The outbreak of the Texas Revolution in October of 1835 brought into the conflict a number of locally raised volunteer military units from various places in the United States. In Courtland, Alabama, Dr. Jack Shackelford raised his own company of nearly 70 enthusiastic volunteers who would come to be known collectively as the Red Rovers. An accomplished and progressive doctor, Shackelford served Texas not only with his military skill and command, but by his treatment and care of both Texan and Mexican soldiers wounded in battle. After their capture under the command of Colonel James W. Fannin, Jr. at the battle of Coleto, Dr. Shackelford was spared execution at the Goliad Massacre because of his training as a physician. He endured several weeks as a prisoner of war at Goliad and then at San Antonio before escaping the retreating Mexican army after the battle of San Jacinto.
After returning to his home state of Alabama from the conflict in Texas, Dr. Shackelford continued living and working in the town of Courtland with his family. Although his eldest son had died in the war, he and his wife Maria raised two other sons and a daughter. Dr. Jack Shackelford died on January 22, 1857, and a year later in 1858 Shackelford County was established and named in honor of the contributions and sacrifices he had made for the Texas cause.
Molly Sauder, Archivist and Librarian
