FRANCIS THEODORE BRYAN
(1823-1917)

Francis  Theodore Bryan, soldier and engineer, the son of John H. Bryan,  was born at New Bern, North Carolina, on April 11, 1823. In 1842  he graduated with honors from the University of North Carolina and  in July 1842 was appointed from that state to the United States  Military Academy, where he graduated sixth in his class in 1846. As  a lieutenant in the Topographical Engineers, he served during the  Mexican War on the staff of Gen. Zachary Taylor, was wounded  at Buena Vista, and was decorated and brevetted first lieutenant for  gallant and meritorious conduct. In 1849 Bryan was sent to Texas to  explore a northern route from San Antonio to El Paso via  Fredericksburg, the San Saba River, and the Guadalupe Mountains.  Upon reaching El Paso on July 29, 1849, he reported on the  feasibility of the route and recommended sinking wells along the  road. In the next few months he made numerous reconnaissance  tours between San Antonio and Fort Belknap, Fort Belknap and  Fort Graham, and San Antonio and Dona Ana and opened a wagon  road between Austin and Fort Mason. He was promoted to first  lieutenant in July 1851 and to captain in July 1860. With the outbreak of the Civil War, he resigned his commission on June 10, 1861, and  started to return to North Carolina but was arrested so that he could  not join the Confederate Army. After the war, Bryan went into business in St. Louis. In 1891 he presented to the University of  North Carolina a collection of rare books on engineering,  architecture, and biblical and classical literature. He died in St. Louis on October 24, 1917.

 BIBLIOGRAPHY: Kemp Plummer Battle, History of the  University of North Carolina (2 vols., Raleigh: Edwards and  Broughton, 1907-12; rpt., Spartanburg, South Carolina: Reprint  Company, 1974). A. B. Bender, "Opening Routes Across West  Texas, 1848-1850," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 37  (October 1933); continued as "The Texas Frontier, 1848-1861:  Government Explorations in Texas, 1851-1860," ibid. 38 (October  1934). Francis B. Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary of  the United States Army (2 vols., Washington: GPO, 1903; rpt.,  Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1965). Raleigh News and  Observer, October 26, 1917. Vertical Files, Barker Texas History  Center, University of Texas at Austin.

                   William S. Powell