Colonel Alexander W. Doniphan of Missouri, commander of the First Regiment Missouri Mounted Volunteers in the War with Mexico, was born in Mason County, Kentucky, on July 9, 1808, and died in Richmond, Missouri, on August 8, 1887. He was honored as one of the great soldiers of the earth, and his name was said to stand in a halo of glory. Identified also as Colonel Alexander William Doniphan, he was described as a man of immense stature, noble appearance, brilliant parts, fearlessness, great moral courage, sanguine spirit, faithfulness, justice, poetic temperament, championship of the downtrodden, and extraordinary eloquence, and as among the greatest orators and lawyers that ever lived. His expedition to Mexico in 1846-47 covered 3600 hundred miles and was called the greatest march in history, and Sacramento on February 28, 1847, was singled out in relief.