Atkinson, Henry
(1782–14 June 1842)
- Roger L. Nichols
Extract
Atkinson, Henry (1782–14 June 1842), army officer, was born in Person County, North Carolina, the son of John Atkinson, a plantation owner and local politician. Nothing is known of his mother, who died shortly after his birth. Little is known of his youth or education, but as the youngest child in a reasonably wealthy family he presumably received whatever education was available. While a young man he worked on the family plantation. Then on 1 July 1808 he received an appointment in the newly enlarged U.S. Army. For the rest of his life he remained on active duty serving on the Gulf Coast, on the Canadian border in New York, and as far west as Montana....
