Archibald Yell Archibald Yell ( August 9 , 1797 – February 22 , 1847 ) was an American attorney and politician in Arkansas . He was a member of the United States House of Representatives and second governor of Arkansas . Biography . Yell was born in North Carolina , and as a child moved to Tennessee with his parents . His family first settled in Jefferson County in the eastern part of the state , then moved to Rutherford in Middle Tennessee , and finally settled in Bedford County to the south . As a youth , Yell participated in the Creek War , serving in 1813 and early 1814 under General Andrew Jackson , who became a special friend . In 1814 and 1815 , during the War of 1812 , he served with Jackson in Louisiana , including in the Battle of New Orleans . Yell returned to Tennessee , and read law as a legal apprentice . He was admitted to the bar in Fayetteville , Tennessee . In 1818 , he joined Jackson ’ s army during the First Seminole War in Florida . Political career . Active in the Democratic Party , Yell moved to the Arkansas Territory in 1831 to head the federal land office in Little Rock . The federal government offered him the governorship of the Florida Territory the following year , but he declined . He was a strong supporter and personal friend of President James K . Polk . Just prior to taking office in 1835 , Polk sent Yell to Texas to advocate for its annexation to the union . In 1835 , he was appointed by the James K . Polk administration as an Arkansas territorial judge . He is reported to have single - handedly retrieved a criminal from a local saloon and physically brought him to his court . Yell was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1836 , after Arkansas was admitted to the Union . He served one term , from 1836 to 1839 . While in Washington , he was a strong supporter of Texan statehood and favored a stronger military . Around this time that Yell formed the first Masonic lodge in Arkansas at Fayetteville . In 1840 , Yell was elected governor of Arkansas . He focused on internal improvements , as infrastructure was needed to benefit planters and farmers . He also worked to better control banks and supported public education . Yell resigned his post as governor to run again for Congress in 1844 , and won the seat . Yell is reported to have been the consummate campaigner . At one stop during the campaign , he is said to have won a shooting match , donated meat to the poor , and bought a jug of whiskey for the crowd . Soon after he took his seat in Congress , the Mexican - American War began . Yell returned to Arkansas and formed the 1st Arkansas Volunteer Cavalry . Several of his men later achieved notability in Arkansas , including the future governor John Selden Roane , and future Confederate generals Albert Pike , Solon Borland , and James Fleming Fagan . His cavalry compiled a record of insubordination . During the Mexican - American War , Yell was commissioned as a Brigadier General in the United States Army . Family life . Yell met Mary Scott in Bedford County , Tennessee , where they were neighbors . They married in 1821 after he had started to establish his law practice . She had one daughter , Mary , who was born January 5 , 1823 . Mary Scott Yell died from complications following their daughter ' s birth . A few years later , Yell married Nancy Moore of Danville , Kentucky . They had four children before her death . Yell later married Maria ( McIlvaine ) Ficklin , a widow . They had no children . Maria died October 15 , 1838 in Arkansas , while Yell was serving in the US Congress . Yell ’ s nephew James Yell became a Major General of the Arkansas state militia during the Civil War . Death . On February 22 , 1847 , Yell was killed in combat at the Battle of Buena Vista in Mexico . He was buried three times : once in Mexico , and twice in Fayetteville , Arkansas . Yell was originally buried on the battlefield in Mexico . His body was removed and returned to Arkansas for burial at Waxhaws Cemetery in Fayetteville . When Evergreen Cemetery was established in the city , the Masons arranged for his body to be relocated and reinterred in the Masonic section of that cemetery . Legacy . Yell County , Arkansas , and the town of Yellville , Arkansas were both named for Yell . During the American Civil War , a Confederate unit was formed in Helena , Arkansas , and became known as the “ Yell Rifles ” .