Solon Borland | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Borland byMathew Brady | |
| Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (Nicaragua) | |
| In office April 18, 1853 – April 17, 1854 | |
| President | Franklin Pierce |
| Preceded by | John B. Kerr |
| Succeeded by | John H. Wheeler |
| United States Senator fromArkansas | |
| In office April 24, 1848 – March 3, 1853 | |
| Preceded by | Ambrose Hundley Sevier |
| Succeeded by | Robert Ward Johnson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1808-09-21)September 21, 1808 |
| Died | January 1, 1864(1864-01-01) (aged 55) |
| Resting place | Old City Cemetery, Houston, Texas, US 29°46′06.5″N95°22′04.6″W / 29.768472°N 95.367944°W /29.768472; -95.367944 |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouses | |
| Education | Louisville Medical Institute (MD) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  United States Confederate States |
| Service | |
| Years of service |
|
| Rank | |
| Commands |
|
| Battles | |
| Monuments | Borland Memorial Marker, Mount Holly Cemetery, Little Rock, Arkansas |
Solon Borland (September 21, 1808 – January 1, 1864) was an American politician, journalist, physician and military officer. He served as aUnited States Senator fromArkansas from 1848 to 1853. Later in life, he served as anofficer of theConfederate States Army, including as commander of acavalry regiment in theTrans-Mississippi theater of the American Civil War.
Borland was born on September 21, 1808, inNansemond County, Virginia, to Thomas Borland, a native of Scotland, and Harriet Godwin Borland.[1] When he was a youth, his family moved toMurfreesboro, North Carolina, where he attendedHertford Academy. Borland also studied medicine inPhiladelphia andLouisville. As a captain in 1831, he led a company of Virginia militia forces that were dispatched toSouthampton County to fightNat Turner's Rebellion.[2] He owned slaves himself.[3]
Borland was elected as aUnited States Senator to fill the unexpired term ofAmbrose H. 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 S. Foote. He discovered soon after his return toLittle Rock, Arkansas, that his views were not popular at home, either. In 1852, he opposed the decision of sendingCommodore Perry to openJapan to international trade on grounds that the leaders of that country did not offend U.S. interests by refusing to open their country to international trade.[4] Borland resigned from the United States Senate in 1853 and was appointed asEnvoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary (Nicaragua).[5]
Immediately after his arrival inManagua, Borland called for the U.S. Government to repudiate theClayton–Bulwer Treaty, and for the American military to supportHonduras in the event of a possible war with Great 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 bySecretary of StateWilliam Marcy. While leavingGreytown in May, 1854, Borland interfered with the local arrest of an American citizen. A crowd had gathered, and a bottle was thrown which hit Borland in the face. Enraged, he reported the incident to theU.S. president, who promptly dispatched agunboat, and demanded an apology. When none was given, Greytownwas bombarded and destroyed.[5]
Borland returned to Little Rock in October 1854, and resumed his medical practice and operation of hispharmacy. Borland declined a nomination fromPresident Pierce asgovernor of theNew Mexico Territory. However he remained active in local politics, and very vocal as to his views onstate's rights andsecession.[5]
During theMexican–American War, Borland was commissionedmajor of the Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment serving underArchibald Yell. Borland served throughout the war, having turned over his newspaper business to associates. He was taken as aprisoner of war by the Mexican army on January 23, 1847, just south ofSaltillo. He escaped,[1] 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 thecapture of Mexico City on September 14, 1847.[6]
At the start of theAmerican Civil War, Borland was appointed as a commander of ArkansasMilitia by Arkansas GovernorHenry M. 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. Borland's only son with his third wife, George Godwin Borland, had joined the Confederate States Army despite being only 16 years of age, and would later bekilled in action. Borland's first wife, Huldah G. Wright (1809–1837), bore him a son Harold who served in the Confederate States Army as a major, assigned to the Eastern Sub-district of Texas of theTrans-Mississippi Department.[7]
Borland helped recruit troops for theConfederacy during this period, helping to raise the3rd Arkansas Cavalry Regiment on June 10, 1861, becoming its first colonel. The regiment was sent toCorinth, Mississippi, but without Borland. It would eventually serve under Major-GeneralJoseph 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.[5]
While in command of northern Arkansas, he ordered anembargo of goods to end pricespeculation, which was rescinded by Governor Rector. Borland protested that a governor could not countermand an order from a Confederate official, but in January 1862 his order was countermanded by theConfederate States Secretary of WarJudah P. Benjamin. In declining health and resenting that embarrassment, Borland resigned from further service to the Confederacy in June 1862, moving toDallas County, Arkansas. He died on January 1, 1864, aged 55, inHarris County, Texas. His burial place is in the old City Cemetery,Houston.[5]
In 1843, following his second wife's death, Borland moved to Little Rock, where he founded theArkansas Banner, which became an influential newspaper in statewideDemocratic Party politics. Three years later, Borland challenged the editor of the rivalArkansas Gazette, aWhig newspaper, to aduel due to aslander published against him.[8]
In October 1855, Borland, withAlbert Pike andChristopher C. Danley, abandoned the Democratic Party, claiming the party had become abolitionist. Danley, who was an editor for the aforementionedArkansas Gazette, took ownership fromWilliam E. Woodruff in 1853 and turned it into a mouthpiece for theKnow Nothing party, which Danley and Borland had joined in October 1855.[9]
Articles related to Solon Borland | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
