Tejano History

Kemper, Samuel

Kemper, Samuel

Tejanos |

       KEMPER, SAMUEL (?–1814). Samuel Kemper, filibuster, was born in Fauquier County, Virginia, and moved with his father to Ohio in 1800. The next year Samuel, Reuben, and Nathan Kemper took up their residence in southwestern Mississippi and West Florida. Frequently in trouble with Spanish authorities, the Kemper brothers led an abortive rebellion in West Florida in 1804. Kemper operated a tavern at Pinckneyville until he became a major in the Gutiérrez-Magee expedition. He led the advance guard, which forced Royalist defenders of Nacogdoches to retreat and paved the way for the village's occupation on August 12, 1812. When Augustus W. Magee died at La Bahía on February 6, 1813, Kemper became commander of the American contingent.

 

Full article on the Texas State Historical Association's Handbook of Texas Online

   Courtesy of the Texas State Historical Association.