Joseph Marshall Walker

Who was Joseph Marshall Walker?

Joseph Marshall Walker was a Louisiana soldier and politician. He was the 13th Governor of Louisiana, from 1850-1853.

Walker was born to an English father and a French-Creole mother in the French Quarter of New Orleans, Louisiana. At that time Louisiana was a colony of Spain. In 1807, he went to Mexico and joined the Spanish army, serving as a lieutenant of dragoons, and later becoming master of a military school at Chihuahua.

After the outbreak of the War of 1812 he returned to New Orleans and enlisted in the Louisiana State Militia. He served fighting against the British in the Battle of New Orleans at Chalmette, Louisiana.