Background
Cornelius Gilliam was born in North Carolina on April 13, 1798. Born in Buncombe County, he was the son of Epaphroditus and Sarah Ann (née Israel) Gilliam.
Cornelius Gilliam was born in North Carolina on April 13, 1798. Born in Buncombe County, he was the son of Epaphroditus and Sarah Ann (née Israel) Gilliam.
A native of North Carolina, he served in the Black Hawk War and Seminole Wars before settling in Missouri. He fought in the against the Native Americans in 1832 during the Black Hawk War in the Midwest, and in 1837 in the Seminole Wars in Florida. During the Seminole War he served as a captain.
That year he was elected to the Missouri Senate to represent District 12, and was re-elected in 1842 to represent District 10.
In Missouri, Gilliam was also the sheriff of Clay County. In 1844, he headed west over the Trail to the unorganized Country.
Gilliam was in charge of the wagon train at the beginning of the journey, though the wagon train later split into smaller groups. After the Whitman massacre in 1847, the Provisional Government of organized a force of about 600 and made Gilliam colonel to prosecute the Cayuse.
In 1848, he led his forces east to engage the Native Americans, arriving at The Dalles in February.
His forces pressed on to the Whitman Mission, arriving in March. Gilliam then headed back to The Dalles to resupply that settlement and then on to City to report to Governor George Abernethy when he was accidentally shot and killed in what is now Morrow County on March 24, 1848. His body was returned to City by Henry A. G. Lee and he was buried in Polk County at the Dallas Cemetery.
Gilliam County, is named for him.
The ship Cornelius Gilliam also named for him, used in World World War II in the United States. Merchant Service.