, the brigade was ordered to Nacogdoches
, but on May 26, the Army of the Trans-Mississippi
surrendered to federal forces. Gano had been recommended for promotion to major general but the war ended before this could be acted upon.
movement of the 1880s.
As a stockman in the later 19th century, Gano imported a number of important bloodlines into Texas, including cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs. He also was a general businessman, forming a real estate company with two of his sons, and serving as vice president of the Estado Land and Cattle Company and as a director of the Bankers and Merchants National Bank in Dallas. These involvements led to his becoming a millionaire. He also was active in United Confederate Veterans
.
Richard Gano died March 27, 1913 at his home at the corner of Cedar Springs and Oaklawn Avenue in Dallas and is buried in Oakland Cemetery.
In recent years, the "dog-trot" house
he purchased at Grapevine Prairie in 1856 was moved to Dallas's Old City Park. The house was originally built of logs and was later covered with white clapboard siding. Gen. Richard M. Gano Chapter #2433 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
, Texas Division, meets in Irving, Texas
.
Physician
A physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, Protestant minister, and brigadier general in the army of the Confederate States
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
Early life
Richard Gano was born June 17, 1830 near SpringdaleSpringdale, Kentucky
Springdale is a neighborhood of Louisville, Kentucky centered along Brownsboro Road & Barbour Lane....
in Bourbon County, Kentucky
Bourbon County, Kentucky
Bourbon County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is the remnant of what was previously a much larger Bourbon County, established as part of Virginia in 1785, and comprising what are now thirty-four modern Kentucky counties...
, the son of John Allen Gano, who was the son of Gen. Richard M. Gano, veteran of the War of 1812
War of 1812
The War of 1812 was a military conflict fought between the forces of the United States of America and those of the British Empire. The Americans declared war in 1812 for several reasons, including trade restrictions because of Britain's ongoing war with France, impressment of American merchant...
. John Allen Gano was a minister in the Disciples of Christ and was active in the Restoration Movement
Restoration Movement
The Restoration Movement is a Christian movement that began on the American frontier during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century...
with Alexander Campbell and Barton W. Stone
Barton W. Stone
Barton Warren Stone was an important preacher during the Second Great Awakening of the early 19th century. He was first ordained a Presbyterian minister, then was expelled from the church after the Cane Ridge, Kentucky revival for his stated beliefs in faith as the sole prerequisite for salvation...
. The first General Richard Gano was the son of Rev. John Gano
John Gano
John Gano was a Baptist minister and Revolutionary War chaplain who allegedly baptized his friend, General George Washington.-Biography:...
and Sarah Stites. (Rev. John Gano was the first pastor of the First Baptist Church of New York City and was known as the "Fighting Chaplain" for his Revolutionary War exploits. He is also credited with having baptized George Washington in the Potomac River.)
Richard was baptized into the church at age ten, and at twelve he entered Bacon College in Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Harrodsburg, Kentucky
Harrodsburg is a city in and the county seat of Mercer County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 8,014 at the 2000 census. It is the oldest city in Kentucky.-History:...
(Bacon was the progenitor of the University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
). He completed his course of studies at Bethany College
Bethany College (West Virginia)
Bethany College is a private liberal arts college located in Bethany, West Virginia, United States. Founded in 1840, Bethany is the oldest institution of Higher Education in West Virginia.-Location:...
in Bethany, Virginia
Bethany, West Virginia
Bethany is a town in Brooke County, West Virginia, United States. It is part of the Weirton–Steubenville, WV-OH Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 985 at the 2000 census. The Town of Bethany is home to Bethany College.-History:...
(now West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
) about 1847, and then attended Louisville Medical University in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
, from which he graduated in 1849.
Gano practiced medicine first in Kentucky, then in Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...
(including two years as physician to the Louisiana State Prison), until 1858. He married Martha ("Mattie") Jones Welch of Crab Orchard, Kentucky
Crab Orchard, Kentucky
Crab Orchard is a city in Lincoln County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 842 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-History:...
, March 15, 1853 in Garrard County, Kentucky
Garrard County, Kentucky
Garrard County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It is pronounced 'Gair-ad' with the third "r" silent. It was formed in 1797 and was named for James Garrard, Governor of Kentucky from 1796 to 1804. Its county seat is Lancaster. The population was 16,912 in the 2010 Census...
, and they had twelve children, nine of whom lived to adulthood. Martha was born October 8, 1832 and died September 22, 1895 in Dallas, Texas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. Allene Stone Gano, mother of aviation billionaire Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
was General Gano's granddaughter.
In 1859, Gano moved his family to Grapevine Prairie, Texas
Grapevine, Texas
Grapevine is a city in northeast Tarrant County, Texas, United States located within the Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan area. As of the 2010 census the city population was 46,334. The city's moniker is derived from the native grapes prevalent in the area. In recent years several wineries have...
, in northeast Tarrant County
Tarrant County, Texas
Tarrant County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 U.S. Census, it had a population of 1,809,034. Its county seat is Fort Worth. Tarrant County is the sixteenth most populous county in the United States and the third most populous in Texas. The county is named in honor...
