Lawrence Sullivan Ross

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Lawrence Sullivan Ross ("Sul" Ross) (September 27, 1838 – January 3, 1898) was a Confederate States Army general during the American Civil War. He served as governor of Texas from January 18, 1887 to January 20, 1891.

Lawrence Sullivan Ross as depicted in the Texas Capitol Building.

Ross was born in Bentonsport, Iowa Territory, to Catherine and Shapley Prince Ross. The Ross family came to Texas and settled in Milam County, Texas in 1839, and in Waco in 1849. He graduated from Baylor University at Independence, Texas, and after receiving further private tutoring, was able to enroll at Florence Wesleyan College (now the University of North Alabama) in 1857. He spent his vacations assisting the military in operations against hostile tribes of Native Americans in north Texas, where his father was Indian Agent at the Salt Fork Reservation. In 1859, he earned praise as a member of the U.S. Army's Indian auxiliaries for his efforts in fighting the Comanche tribe in the Indian Territory.

Sul Ross Statue at Texas A&M.

Sam Houston appointed Ross as a captain in the Texas Rangers, where he led the Waco Company against hostile Native American tribes. In 1860, his pursuit of a Comanche raiding party would result in the recapture of Cynthia Ann Parker who, as a girl of nine, had been taken from her family's farm by a Comanche raiding party twenty-four years before. He declined an offer from General Winfield Scott of a formal commission in the U.S. Army. In 1861, he joined Waco Masonic Lodge No. 92, where both his father and older brother were members.

In 1861, he joined the Confederate Army when Texas seceded, and, by 1864, had been promoted to brigadier general and commander of the Texas Cavalry Brigade (aka Ross's Brigade). Ross distinguished himself during the Atlanta Campaign, fighting several successful smaller actions. He also capably led his brigade during the Franklin-Nashville Campaign. He was in Texas on furlough when his men surrendered to Union forces at Jackson, Mississippi, in May 1865. By some estimations, he participated in 135 battles and skirmishes during his career as a Confederate officer.

After the surrender of the Confederacy, Ross retired to farming in Texas with his wife, Elizabeth Dorothy Tinsley. In 1873, he was elected sheriff of McLennan County, and he would later serve as a constitutional delegate in the writing of the Constitution of 1876.

In 1880, Ross was elected to the Texas State Senate, and, in 1886, he ran for the position of governor and was elected. After his second term as governor ended in 1891, he took over the presidency of the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas (now Texas A&M University). Ross would return public confidence in the troubled school and served as its president until his death, which was caused by exposure during a hunting expedition along the Trinity River. He was buried in Waco.

Sul Ross State University, in Alpine, Texas, was named in his honor, as was Sul Ross Masonic Lodge No. 1300 at College Station. Additionally, the Ross Volunteer Company, a specialty unit within Texas A&M’s Corps of Cadets, the oldest student organization in Texas, and the official honor guard for the Governor of Texas, bears his name.

"Sully", as he is affectionately called by Aggies, remains a highly respected figure in the history of Texas A&M University. His statue is located on the plaza outside of the Academic Building. Freshman members of the Cadet Corps are traditionally required to memorize the inscription on his statue:

Lawrence Sullivan Ross

1838-1898

Soldier, Statesman, Knightly Gentleman.

Brigadier General, C.S.A.

Governor of Texas.

President of the A. & M. College.

In more recent years, students began the tradition of placing pennies at his feet before exams for good luck, as legend says Ross would tutor students in his office for a penny during his tenure as president of Texas A&M. (The legend is apocryphal.)

In World War II the United States liberty ship SS Sul Ross was named in his honor.

[edit] External link

Lawrence Sullivan Ross from the Handbook of Texas Online

Preceded by: John Ireland	Governor of Texas 1887-1891	Succeeded by: James Stephen Hogg
Preceded by: John W. Moore	Texas Senate, District 22 1881-1883	Succeeded by: John A. Martin