John Selden Roane

John Selden Roane was born in Wilson County, Tennessee, and educated at Cumberland College, which at the time was located in Princeton, Kentucky. He migrated to the new state of Arkansas in 1837, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. He was Prosecuting Attorney for the 2nd Judicial District of Arkansas from 1840 to 1842, a member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from 1842 to 1844, and the fourth Governor of Arkansas from 1849 to 1852.

At the outbreak of the Mexican War, Roane was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel of the Arkansas Mounted Infantry Regiment, succeeding to command when Colonel Archibald Yell was mortally wounded repelling the charge of the Mexican lancers at the Battle of Buena Vista. Roane was officially appointed Colonel on February 28, 1847. He was known to be jealous of the honor of his state and once challenged Albert Pike to a duel over what he perceived as derogatory statements made about the regiment's actions in the war. The duel was fought, but neither combatant was injured.

On March 20, 1862, Roane was appointed to the grade of brigadier-general in the Confederate States Army. After most Confederate troops were moved from Arkansas across the Mississippi River, he was placed in charge of the defense of Arkansas. At this time Arkansas was nearly defenseless; and Roane, with the newly appointed commander of the Trans-Mississippi District (also known as Department Number Two), Major-General Thomas Hindman, cobbled together a reasonable defensive force. Roane took part in numerous battles within the Trans-Mississippi Theater, including the battles of Whitney's Lane and Prairie Grove.

On February 1, 1855, Roane married Mary Kim Smith (1833–1907) of Dallas, Arkansas.

Roane died in Jefferson County, Arkansas, and is buried at Oakland Cemetery, Little Rock.

• List of Arkansas adjutants general
• List of Confederate States Army generals
• List of governors of Arkansas
• List of people from Tennessee

• Donovan, Timothy P.; Gatewood, Willard B. Jr.; Whayne, Jeannie M., eds. (1995). The Governors of Arkansas: Essays in Political Biography (2nd ed.). Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press. ISBN 1-55728-331-1.
• Eicher, John H.; Eicher, David J. (June 2002), Civil War High Commands, Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press (published 2001), ISBN 978-0-8047-3641-1
• Sifakis, Stewart (1988), Who Was Who in the Civil War, New York: Facts On File, ISBN 978-0-8160-1055-4
• Warner, Ezra J. (1959), Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders, Baton Rouge, LA: Louisiana State University Press, pp. 257–58, ISBN 978-0-8071-0823-9

• John Selden Roane at the Encyclopedia of Arkansas
• John Selden Roane at Find a Grave
• John Selden Roane at National Governors Association
• John Selden Roane at The Political Graveyard
• Media related to John Selden Roane at Wikimedia Commons
• Works by or about John Selden Roane at Internet Archive