Looking Back: Texas Declares Independence

A Republic is Born

Today is such an important day to all Texans, that I am going to forego my usual brilliant insight and Nobel-worthy prose, to take a back seat to those who are far more qualified than I to inform you on this 175th Birthday of the Texas Constitution. On March 2, 1836, forty-one men gathered in a shack in Washington-On-The-Brazos and hammered out a document. A document that changed history. It was the Texas Declaration of Independence


"In October 1835, settlers in Mexican Texas launched the Texas Revolution. However, within Texas, many struggled with understanding what was the ultimate goal of the Revolution. Some believed that the goal should be total independence from Mexico, while others sought the reimplementation of the Mexican Constitution of 1824 (which offered greater freedoms than the centralist government declared in Mexico the prior year).^[1] To settle the issue, a convention was called for March 1836. This convention differed from the previous Texas councils of 1832, 1833, and the 1835 Consultation. Many of the delegates to the 1836 convention were young men who had only recently arrived in Texas, although many of them had participated in one of the battles in 1835. Most of the delegates were members of the War Party and were adamant that Texas must declare its independence from Mexico.^[2] Forty-one delegates arrived in Washington-on-the-Brazos on February 28" says Wikipedia.

If you want to learn as much Texas History as you can in one stop, there are few places, if any, more informative that the archives at Texas A & M University. The Aggies do Texas Independence with the pride and enthusiasm you'd expect from them. From the Aggie Archives we find this on the convention that brought us a Declaration of Independence for Texas.

The Handbook of Texas Online has several interesting links to the Texas Declaration of Independence, so it that would be great place as well.

I know you'll enjoy the Texas History lesson you'll get at any of the links in this post. I'll have more to say later today, so until then...God bless Texas!

Texas Tidbits: The Siege of the Alamo, Day 11

The Symbol of Texas

We have been covering the Texas Revolution, specifically the Alamo, for about a week and a half now and with the benefit of hindsight, we have seen the situation go from hopeful to hopeless. Colonel Travis and his men must have felt that way, too, knowing that there were thousands of Mexican troops literally at the door step of the Alamo and inside the mission, less than 200 Texians. yet, despite such a bleak outlook at hand, the defenders of the Alamo were prepared to give their very lives in the pursuit of Liberty and Freedom for Texas. Their bravery and courage while staring Death in the face are the stuff of legend....and history.

We once again catch up on the events of the day, March 4, 1836, at Wikipedia, "The Mexican bomdardment recommenced early on March 4. That afternoon, Santa Anna called a council of war with his senior officers. He proposed an imminent attack on the fort. Many of his officers disagreed, recommending instead that they wait for the arrival of the heavy artillery. Two 12-lb cannons, with the capability to quickly destroy the Alamo walls, were due to arrive in Bexar on Monday, March 7.^[112] According to later reports by Filisola, on the evening of March 4, a woman from Bexar informed Santa Anna that Travis and his men were planning to either surrender or escape if reinforcements did not arrive quickly.^[124][125] Many years later, Susannah Dickinson commented that Juana Alsbury left the fort that evening; Dickinson believed that Alsbury had deserted to provide Santa Anna with information about the Texian troop strength. Edmondson notes that Alsbury returned to the Alamo, and he speculates that Travis sent her to try to negotiate an honorable surrender for the Texian troops.^[125] According to Todish, "More than one historian, and even some of Santa Anna's own officers, have speculated that this information is what prompted him to push for an immediate assault rather than wait for his heavy siege guns. There would have been little glory in a bloodless victory, and glory is what Santa Anna craved above all else." take a minute to read the rest of the day's events here.

The defenders of the Alamo were facing a certain death on this date in 1836, that much they had to know. But, what they didn't know was that they would be heroes 175 years later to Texans who still know and and re-tell the story of their heroics, God rest their souls. The men who fought so valiantly at the Alamo were the blood of patriots that is from time to time necessary to nourish the tree of Liberty. God bless those men and may God continue to bless Texas.

