Samuel Patterson Christian was born on October 22, 1835, in Richmond, Virginia. His family eventually moved to Texas, and Christian attended Rutersville College. He married Elizabeth Stotts sometime in the 1850s, and by 1860, they were living in Houston. Christian worked as a steamboat pilot. Christian enlisted in the Confederate army on September 1, 1861, and mustered in as a 1^st lieutenant in Company K of the 8^th Texas Cavalry later that day. He was promoted to captain in 1862 and then to major on June 25, 1863. He was severely wounded on October 7, 1863, receiving a bullet wound to the face that destroyed several of his teeth. He was wounded again at Bentonville, North Carolina, in March 1865. His regiment surrendered to Union forces on April 26, 1865, and he received a parole on July 12, 1865. Christian returned home to Texas after the war and resumed his work as a steamboat captain. He died in Houston on September 9, 1908.