Thomas William Ward: a Left-Handed Leader and War Hero of the GLO
August 13 is International Lefthanders Day, a great occasion to pay tribute to one of the most colorful lefthanders in the Republic of Texas — Commissioner of the General Land Office, Thomas William Ward. Unlike most lefties, Ward was not born left-handed; he ended up that way after a celebration went wrong.
Ward spent the first half of his life employing his right hand as his dominant appendage. It was only a matter of bad luck involving a cannon in 1840 that made him a lefty at the age of thirty-two. As his story shows, this was, unfortunately, neither his first nor his last encounter with a cannon.
Born in Dublin, Ireland in 1807, Thomas William Ward left Ireland at the age of 21 to search for fresh opportunities in Canada. Shortly after arriving in Quebec, he made his way to New Orleans. Upon learning of the conflict in Texas, he enlisted as a private for the New Orleans Grays on October 13, 1835.[2] The Grays arrived in the vicinity of San Antonio in mid-November, in time to take part in the Siege of Bexar. On December 5, Ward received a near-fatal blow when his right leg was crushed by a cannonball during the Texian siege of the town. His leg was immediately amputated just above the knee.[3]
It was this ill-fated injury at the Siege of Bexar that earned Ward his legendary status as a Texas hero.[4] After the battle ended, he traveled to New Orleans to be fitted with a rudimentary wooden leg. This prosthesis earned him a new moniker: “Peg Leg.” Ward continued to serve in a staff capacity through December 1836, achieving the rank of Colonel in the Texas army.
Despite his prominence as a military hero, Ward’s pugnacious personality showed through on more than a few occasions, and he was quick to issue challenges to anyone who he felt had slighted him.[5] These personal disputes were usually resolved before escalating to all-out duels. On one occasion, however, Ward and an unnamed member of Congress did arrange a duel that ended with his opponent lodging a shot into Ward’s wooden leg.[6] [7]
Ward eventually moved to Austin, the newly minted capital of the Republic, and was elected mayor in 1840. It was in Austin where he experienced his second near-fatal encounter with artillery. On March 2, 1840, citizens of Austin were enjoying an Independence Day celebration where Ward, an adept artilleryman, was scheduled to fire a celebratory cannon salute. As Ward loaded the cannon, it misfired, maiming Ward’s right side. At the age of 32, his right arm was badly injured, which required amputation at the shoulder before the day was over.
Ward spent the rest of his life with no option but to be left-handed. He adapted by learning to write with his left hand, which is evident when viewing his backhand signature found on many records from his time as Land Commissioner.
Unsurprisingly, the lack of a right arm did not stand in the way of Ward’s confrontational character. He soon became skilled at shooting a pistol with his left hand and continued to issue challenges to anyone who affronted him.[8]
When his mayoral term expired, President David G. Burnet nominated Ward as the second Commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, and he took office in January 1841. Just over a year into his seven-year tenure as Land Commissioner, Ward again found himself again at the wrong end of a cannon, during a tumultuous affair that became known as the Archive War, which saw Angelina Eberly fire a cannon at the Land Office as government officials tried to move the archives to Houston.[9]
Ward’s injuries caused him intense physical, mental and emotional pain throughout his life, but they did not deter him from serving in public roles until his death. Despite the animosity between him and the citizens of Austin during the Archive War, he went on to be elected mayor two more times, in 1852, and 1864. In the interim, he also served as United States consul to Panama from 1853 to 1856. Ward died of typhoid fever on November 25, 1872, and is buried in the Texas State Cemetery.
[1] http://www.lefthandersday.com/
[2] For many young men, the promise of abundant land in return for service in the Texas Revolution was incentive enough to add their names to the growing list of volunteers bound for Texas to fight Mexican leader Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. (David C. Humphrey, Peg Leg: The Improbable Life of a Texas Hero, Thomas William Ward, 1807–1872 (Denton: Texas State Historical Association: 2009), 19.)
[3] Two days later, Ben Milam was killed by a Mexican sharpshooter, and legend has it that Ward’s severed leg was buried alongside Milam. However, considering that a few days passed between Ward’s amputation and Milam’s burial, this is an improbable tale that was likely spun years later.
[4] In recognition of his service in the Siege of Bexar, Ward received a 640-acre Donation certificate from the Republic of Texas.
[5] It has been postulated that Ward’s defiant personality possibly resulted from his wartime service (post-traumatic stress disorder) or permanent injuries, during a time when handicaps could make a person an object of derision or pity. Humphrey, Peg Leg, pp. 32, 93–4, 248–9.
[6] Humphrey, Peg Leg, 42–43.
[7] Beginning in 1846, GLO employees were required to sign oaths of office in which they swore that they had never participated in a duel. Ward’s 1844 oath of office contains no such language. Sidney P. Brown, an assistant clerk who began his employment at the GLO on September 1, 1846, appears to be the first example of such a declaration.
[8] Humphrey, Peg Leg, 57.
[9] In April 1842, Ward was forced to halt operations at the land office due to the occupation of San Antonio by a force of 800 Mexican soldiers. Fearing the invasion put the capital city at risk of an attack, President Houston ordered the government and related archives back to Houston. Most government officials obliged and reconvened in Houston. Ward was eager and willing to follow the orders of the President but found himself in a precarious situation when a group of Austinites essentially took the records of the land office hostage and vowed to form an armed resistance if anyone attempted to remove the archives from Austin. Houston agreed to let the archives stay to Austin to avoid unnecessary bloodshed over the matter. The records of the land office were held by the citizens of Austin until 1844 when Ward was finally able to resume business operations.
