After leaving his second wife and his life among the Indians Samuel Houston went to Texas in 1832 to begin the most crucial part of his career as a public servant. In Texas he soon became involve in the Texans politics of rebellion, he was a delegate from Nacogdoches at the Convention of 1833 in San Felipe, in there he took sides with the radicals lead by William H. Wharton. In November 1835, he was appointed for major general of the Texas army. He was commissioned alone with John Forbes by the provisional government to negotiate a treaty with the Cherokee Indians in East Texas, establishing peace on that front. On March 2, while serving as a delegate from Refugio to the convention at Washington on the Brazos, was when the Texas Declaration of Independence was promulgated. In addition, Sam Houston received the appointment of major general of the army, becoming the leader organizer of the republic of Texas’s military forces. In his first battle against Mexico General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna made him taste his first Texan defeat defeated. The battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836 would get him revenge and he would become forever enshrined as a member of the pantheon of Texas heroes and a symbol for the age. With the defeat to Santa Ana, the treaty of Velasco was signed and Texas was finally recognized as an Independent Republic, the war with Mexico was over.
On his popularity as Old Sam Jacinto, he defeated Stephen F. Austin to become elected president of the Republic of Texas. His first term lasted from October 22, 1836, to December 10, 1838. The city of Houston was founded in 1836, it was named after him, and served as the capital of Texas during most of his first term in office; He wanted to demilitarize the republic by...
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...ed unsuccessfully to his last year plan as Senator of a protectorate over Mexico. Once again, his name was mentioned to be nominated for the presidency in May 1860 by the National Union party, lost to John Bell. With the election of Abraham Lincoln as president of the United States, discontent in Texas made him call a special session of the legislature. He was opposed to secession, and warned Texans that civil war would be the destruction of the South. The Secession Convention began actions to withdraw Texas from the Union. Houston accepted the events but refused to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederate States of America, he was removed from office. He refused the assistance of federal troops from the President Lincoln to keep in office and Texas in the Union to spare Texas from violence and at the age of sixty-eight chose the exile from public life.
...of the crucial replies to Travis’s letter even after the lieutenant colonels’ death was the defeat a decade later of Santa Ana’s army led by Sam Houston which is currently is the backbone of the history of Texas Revolution.
When studying Texas History there are names such as Sam Houston, Jim Bowie, and William Barrett Travis that are often brought up into discussion. These men had rolls of vital importance to the cause of revolution; however, other names such as Juan Nepomuceno Seguin may be much more obscure to those unaware of the rolls that such men played. Juan Seguin is mostly remembered as the currier to whom William Barrett Travis commissioned with the delivery of a letter to General Sam Houston requesting reinforcements and whose words were so inspiring that it may have given the Texans the push they needed to claim victory over the Mexican President Santa Anna. After independence was achieved from Mexico, Texas formed its own government in which Seguin served as a member of the Texas Senate. Seguin eventually lost all credibility and was forced to flee to Mexico because of accusations of betrayal. Was Juan Seguin’s participation in the Texas revolution limited to his delivery of the Travis letter to Sam Houston? Other than his participation at the Alamo and at San Jacinto, how significant of a part did Juan Seguin play in the Texas revolution? What lead to Seguin’s fall from favor in the eyes of the Texas government and earned him the label of traitor?
Many factors led to the Texicans’ decision to declare their independence. The declaration was due to a lack of tolerance for religion, the repealing of the constitution of 1824, an unstable government with an unstable president, and the closure of the Mexican legislature, a congress of nine declared Texas independent from Mexico, followed by a formal declaration on March 2, 1836. After the declaration, General Samuel Houston was appointed commander-in-chief for the Texican government. Immediately after the declaration, hostilities between Mexico and Texas began. Santa Anna sent back up to Texas, but the Texicans fought them off with bows and spears (Mckeehan). Santa Anna’s first mistake was his decision to go to Texas with 10,000 men behind him with no intention of mercy.
A few major battles broke out before the Alamo such as the Battle of Gonzales, the Battle of Goliad and the Battle of Concepcion. The Siege of Bexar ended on December 11 with the possession of San Antonio where the former Franciscan mission, Alamo, stands. General Houston felt that holding San Antonio was both impossible and unnecessary, so he sent Jim Bowie to destroy the Alamo and come back with the men and cannons located there. When Bowie arrived, he saw it had strong defenses and decided to defend the city.
This historic event allowed spreading of independence, formation of a revolutionary government and the drafting of a constitution. If Santa Anna had struck the Texan settlements immediately, he might have disrupted the proceedings and driven all insurgents across the Sabine River (Survivor 140). Finally the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was signed but not before "General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna who did not always do what was best for his country, directed his peace negotiators to make demands that the that the U.S. felts was unreasonable accusing the other of stalling, the armistice was called off " (Howes, p. 233). The American army a week later invaded Mexico City and forced the Mexicans to surrender. Santa Anna then fled leaving his country shattered" (Howes, p. 233).
With the battle of Gonzales, the Texas Revolution was started officially. More and more volunteers kept coming to Gonzales. Besides, they also set up a temporary state government and a Texan army, who under Sam Houston won several minor battles in the fall of 1835. In mid-February 1836, to avenge for the reputation of Mexico, Santa Anna decided to retake Texas. Mexican General Urrea led his troops and defeated all the Texans on the Goliad campaign up the Texas coast. On April 21st, the battle of San Jacinto started, which was also the sign of the end of the Texas Revolution. Houston’s army defeated Santa Anna’s troops with a shocked engagement that lasted just eighteen minutes. Santa Anna was also captured and was a loser and prisoner of the war. Therefore, he had to sign the peace treaty that led his army to go back to Mexico, indicated the Republic of Texas had become an independent country. On December 9th, 1845, Texas was admitted into the Union as the 28
San Antonio and the Alamo played a critical role in the Texas Revolution. In December 1835, Ben Milam led Texian and Tejano volunteers against Mexican troops quartered in the city. After five days of house-to-house fighting, they forced General Marín Perfecto de Cós and his soldiers to surrender. The victorious volunteers then occupied the Alamo — already fortified prior to the battle by Cós' men — and strengthened its defenses.
