- Solon Borland
Infobox Senator
name=Solon Borland
jr/sr=United States Senator
state=Arkansas
party=Democrat
term=March 30 ,1848 –April 11 ,1853
preceded=Ambrose Hundley Sevier
succeeded=Robert Ward Johnson
date of birth=September 21 ,1811
place of birth= Suffolk,Virginia
date of death=death date and age|1864|1|1|1811|9|21
place of death= Houston,Texas
restingplace = Mt. Holly Cemetery Little Rock,Arkansas
restingplacecoordinates = coord|34.7375|-92.2783|type:landmark
spouse=Hildah Wright Eliza Buck Hart Mary Isabel Melbourne
profession=Politician ,Lawyer ,Publisher ,Physician Solon Borland (1808 –
January 1 ,1864 ) was a newspaperman, soldier, diplomat, Democratic United States Senator from the State ofArkansas and a Confederate officer during theAmerican Civil War .Early life
Borland was born in
Suffolk, Virginia . When he was a youth, his family moved toNorth Carolina , where he attended preparatory schools. He later studiedmedicine and opened a practice. He married three times, first in 1831 to Hildah Wright of Virginia, who died in 1837, and with whom he had two sons. He then married Eliza Buck Hart ofMemphis, Tennessee in 1839, but she died in 1842, with no offspring. In 1843 following his second wife's death, he moved toLittle Rock, Arkansas , where he founded the "Arkansas Banner", which became an influential newspaper in state-wide Democratic politics. Three years later, he challenged the editor of the rival "Arkansas Gazette", a Whig paper, to aduel due to a slander published against Doctor Borland. In 1845 he had met Mary Isabel Melbourne, of Little Rock, with whom he would marry that same year and later have three children.Mexican-American War
During the
Mexican-American War , Borland was commissioned as a major in the Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry, serving underArchibald Yell . He served throughout the war, having turned over his newspaper to associates. Borland was taken as aprisoner of war by the Mexican army on January 23, 1847, just south ofSaltillo, Coahuila . He escaped, and was discharged when his regiment was disbanded and mustered out in June, but continued in the army as volunteeraide-de-camp to GeneralWilliam J. Worth during the remainder of the campaign, from theBattle of Molino del Rey to the capture of Mexico City onSeptember 14 ,1847 .Controversial politics
After the war, he was elected as a United States Senator to fill the unexpired term of
Ambrose Hundley Sevier . His views were generally of a disunionist version, and he was not popular with many senate members. During an 1850 debate over southern rights, he physically attackedMississippi SenatorHenry Foote . He discovered soon after his return to Little Rock that his views were not popular at home, either. Borland resigned from the Senate in 1853 and served as United States Minister toNicaragua through 1854. However, this duty did not run smoothly for him either.Immediately after his arrival in
Managua , he called for the US Government to repudiate theClayton-Bulwer Treaty , and for the American military to supportHonduras in its confrontation withGreat Britain . In a public address in Nicaragua, he stated that it was his greatest ambition to see Nicaragua "forming a bright star in the flag of the United States". He was reprimanded for this byUS Secretary of State William Marcy . While leavingSan Juan del Norte in May, 1854, Borland interfered with the local arrest of an American citizen. He was threatened with arrest, but due to hisdiplomatic immunity , no arrest was made. However, a crowd had gathered, and a bottle was thrown which hit Borland in the face. Enraged, he reported the incident to the United States, who promptly dispatched agunboat , and demanded an apology. When none was given, the town was bombarded and burned.Borland returned to Little Rock in October of 1854, and resumed his medical practice and operation of his
pharmacy . Borland declined a nomination from President Pierce asGovernor of theNew Mexico Territory . However he remained active in local politics, and very vocal as to his views on states rights and secession.Civil War service, death
At the start of the Civil War, Borland was appointed as a commander of the state
militia by Arkansas GovernorHenry Massie Rector , and ordered to lead the expedition that seizedFort Smith, Arkansas in the first days of the war, despite the fact that Arkansas had not yet seceded. By the time Borland and his forces arrived in Fort Smith, the Federal troops had already departed, and there were no shots fired. He was replaced as commander at the Arkansas Secession convention less than a month later, but he was able to obtain a position as a commander for Northeast Arkansas. For a time in 1861 he commanded the depot at Pitman's Ferry, nearPocahontas, Arkansas , responsible for troop deployments and supplies. His only son with his third wife, George Godwin Borland, had joined the Confederate Army despite being only 16 years of age, and would later bekilled in action .Borland helped recruit troops for the
Confederate States Army during this period, and helped raise the "3rd Arkansas Cavalry " on June 10th, 1861, and became its firstcolonel . The regiment was sent toCorinth, Mississippi , but without Borland. The regiment would eventually serve underMajor General Joseph Wheeler , seeing action in theSecond Battle of Corinth and theBattle of Hatchie's Bridge , along with other battles as a part of theArmy of Mississippi . However, Borland never left Arkansas.While in his command position for the Northern Arkansas Militia, he ordered an embargo of goods to end price speculation, which was rescinded by Governor Rector. Borland protested that a governor could not countermand an order from a Confederate official, but in January of 1862 his order was countermanded by the
Confederate States Secretary of War at the time,Judah P. Benjamin . In declining health and resenting that embarrassment, Borland resigned from further service to the Confederacy in June, 1862, moving toDallas County, Arkansas . Borland died before the wars end, inHarris County, Texas . His burial place is in Mount Holly Cemetery inLittle Rock, Arkansas .References
*appletons
*congbio|B000642 Retrieved on2008-02-13
* [http://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?search=1&entryID=1595 Encyclopedia of Arkansas]External links
* [http://www.sallysfamilyplace.com/MulberryGrove/borlandsolon.htm Borland biography and timeline]
* [http://www.couchgenweb.com/civilwar/3cav_indx.html 3rd Arkansas Cavalry]
* [http://www.sallysfamilyplace.com/MulberryGrove/borlandsolon.htm Borland Timeline]
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