Sept. 16, 2020 WHAT DO YOU KNOW about Sam Houston?

WHAT DO YOU KNOW about Sam Houston, controversial Texas hero? He was stereotypical of a tall, powerful, get-it-done-my-way man. Picture actor John Wayne or perhaps Donald Trump (say it as you think it) or Lyndon Johnson (get in your face to say it). Houston was a tough, heavy drinking Tennessean very different from Texas hero Stephen F. Austin who as a boy went to private school in Connecticut and as a Texan was eager to get along with Mexico. For Sam it took his second wife Margaret to civilize him. Houston had been Governor of Tennessee before becoming a Texan. Our son married a Tennessee girl. Her handsome Memphis grandfather once said, in his wonderful southern drawl, “From Texas? You know the story about folks heading west from Virginia? If they could read and write they stopped in Tennessee, if not they went on to Texas.” (1) I thought truth be told because I have seen several old real estate deeds with an “X” for a signature. May 1836, a convention at Washington on the Brazos met to declare Texas Independence from Mexico and a constitution was written. Sam Houston was appointed commander of the eager volunteer Texas army at Gonzales. Despite angry cries to fight Mexico in retaliation for their slaughter of Texians (2) killed at Goliad and for the entrapment and deaths of those at the Alamo, General Houston resisted. His volunteers were no match for the Mexican army. However the defeat in San Antonio enabled him to step up recruitment. Santa Anna’s professional army pursued the Texas army of untrained, poorly supplied volunteers. Houston’s plan was training while retreating, buying time and searching for a place to stand and fight with his army of men baring rifles, tomahawks and Bowie knives. The continuing retreat made Houston’s men more angry and impatient to fight despite the overwhelming odds. Among them were volunteers from many states, Georgia, Kentucky, Tennessee, as well as the Texian farmers. Women, children and old men left their homes and ran from harm’s way. This is called the Runaway Scrape. The rag tag army finally stopped to camp near Harrisburg (later named Houston). The afternoon of April 21, 1836, the Mexicans were taking a siesta in their camp located against a bayou. Legend has it that Santa Anna may have been in his tent occupied with Emily West, a mulatto servant girl now known as the yellow Rose of Texas. (3) The Texians formed their lines to fight, shouting “Remember the Alamo” and the Twin Sisters, a gift of two canons from Cincinnati, blew a hole in the sleeping army. Above all the roar and confusion the Mexican General’s belated commands could not be heard. Mexican corpses numbered 630. About that same number surrendered, 200 of these were wounded. Many, trapped against banks of a bayou, rushed into the water and were drowned. One reporter claimed only two of Houston’s men were killed, 24 wounded of which 6 later would die. (4) General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana (5) ran and hid. He was found, taken prisoner and not executed because Houston thought he would be more important to them alive. Texas had won its independence from Mexico, however the Mexican government never recognized the Republic of Texas. Carole Sikes (1) From my book, Hudson Bend and the Birth of Lake Travis, Publisher: History Press, S.C. 2014 (2) Texian is the term for Anglo colonists in Texas. (3) From a Texas History by Stephen Harrigan entitled Big Wonderful Thing. (4) For comparison: total number of Texans killed at the Goliad massacre and at the Alamo in San Antonio is 800 (5) ANA is probably the correct spelling of the name although many prefer Santa Anna