08/20/2026
Augustus Quarles was a young frontier lawyer in Southport. Born in 1821 in Massachusetts, he was the youngest son of Francis Quarles. He was the uncle of Joseph V Quarles, Sr. and great-uncle of (Senator and Federal Judge) Joseph V. Quarles, Jr. He likely came to Southport with his father and brothers in 1838.
When war with Mexico began, the US Army was minuscule, and both divided into very small posts and split between two potential armed conflicts (with Mexico in Texas, and with Britain in Oregon). Faced with a large and battle-tested Mexican force (although comparatively poorly supplied, and poorly armed), the US expanded the Army by over half. Ten new regiments were to be raised. This new force would be supplemented by volunteer regiments raised by individual states.
Wisconsin Territory wasn't populated enough to raise “state” volunteer units. Many traveled south to join Illinois units or east to join Ohio units, but under pressure from Wisconsin's territorial representative in Washington, Morgan Lewis Martin, the territory was targeted to raise a single company of Federal infantry: Company F, 15th US Infantry. The mechanism of selecting officers isn't clear: most sources say Augustus Quarles "applied" for the post, but it's unclear if this was a political application or some kind of competitive posting. During the Civil War, this sort of appointment, to the regular army, would be political; whereas a volunteer company commander would have been elected by the men in the company. Nevertheless, Quarles received an appointment as its commander.
"I've got it, I've got it!" Augustus yelled as he ran out of the Post Office on the northeast corner of 6th Avenue and 57th Street, into the cold March daylight. He probably ran north, past Rouse Simmons store, to Market Square. He waved a large envelope over his head. A crowd gathered around him, congratulating the young lawyer. There had not been a major conflict in a generation, not since the War of 1812, and military service in wartime was seen as an important stepping stone in civic life: the American “cursus honorum”, the pre-plotted course to honorable political leadership determined by colonial and Revolutionary forbears.
Quarles began recruiting immediately. He extolled the crowd to volunteer, paid for advertisements in the newspapers. In a week’s time, he would hold a recruiting party. All recruits would receive a $12 enlistment bonus, be entitled to $7 a month (minus deductions), and on the completion of service each veteran would be entitled to 160 acres of land or $100. The enlistment period, set by Congress, was the duration of the war. Seven or eight from Southport would enlist. Don Jensen identified several of them. Daniel Rhodes of Southport would become a sergeant, and be badly wounded in the war. And three from Brighton—Moses and David Whitney, and William Holmes—would not return.
After Quarles’ short recruiting period in Southport, his party set off for Milwaukee. Milwaukee’s German population ended up being fertile recruiting grounds, despite a simmering conflict between Yankee and German interests in drafting potential state Constitutions. The two lieutenants appointed to the company were both Milwaukee Germans and, after a short time, the company was recruited to 110 men. For weeks they drilled on Milwaukee’s Wisconsin Avenue before mustering at the Milwaukee Harbor on 2 May 1847 to begin their trip to Mexico.
Why war with Mexico? This is going to be oversimplified.
Mexico won its independence, in 1821, after ten years of war with Spain. But the new Mexican state was not firmly grounded. At first, Mexico tried to be a monarchy, but collapsed into civil war within years. Then a republic was established, but even this was unstable: threatened from military and Clerical plots from within the government, fighting endless wars with indigenous peoples, and being the victim of multiple attempts by European powers to reassert control. The government didn’t really control its northern frontier, and invited outside settlement to assert some control. This is how American settlers originally came to Texas and the Southwest. They had a large degree of autonomy, but sent their taxes to Mexico City, so it was all good. But in the 1830s, the Mexican Republic was usurped, and a new dictatorship-by-council tried to reign in the periphery under central control; which included replacing American-style slavery with the Spanish-style Hacienda system (slavery under a different name, but that wasn't good enough). Settlers resisted this, and after a brief war Texas became independent. Peopled by Americans, Texas almost immediately petitioned to join the US. Mexico was not happy with losing this territory, and was concerned about other regions where Americans had been invited in. The costs of all of this conflict emptied the coffers of the Mexican government.
The US was in the depths of “Manifest Destiny”. This idea said that the US was destined to rule the continent, from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Other peoples in the way were merely temporary barriers. Between 1825 and 1846, the US had petitioned Mexico to outright purchase their northern territories. This was possible because the Northeast was rapidly industrializing, and the Southern slave economy was shipping out ever greater amounts of cash crops. When James K Polk was elected in 1844, he set four hard goals for his administration and one of these was to gain control of the northern part of Mexico. Texas was added to the US in 1845.
Here’s where the problem lay: the border between Mexico and Texas was not agreed upon. Texas claimed their southern border was the Rio Grande River. Mexico claimed the border was on the Nueces River, a considerable distance into modern-day Texas. Because Texas claimed land that Mexico believed they did not own, the acceptance of Texas’ land claim by the US via annexation caused Mexico to break off diplomatic relations. Both the US and Mexico sent military forces into the disputed territory. U.S. Grant, a lieutenant at the time, wrote in his candid autobiography that the military understood that they were to provoke a war. And they did. After a period of provocative movements, on April 25, 1846 a Mexican cavalry force attacked an American detachment in the disputed land between the rivers.