(roughly on the present site of the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport), and began farming and stockraising, as well as continuing to practice medicine. He was particularly interested in introducing Kentucky race horse breeds to Texas. He was soon involved in community efforts to pursue Comanche
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
raiding parties, and was presented a sword for his efforts by local citizens. In 1860, he was elected to the Texas legislature from Tarrant County, where he was active in debates on frontier defense and agricultural issues.
Civil War
He resigned his seat early in 1861 to enter Confederate service and on June 1 was elected captain of the "Grapevine Volunteers", a company of mounted riflemen he had raised. By early March 1862, he had reorganized his unit into a partial cavalry squadron of two companies, which was mustered into direct Confederate service and was assigned to Col. John Hunt MorganJohn Hunt Morgan
John Hunt Morgan was a Confederate general and cavalry officer in the American Civil War.Morgan is best known for Morgan's Raid when, in 1863, he and his men rode over 1,000 miles covering a region from Tennessee, up through Kentucky, into Indiana and on to southern Ohio...
's 2nd Kentucky Cavalry at Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga, Tennessee
Chattanooga is the fourth-largest city in the US state of Tennessee , with a population of 169,887. It is the seat of Hamilton County...
. Capt. Gano, commanding Company G, took part in Morgan's first Kentucky raid in July 1862 as well as Morgan's raid on the Louisville & Nashville Railroad in August. During the latter campaign, he was promoted to major
Major (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, major is a field grade military officer rank just above the rank of captain and just below the rank of lieutenant colonel...
in command of a full cavalry squadron (his original two companies plus a third company raised in Tennessee), which he led at the Battle of Gallatin.
In September 1862, Gano's squadron became the nucleus of the new 7th Kentucky Cavalry Regiment and he was promoted to colonel
Colonel (United States)
In the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, colonel is a senior field grade military officer rank just above the rank of lieutenant colonel and just below the rank of brigadier general...
in Gen. Morgan's new cavalry brigade. The regiment took part in all the actions of Gen. Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith
Edmund Kirby Smith was a career United States Army officer and educator. He served as a general in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War, notable for his command of the Trans-Mississippi Department of the Confederacy after the fall of Vicksburg.After the conflict ended Smith...
's invasion of Kentucky in the fall of 1862, culminating in the Battle of Perryville
Battle of Perryville
The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive during the American Civil War. Confederate Gen. Braxton Bragg's Army of Mississippi won a...
on October 8, the Battle of Lexington on October 17, and the retreat into east Tennessee. The 7th Kentucky Cavalry subsequently took part in Morgan's second Kentucky raid, December 1862 to January 1863, and by February Gano (though still a colonel) was in command of the First Cavalry Brigade of Gen. Morgan's cavalry division. On April 3, the brigade was attacked at Snows Hill, Tennessee by some 8,000 Union infantry and cavalry and was forced to withdraw to McMinnville
McMinnville, Tennessee
McMinnville is the largest city in and the county seat of Warren County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 13,605 at the 2010 census...
. Shortly after this, Morgan's forces were essentially destroyed during Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid
Morgan's Raid was a highly publicized incursion by Confederate cavalry into the Northern states of Indiana and Ohio during the American Civil War. The raid took place from June 11–July 26, 1863, and is named for the commander of the Confederates, Brig. Gen...
, and the remnants rejoined Gano's depleted brigade. On September 18, 1863, Col. Gano commanded both his own brigade and Morgan's survivors under Gen. Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest
Nathan Bedford Forrest was a lieutenant general in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. He is remembered both as a self-educated, innovative cavalry leader during the war and as a leading southern advocate in the postwar years...
at the Battle of Chickamauga
Battle of Chickamauga
The Battle of Chickamauga, fought September 19–20, 1863, marked the end of a Union offensive in southeastern Tennessee and northwestern Georgia called the Chickamauga Campaign...
.
Gano left active service for a period because of illness, then was promoted to brigadier general (though he did not receive his "official" promotion until March 17, 1865) and took the eighty-odd survivors of his original Texas cavalry unit (now called the "Gano Guards") back to Bonham, Texas
Bonham, Texas
Bonham is a city in Fannin County, Texas, United States. The population was 10,127 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Fannin County. James Bonham sought the aid of James Fannin at the Battle of the Alamo....
. There he assumed command, October 10, 1863, of all Texas cavalry operating in the Trans-Mississippi Department. On December 27, Gano's brigade captured and occupied Waldron, Arkansas
Waldron, Arkansas
Waldron is a city in Scott County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 3,508 at the 2000 census. The city is the county seat of Scott County.-Geography:Waldron is located at ....
, and in April 1864 he suffered an arm wound at a skirmish at Moscow, Arkansas. Two months later, he commanded the attack on Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the second-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. With a population of 86,209 in 2010, it is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas-Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Area, a region of 298,592 residents which encompasses the Arkansas...
