George Croghan, Tragic Hero of Fort Stephenson-- Part 2: Mexican War

When Andrew Jackson became president, he appointed George Croghan as inspector general of the army, which post he held from 1829 to his death twenty years later.  He was much respected but drank very heavily.  His wife got a legal separation from him to keep him from selling her possessions.  But Jackson continued to support Croghan.

In 1846, at the age of  54, George Croghan was called to serve on the staff of General Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War.  Taylor had grown up next door to Croghan in Louisville at Locust Grove.

While in Mexico, like many soldiers, George Croghan got dysentery  and his weight dropped from 168 to 145 pounds.

At the Battle of Monterrey, the soldiers of a Tennessee regiment recalled Croghan riding ahead of them at the enemy, with his gray hair tossing in the wind and yelling:  "Men of Tennessee, your fathers conquered with Jackson at New Orleans-- Follow Me!"

He was never able to shake his illness and died at New Orleans on January 8, 1849, the 35th anniversary of the Battle of New Orleans.

--Brock-Perry