And Polk had a war.
A year later, Quarles’ men shivered on the docks. They would not receive uniforms until their arrival in Detroit, en route to Covington, Ky, New Orleans, and Winfield Scott’s amphibious invasion of Mexico. Commanded by Joshua Howard, a veteran of the War of 1812 and a skilled engineer, the 15th Infantry joined the invasion after Veracruz was captured. Winfield Scott conceived of a campaign which would invade via the Gulf of Mexico and strike at Mexico City while the majority of Mexican forces were occupied in the north. After gathering supplies and reinforcements, Scott launched at Mexico City. And in August, US forces entered the Valley of Mexico, once an amazing feat of human geo-engineering, Spanish settlers had long since altered the Aztec lake systems to gain farmland. As US forces entered the valley from the southeast, some remaining lakes, and the imposing volcanic glass and lava field "El Pedregal," forced attacks into chokepoints. On the 19th of August 1847, US forces attacked south and west of the Pedregal into the Battle of Contraras. Quarles was singled out in reports for his coolness and leadership in the battle, his baptism of fire. That night, major forces disengaged and moved north and east across the Pedregal, crossing the fields of volcanic glass into the Battle of Churubusco, on the 20th.
At Churubusco, Mexican forces occupied a fortified convent and an entrenched redoubt which together dominated a vital river crossing which the retreating Mexican Army was crossing. The fortified points did their job and allowed the majority of the Mexican force to retreat. US forces eventually crossed the river elsewhere and closed in and surrounded a couple of thousand Mexican soldiers still in their fortified positions. But they were unable to surrender due to the presence of the San Patricio Battalion. This unit, partially drawn from US Army deserters who refused to fight against fellow Catholics, violently prevented white flags from being displayed.
133 American soldiers were killed attacking the fortified positions. The 15th Infantry crossed a marsh and advanced up a defended incline. Captain Quarles, who was conspicuous in his uniform, led the advance. The Valley of Mexico appears quite moderate in temperature due to its altitude, averaging about 76 degrees in the day during August. But the march across Mexico was routinely in 90+ degree heat, and August is the peak of the rainy season so humidity was extreme. Due to the heat and discomfort, most officers had taken to wearing enlisted coats, which were lighter, but Quarles insisted on wearing his full regalia, telling his peers he “preferred to die like a gentleman.” Advancing up the slope, Company F took shelter behind a stone wall and tried to return fire in an unequal exchange with Mexican artillery. The account read before the legislature a year later said that:
“They were few in numbers and before them were the rocky ramparts of the enemy, behind which glistened their countless bayonets. It was a time to try men’s souls. To go backward was defeat to our arms and disaster to our cause. To go forward seemed certain death… That the bravest should pause under such circumstances is not surprising. It was at this critical moment that Capt. Quarles was struck by a ball from an enemy’s gun.”
Quarles turned over command and requested to be taken a distance to the rear, where he died during the afternoon. 40 men from Wisconsin did not return from Mexico. The Battle of Churubusco ended when Mexican troops were finally able to get word of their desire to surrender to American forces. 1800 prisoners were taken, including 72 deserters of the Saint Patrick Battalion.
Unlike most of Wisconsin’s Mexican War dead, Augustus Quarles was brought home. Julius Kimball, local printer, was commissioned by the community to travel to New Orleans and arrange the return of his remains. Almost a year after his death, on 27 June 1848, the steamer Ohio, carrying Augustus Quarles’ body, came into harbor at Southport. He was met by two militia companies in the city, Protection Fire Company No. 1, and local and visiting Odd Fellows. Another steamer, Globe, followed from Chicago, with a military es**rt. The body was taken to a private residence for a family funeral, and then was given a military parade to Market Square, where Quarles received a public eulogy by Levi Hubbell, a famous Wisconsin jurist and militia General. A procession was then formed and the parade proceeded to Greenridge Cemetery. At the graveside, the Odd Fellows lowered their departed member as local militia companies fired salutes. It was the most elaborate public funeral in Wisconsin history to that point.
Later that year, the legislature and citizens of Southport placed the obelisk which reads:
“Erected by the Legislature of Wisconsin Territory - Augustus Quarles, Captain 15th U. S. Infantry, Fell at Churubusco, Mexico, August 20th A. D. 1847. Aged 26 Years.”
Augustus Quarles’ grave is at the top of the knoll on the very north side of Greenridge, just off of Durkee Drive, north of where it meets Gate Road.
The image is a CdV featuring an image identified as Augustus Quarles. It is possible it is simply a photograph of a drawn portrait, or an example of drawing in the details over an incorrectly exposed photo. Both are common. The CdV was produced by Hoag and Quick's Art Palace in Cincinnati, which is across the river from the aforementioned Covington, but there is no suggestion of a date for production.
