Sam Houston was born on March 2, 1793 in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He spent a great deal of time with the Cherokee Indians as a youth, and he enlisted in the US Army during the War of 1812. He quit the army to study law and was elected to Congress from Tennessee in 1823 and again in 1825. In 1827, he was elected Governor of Tennessee. Because of an unhappy marriage (?), he resigned as governor and went to live with the Cherokees. He moved to Texas in 1832. He was a delegate to the convention that met at Washington-on-the Brazos in 1836 to declare independence from Mexico. Did he influence the convention to declare this independence on his birthday and four days before the fall of the Alamo? Probably not, but it would make a good story. Houston led the Texican army in the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, and they defeated the Mexican forces under General Santa Anna. After this, Houston became President of Texas, congressman to the Texas Congress, president again, Senator from the state of Texas to the US Congress, and Governor of Texas. He was forced to step down from the governor’s office when he opposed secession in 1861.
This ends your free Texas history lesson for today. Go to Lone Star Junction for more information on the great state of Texas. (We Texans are not known for modesty about our state or our heritage, and I’m proud to be Native Texan!)
Texan authors I know and enjoy: Louis Sachar, Diane Stanley, Janice Shefelman, Leon Hale, Elmer Kelton, Joan Lowery Nixon, James Michener, and others. Do you know any other good authors from Texas?