Texas Declaration of Independence - March 2, 1836

A Republic is Born

Today is such an important day to all Texans, that I am going to forego my usual brilliant insight and Nobel-worthy prose, to take a back seat to those who are far more qualified than I to inform you on this 175th Birthday of the Texas Constitution. On March 2, 1836, forty-one men gathered in a shack in Washington-On-The-Brazos and hammered out a document. A document that changed history. It was the Texas Declaration of Independence


"In October 1835, settlers in Mexican Texas launched the Texas Revolution. However, within Texas, many struggled with understanding what was the ultimate goal of the Revolution. Some believed that the goal should be total independence from Mexico, while others sought the reimplementation of the Mexican Constitution of 1824 (which offered greater freedoms than the centralist government declared in Mexico the prior year).^[1] To settle the issue, a convention was called for March 1836. This convention differed from the previous Texas councils of 1832, 1833, and the 1835 Consultation. Many of the delegates to the 1836 convention were young men who had only recently arrived in Texas, although many of them had participated in one of the battles in 1835. Most of the delegates were members of the War Party and were adamant that Texas must declare its independence from Mexico.^[2] Forty-one delegates arrived in Washington-on-the-Brazos on February 28" says Wikipedia.

If you want to learn as much Texas History as you can in one stop, there are few places, if any, more informative that the archives at Texas A & M University. The Aggies do Texas Independence with the pride and enthusiasm you'd expect from them. From the Aggie Archives we find this on the convention that brought us a Declaration of Independence for Texas.

The Handbook of Texas Online has several interesting links to the Texas Declaration of Independence, so it that would be great place as well.

I know you'll enjoy the Texas History lesson you'll get at any of the links in this post. I'll have more to say later today, so until then...God bless Texas!

Adios,
Toby

Texas History - The Week in Review

We have had a very interesting week in traveling back and time to observe Texas History almost as if we were right along side some of the eyewitnesses to the events of the Texas Revolution. Your response to the posts of the past week has been amazing. I want to thank all of you from literally all over the world for taking time to visit the site and learning or re-learning, as the case may be, the History of that grand place we call Texas.

If you didn't get a chance to read one or all of the posts for the last week, I'll list them below for you and you can play catch up in order to be ready for more of the history of the Lone Star State.

Texas History: The Week in Review

• Words From a Texas Hero in 1836- I have become enthralled by the letters from eyewitnesses to the events of the Texas Revolution. Their historical significance can not be underestimated. The letter you are about to read comes to us from the General Land Office of all places. 
•  A Grown Man Recalls the Texas Revolution from His Childhood Days -The title says it all.
• The Story of Joe the Slave at the Alamo - This is a great story. As a matter of fact, it's the best story I have discovered to date.
• Brother vs Brother in the Texas Revolution - This is another fascinating post. What it must have been like with your brother on the Texas side of the Revolution and you on the Mexican side. Unimaginable to me.
• A Texas Hero From Germany - This guy could have been one of my ancestors. I know for a fact that I had relatives that fought at the Alamo. Ancestry.com, here I come!

That ought to keep you busy for a while. I uncovered some really cool stuff this week about some ordinary people who transformed themselves into heroes whose names and memories will live forever. They fought for Freedom and Liberty and had no real chance to win either. But they won the war and in the process created an independent nation that survived much like the men who died for it - with courage, bravery and the will to overcome great odds. Men truly forged of a hotter fire. Men known all over the world by a single common bond. Men known as Texans. God blessed Texas with these men and may He continue to bless her today.

Texas Tidbits: The Texas Revolution, March, 1836

The Tree of Liberty must sometimes be watered with the blood of Patriots

For the last few days, we have been covering a time line of the events that eventually concluded in Texas gaining its independence from Mexico. The day before yesterday, we took a look at Gonzales, where the first shot of the Revoltion took place, and its importance to the Texas Revolution. Yesterday's time line took us through the month of February and many of the circumstances leading up to the Battle of the Alamo. If you missed either of these posts, I urge you to take a look at them so you can refresh your memory of the events of the day in the Texas Revolution.
Today we are going to tackle the month of March and see what happened day by day that brought Texas ever closer to her freedom from tyranny. Just a reminder here, that we will delve more deeply into some of the events listed on the time lines as we near the Anniversary of the Siege of the Alamo. If you remember, yesterday's time line got us to the point where the Mexican Army had arrived at the mission and combat had begun.