, and on July 27, 1864 he led an attack on the 6th Kansas Cavalry
6th Regiment Kansas Volunteer Cavalry
The 6th Kansas Volunteer Cavalry Regiment was a cavalry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Service:The 6th Kansas Cavalry was organized at Fort Scott, Kansas in July 1861. The regiment began as three companies of home guard infantry, followed quickly by five...
at Massard Prairie, Arkansas.
A few weeks later, Gano's brigade, with accompanying artillery
Artillery
Originally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
, moved to Indian Territory
Indian Territory
The Indian Territory, also known as the Indian Territories and the Indian Country, was land set aside within the United States for the settlement of American Indians...
and on September 19 he commanded both the Fifth Texas Cavalry Brigade (made up of the 29th, 30th, and 31st Texas Cavalry and Howell's Artillery Battery) and Brig. Gen. Stand Watie
Stand Watie
Stand Watie , also known as Standhope Uwatie, Degataga , meaning “stand firm”), and Isaac S. Watie, was a leader of the Cherokee Nation and a brigadier general of the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War...
's First Indian Brigade (consisting of Cherokee
Cherokee
The Cherokee are a Native American people historically settled in the Southeastern United States . Linguistically, they are part of the Iroquoian language family...
, Creek, and Seminole
Seminole
The Seminole are a Native American people originally of Florida, who now reside primarily in that state and Oklahoma. The Seminole nation emerged in a process of ethnogenesis out of groups of Native Americans, most significantly Creeks from what is now Georgia and Alabama, who settled in Florida in...
) at the second Battle of Cabin Creek
Battle of Cabin Creek
The Battle of Cabin Creek took place on July 1, 1863, in Mayes County, Oklahoma during the American Civil War.The First Kansas Colored Infantry led a Union supply train from Fort Scott, Kansas to Fort Gibson, Oklahoma . As Williams approached the Cabin Creek crossing, he was informed that the...
. (His commission reportedly predated Stand Watie's by one month, putting him in command by seniority—but it also seems unlikely that his Texas troopers would have allowed themselves to be commanded by a Cherokee.) In this action, the general was wounded again but Confederate forces totalling about 2,000 captured a federal supply train of some three hundred wagons and 750 mules, valued at more than two million dollars. In a congratulatory telegram, Gen. Kirby Smith called this "one of the most brilliant raids of the entire war".
In January 1865, as part of a last reorganization of troops west of the Mississippi by Kirby Smith, the brigade was ordered to Nacogdoches
Nacogdoches, Texas
Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...
, but on May 26, the Army of the Trans-Mississippi
Army of the Trans-Mississippi
The Army of the Trans-Mississippi was the major Confederate field army for the Department of the Trans-Mississippi during the American Civil War...
surrendered to federal forces. Gano had been recommended for promotion to major general but the war ended before this could be acted upon.
Postwar career
In 1866, Gano returned to Kentucky, where he was ordained a minister in the Disciples of Christ by his father and by Winthrop Hobson of the Old Union Church. By 1870, he had taken up residence in Dallas, where he resumed stockraising and preached regularly. Over the next thirty years, he was instrumental in establishing a number of churches, both in north Texas and in Kentucky, and was active in the ProhibitionProhibition
Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, is the practice of prohibiting the manufacture, transportation, import, export, sale, and consumption of alcohol and alcoholic beverages. The term can also apply to the periods in the histories of the countries during which the...
movement of the 1880s.
As a stockman in the later 19th century, Gano imported a number of important bloodlines into Texas, including cattle, horses, sheep, and hogs. He also was a general businessman, forming a real estate company with two of his sons, and serving as vice president of the Estado Land and Cattle Company and as a director of the Bankers and Merchants National Bank in Dallas. These involvements led to his becoming a millionaire. He also was active in United Confederate Veterans
United Confederate Veterans
The United Confederate Veterans, also known as the UCV, was a veteran's organization for former Confederate soldiers of the American Civil War, and was equivalent to the Grand Army of the Republic which was the organization for Union veterans....
.
Richard Gano died March 27, 1913 at his home at the corner of Cedar Springs and Oaklawn Avenue in Dallas and is buried in Oakland Cemetery.
In recent years, the "dog-trot" house
Dogtrot house
The dogtrot, also known as a breezeway house, dog-run, or possum-trot, is a style of house that was common throughout the Southeastern United States during the 19th and early 20th centuries. Most theories place its origins in the southern Appalachian Mountains. Some scholars believe the style...
he purchased at Grapevine Prairie in 1856 was moved to Dallas's Old City Park. The house was originally built of logs and was later covered with white clapboard siding. Gen. Richard M. Gano Chapter #2433 of the United Daughters of the Confederacy
United Daughters of the Confederacy
The United Daughters of the Confederacy is a women's heritage association dedicated to honoring the memory of those who served in the military and died in service to the Confederate States of America . UDC began as the National Association of the Daughters of the Confederacy, organized in 1894 by...
, Texas Division, meets in Irving, Texas
Irving, Texas
Irving is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within Dallas County. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city population was 216,290. Irving is within the Dallas–Plano–Irving metropolitan division of the Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan area, designated...
.