Mills DeForrest Andross: Alamo Defender (1804–1836)
By: Bill Groneman
Revised by: Francis J. Leazes, Jr. and Steven Douglas Lukefahr
Published: November 1, 1994
Updated: October 21, 2025
Mills DeForrest Andross, Alamo defender, was born to Capt. John and Rebecca (Barron) Andross in Bradford (Orange County), Vermont circa 1804. His father and grandfather, army surgeon Bildad Andross, were both veterans of the American Revolution. Bildad Andross was a delegate to the Windsor Convention of 1777, which drafted and ratified Vermont’s first constitution. In 1813 Andross’s father died. Andross later lived with his uncle in Reading, Massachusetts, where he learned the painter’s trade. About 1821 Andross married Elizabeth Peabody, and their union produced two sons: Charles Peabody and William Henry. Andross later separated from his wife. He moved to Texas and possibly briefly settled in the San Patricio de Hibernia colony. However, no official record of his residency has been found.
Taking part in the Texas Revolution, Andross may have participated in the siege of Bexar, but apparently became ill afterwards, and remained in Bexar as part of Lt. Col. James Clinton Neill's command. The nature of his sickness is unknown, although he was most likely a patient of Alamo surgeon Amos Pollard, who graduated from the Vermont Academy. Andross served in the Alamo garrison as part of Capt. William Blazeby's infantry company, and some historians state he was a member of the New Orleans Greys. Andross was hospitalized on February 1, 1836, when the Alamo garrison held an election to send two delegates to the Convention of 1836. It is unknown whether Andross recovered in time to defend one of the Alamo walls, or was still in the Alamo’s hospital on March 6, 1836, alongside Amos Pollard when the Mexican army overwhelmed the Alamo defenders.
In 1873 the Republic of Texas issued a land bounty for 1,476 acres in present Duval County, which was claimed by his heirs. Andross’s wife, having remarried, moved with his two sons to Wisconsin. His eldest son, Sgt. Charles Andross, was a member of the 13th Wisconsin Infantry during the Civil War. The second son of Mills Andross, William Andross, named his oldest son after his father. This Mills D. Andross, a veteran of the Bannock War of 1878, died in Portland, Oregon, on March 6, 1935, one year short of the 100th anniversary of his grandfather’s death at the Alamo.
To mark the Texas Centennial, the San Patricio de Hibernia Monument was erected by the state of Texas in 1937. The monument recognized the colony’s early settlers and soldiers of the Texas Revolution. Inscribed amongst the names of soldiers is: “Miles Andross.” Andross was the only Vermonter who fought at the Alamo. In 1989 the Vermont National Guard’s Distinguished Service Medal was posthumously awarded to Mills DeForrest Andross and presented to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas.
Bibliography:
Daughters of the American Revolution, The Alamo Heroes and Their Revolutionary Ancestors (San Antonio, 1976). Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Muster Rolls of the Texas Revolution (Austin, 1986). Bill Groneman, Alamo Defenders (Austin: Eakin, 1990). Francis J. Leazes, Jr., and Steven Douglas Lukefahr, “Mills DeForrest Andross: The Green Mountain State Volunteer,” Alamo Dispatch no. 200 (Spring 2024).
Time Periods:
The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry.
Bill Groneman Revised by Francis J. Leazes, Jr. and Steven Douglas Lukefahr, “Andross, Mills DeForrest,” Handbook of Texas Online, accessed March 09, 2026, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/andross-miles-deforest.
Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
TID:
FAN46
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- November 1, 1994
- October 21, 2025