A look at March, 1836:

		Political Events                                     Military Events
		March 1 The Convention of 1836 of elected delegates convenes at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Thirty-two to sixty men from Gonzales of the "Gonzales Company of Mounted Volunteers" enter the Alamo at 1:00 A.M. March 2 Texas Declaration of Independence is signed and the Republic of Texas is declared. David G. Burnet is elected interim president by the delegates. Texans defeated at the Battle of Agua Dulce. March 3 James B. Bonham arrives back at the Alamo telling Travis that Fannin was not coming. March 4 Sam Houston is appointed commander of Texas forces. Santa Anna holds a council of war with generals Joaquín Ramírez y Sesma, Martín Perfecto de Cos, Manuel F. Castrillón and Colonels Juan Almonte, Agustín Amat, Francisco Duque and Manuel Romero to plan the final assault. March 5 Mexican artillery stops shelling the Alamo. March 6 Battle of the Alamo: the Alamo falls. Approximately 180-250 Texans, Tejanos, and Anglos die. The thirteen-day siege resulted in the deaths of all of its defenders, including William B. Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie. Several civilians survived. March 8 Mexican General Gaona arrives with his artillery at the Alamo. March 10 Mexican General Andrade arrives at the Alamo. March 11 Houston begins his retreat from Gonzales precipitating the Runaway Scrape. March 12 Battle of Refugio begins: Texan troops commanded by Lt. Col. William Ward and Amos King are attacked by General Urrea. After several hours of fighting, the Texans retreat. King's troops are captured by the Mexicans. March 19 Battle of Coleto: General Urrea defeats Colonel James Fannin near Goliad. Fannin surrenders. March 21 Battle of Copano. March 27 Goliad Massacre: James Fannin and nearly 400 Texans are executed by order of Santa Anna. Houston and his army camp near San Felipe de Austin. March 28 Houston orders Wiley Martin and Mosley Baker to guard his retreat thus delaying Santa Anna's crossing the Brazos River.
		As you read through the time line, you can see that at this point the Alamo had fallen and the Goliad massacre had taken place. These are a couple of the events that we'll look at more closely as time goes on. Imagine for a moment, yourself at either of these two historic military engagements on either side of the conflict. The Texan Revolutionaries with a few hundred fighting men, or the Mexican Army with a few thousand soldiers. What must have been going through the minds of all these men fascinates me. I will, over the next few weeks, try to locate some more personal correspondence from Mexican soldiers as well as Texan soldiers and civilians who were eyewitnesses to history - the History of Texas.

Texas History: The Alamo

Courage

The third nation to fly its flag over Texas was the most notorious of the six - Mexico. This is an era in Texas History that more people are familiar with than any other. The War for Texas Independence has been memorialized in books, films, TV shows, and text books. However, it is a single battle of the War that is world famous and is seen as an act of courage, patriotism and man's yearning to be free that will forever remind all generations that freedom demands constant sacrifice and vigilance, lest it be wrested away by tyranny.The battle of which I speak is the Battle of the Alamo, a military engagement that set in stone the meaning of sacrifice and a desire to be free of dictatorial rule in the face of overwhelming odds. The defenders of the Alamo numbered about 200. Their Mexican adversaries, several thousand. Yet, the men at the Alamo waged a fierce defense of their position, knowing that surely each of them would die at the hands of General Santa Ana. Perish they did, but the courage displayed by these men remains unparalleled in the history of warfare, in my opinion. From February 23, 1836 to March 6, 1836, facing insurmountable odds, they fought with the resolve that has since been a trademark characteristic of Texans throughout the last 174 years.

Some five and a half weeks later, the men at the Alamo were no less present in the hearts and minds of a ragtag Texan Army under the command of the larger than life Sam Houston, when they revenged their fellow Texans by routing the powerful Mexican Army and it's leader General Santa Ana on the bayou at San Jacinto. The Republic of Texas was born.