The Battle of the Alamo, the most famous battle of the Texas revolution, began on February 23, 1836, and continued for almost two weeks. With the Mexican army growing day by day, and Texas reinforcements nowhere in sight, the Texans made a final stand against the massive Mexican army led by General Antonio López de Santa Anna. General Santa Anna used the time to encircle the old fortified mission compound, gradually cutting off entrance to, and exit from the Alamo. The arrival of General Santa Anna 's army outside San Antonio nearly caught the local Texans by
Written by Randolph B. Campbell and edited by Mark C. Carnes, Sam Houston and the American Southwest tells the story of the life of Sam Houston. Sam Houston, born in 1793 in Tennessee, was a soldier, lawyer, and also one of the founding fathers of the state of Texas. This biography of Sam Houston goes on to describe the life of Sam Houston in topics such as presidential elections he ran in, wars he has fought, friends and rivals of Houston, his personal life, marriages, wins, defeats, and changes he brought upon the United States of America. Sam Houston was liked by the majority of people, he looked up to Andrew Jackson who was his general when Sam Houston joined the army in his 20’s. This book goes into depth to portray to the reader of the type of person Sam Houston was including his strengths, weaknesses, and the fact that he was an alcoholic and despite all that, he was a very intelligent and noble man of U.S. history as we now know.
William Barrett Travis, the leader of the Texan defenders requested for help and his requests were ultimately not met much to his frustration. The spirits of the defenders as well as Travis however still kept strong through their commitment to their cause as well as their faith in God. In the end however, Santa Anna’s forces ended up taking over the fort and as a result of their unwavering belief for their independence all the men that fought within the battle were all killed. And so, after March 6th, 1836 the Battle of the Alamo came to a close. As of now, the Alamo serves as a tourist spot and a reminder of the Texan struggle for independence that, as per Sam Houston’s wishes, will be
Sam Houston Sam Houston was, as legend reports, a big man about six feet and six inches tall. He was an exciting historical figure and war hero who was involved with much of the early development of our country and Texas. He was a soldier, lawyer, politician, businessman, and family man, whose name will be synonymous with nation heroes who played a vital part in the shaping of a young and prosperous country. He admired and supported the Native Americans who took him in and adopted him into their culture to help bridge the gap between the government and a noble forgotten race. Sam Houston succeeded in many roles he donned as a man, but the one most remembered is the one of a true American hero.
Assemblies were held in the later months of 1835 and soon the revolution had spread like wildfire. From the interior of Mexico, Stephen Austin returned with news from Santa Anna (the Mexican President) and stated Anna wanted nothing better than Texas’ prosperity and would promote the idea everywhere. Texans felt these words to be hollow, and rallied to the idea of independence and annexation to the United States. Within months, the nation was on the edge of war. With the smallest little spark, enough to explode into chaos.
While living here, he held several political positions during his career. Samuel Maverick was recognized after helping the Texan leaders in the attack of San Antonio. Later in the month of February, he was chosen as the representative of San Antonio to act as a delegate in a convention at Washington-On-the-Brazos. Maverick nearly died while traveling to the convention, but eventually reached his destination. This election would kick off his thirty-one years of public service and holding political offices in the state of Texas. Samuel Maverick was elected mayor of San Antonio after being a landowner and making forty-one land purchases during the years 1838 and 1839. As San Antonio’s mayor, he helpe d settle many disagreements and predicaments as well as improving the security of San Antonio when threats started coming from Mexico and the Comanche Indians. After his one-year term, he settled in as treasurer of San Antonio. Being a treasurer caused Maverick to spend more time in San Antonio then he and his family had anticipated. Sometime in September 1842, the Mexicans took control over San Antonio and took many prisoners back with them to Mexico. Unfortunately, Maverick was one of those that was taken captive. In 1843, Maverick was released and able to return back to Texas. Although being kept as a prisoner in Mexico, Samuel Maverick was elected to be a senator for the Congress of the Texas Republic. Maverick served until 1845 as a senator. Between the years of 1847 and 1862, he held several public offices, including: Texas State Legislature (1851), State Senator (1855-1858), State Representative (1859), and San Antonio’s Mayor for the second time in
After his term ended Tyler returned to ordinary living with his second wife in Virginia. In 1861 he held a peace conference and he spoke to try and keep the peace. After this conference failed a year later he voted for the secession of Virginia from the country and was elected for the Confederate House of Representatives, but before he could join he died at seventy one on January 18, 1862 in Richmond, the capital of the confederacy.
Jefferson Davis (1808-89), first and only president of the Confederate States of America (1861-65). Davis was born on June 3, 1808, in Christian (now Todd) County, Kentucky, and educated at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky, and at the U.S. Military Academy. After his graduation in 1828, he saw frontier service until ill health forced his resignation from the army in 1835. He was a planter in Mississippi from 1835 to 1845, when he was elected to the U.S. Congress. In 1846 he resigned his seat in order to serve in the Mexican War and fought at Monterrey and Buena Vista, where he was wounded. He was U.S. senator from Mississippi from 1847 to 1851, secretary of war in the cabinet of President Franklin Pierce from 1853 to 1857, and again U.S. senator from 1857 to 1861. As a senator he often stated his support of slavery and of states' rights, and as a cabinet member he influenced Pierce to sign the Kansas-Nebraska Act, which favored the South and increased the bitterness of the struggle over slavery. In his second term as senator he became t...