David Smith Kornegay was born in Jones County, NC in 1810. he came to Texas in 1830 and settled in Fayette County living for a time with Col. John H. Moore who was later in command of the Texans at the Battle of Gonzales on Oct 2, 1835.

In Service Record No. 7091, signed by Wm. M. Eastland, 1st Lieutenant of the First Division of Volunteers, and countersigned by John H. Moore, Colonel Commanding, it is certified that Kornegay served as a regular volunteer in the First Division in the campaign against the Waco and Tehuacana indians from Jul 25 to Sep 13, 1935. There were four separate divisions of citizen soldiers under the command of Col. Moore in this campaign.

Kornegay was issued Bounty Certficate No. 9237 for 320 acres of land for serving in the Army from Sep 28 to Dec 12, 1835. This has reference to the campaign that started at Gonzales and ended with the fall of San Antonio and the death of Ben Milam. No doubt but that he was in the first battle in the Texas Revolution; the Battle of Gonzales. It is believed that he served under Capt. Thomas Alley at San Antonio as did Wm. M. Eastland.

On Mar 15, 1836, he was recruited on the Colorado River camp by Capt. Philip Coe and was with the Texas Army under Sam Houston culminating in the Battle of San Jacinto in which battle he was in Capt. Wm. M. Hill's company. His Donation Certificate covering the campign was issued Oct 28, 1838. On the original muster roll of Capt. Hill's company, Kornegay is described as having been 5'6", dark complexion with dark eyes and brown hair, and by occupation a farmer.

He received Bounty Certificate No. 3368 for his services in the Texas Army from Mar 1 - May 30, 1836 but is shown on Capt. Hill's roster as having enlisted Mar 15, 1836.

During the years 1838-1844, he was County Clerk of Fayette County; the first clerk in the office of the county when it was organized in 1838. He was acting in that capacity (County Clerk) when he joined Capt. Nicholas Mosby Dawson's company on Sep 15, 1842. After the Battle of Salado and Dawson's Massacre, General Adrian Woll - the Mexican Commander - took his prisoners to Mexico. Kornegay with nine oher Dawson men was included with the San Antonio prisoners and imprisoned in Perote Castle - a prison or fortress situated between Mexico City and Vera Cruz. After nine months of prison life, sixteen of the prisoners decided to attempt an escape by digging a tunnel under the prison floor and through the walls of Perote Prison. This was accomplished with whatever tools and implements that coulkd be taken from the prison carpenter shop. On July 2, 1843, the tunnel was finished. In the dead of night the men made their escape. Outside the prison walls they separated into pairs and small groups the better to escape detection. Kornegay and Richard A. Barkley were "buddies" and travelled together, they being the only Dawson men who participaed in the escape. They made their way safely to Vera Cruz. Three of the sixteen escaped prisoners were Mier prisoners; they were Capt. Chas. Keller Reese, General Thomas J. Green, and his secretary Daniel Drake Henri. They too safely made their way to Vera Cruz where they joined Kornegay and Barkley. These men were also joined about this time by John Forester of the San Antonio prisoners who had escaped at the same time and successfully made their way to Vera Cruz. All these men took passage on the ship "Pretain" and reached New Orleans and finally home. The other ten men of the sixteen were all of the Bexar (San Antonio) prisoners; they were: John Dalrymple, Thomas Hancock, Isaac Allen, John Young, David J. (D.?) Davis, Samuel Stone, Trueman B. Beck, August Ellery, D.C. Ogden, and John Twohig. Some of the sixteen had been recaptured but others did not make their way out of the country.

Upon his return to La Grange, Kornegay resumed his duties as County Clerk. On Dec 22, 1844 he was married to Elizabeth McGarrey (McGary?). The ceremony was performed by James S. Lester, a prominent Baptist layman of Fayette County, a wealthy batchelor veteran of the Battle of San Jacinto. Lester is buried in the old La Grange City Cemetary and his grave is marked with an official State marker. He was also a Senator during the time of the Republic representing Fayette, Bastrop, and Gonzales Counties. Kornegay was probably a Baptist too.

In 1850, Kornegay moved with his family to a place about ten miles above Waco. There he died Apr 5, 1856. The following is an item regarding his death as it appeared in the "Waco Statesman" and was copied by the "Weekly Telegraph" Apr 28, 1856. It is not free of error.

We are sorry to learn of the death of one of our most esteemed fellow citizens, David Kornegua. He died in this place on the 5th instant. Mr. Kornegua was an old Texan and was one of Dawson's men that were captured and taken on to the City of Mexico and confined in the castle of Perote and which he escaped from by picking a hole through the rock wall of his cell.

He was buried at Bosqueville. Kornegay was survived by five children - a son and four daughters. Edward, the son, died at Monument, New Mexico in 1915. One of the girls died at age 18 years. Mary, another daughter, was married to Wm. Rhodes and was living at Goliad, TX in 1923. Another daughter married M. Secrist and was living in Eastland, TX in 1923. Still another daughter was married to James Cook and was living in Athens, TX in 1923.

Kornegay also served in the campaign known as the Vasquez Raid in that he was one of the men who assisted in repelling the invasion of Texas by the Mexican general Vasquez in March of 1842. This was verified by Public Debt Paper, Certificate No. 3418, Archives, State Library, Austin, TX. This paper was dated in McLennan County Jul 17, 1855.

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