Following the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836, Houston joined his volunteer army at Gonzales, but was soon forced to retreat in the face of the forces of Mexican General and dictator Antonio López de Santa Anna, whose army killed all those at The Alamo Mission during the Battle of the Alamo on March 6.

Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto.

At the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, however, Houston surprised Santa Anna and the Mexican forces during their afternoon siesta. Badly beaten, Santa Anna was forced to sign the Treaty of Velasco, granting Texas independence. Although Houston stayed on briefly for negotiations, he returned to the United States for treatment of a wound to his ankle.

Houston was twice elected president of the Republic of Texas (the first time on September 5, 1836). He served from October 22, 1836, to December 10, 1838, and again from December 12, 1841 to December 9, 1844. On December 20, 1837, Houston presided over the convention of Freemasons that formed the Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas, now the Grand Lodge of Texas.

He put down the Cordova Rebellion of 1838 and while initially seeking annexation by the U.S. he dropped that hope during his first term. In his second term, he strove for financial prudence and worked to make peace with the Indians and avoid war with Mexico, following the two invasions of 1842. He had to act over the Regulator-Moderator War of 1844 and sent in the militia.

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Settlement of Houston

The settlement of Houston was founded in August 1836 by brothers J.K. Allen and A.C. Allen and named in Houston's honor and served as capital. Gail Borden helped lay out Houston's streets.

The city of Houston served as the capital until President Mirabeau Lamar signed a measure moving the capital to Austin on January 14, 1839. Between his presidential terms (the constitution did not allow a president to serve consecutive terms), he was a representative in the Texas House of Representatives for San Augustine. He was a major critic of President Mirabeau Lamar, who advocated continuing independence of Texas and its extension to the Pacific Ocean.

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Marriage

On May 9, 1840, in Marion, Alabama, Houston married Margaret Moffette Lea, with whom he had eight children. He was 47 and she was 21. Margaret acted as a tempering influence on Houston. Although the Houstons had numerous houses, only one was kept continuously, Cedar Point, on Trinity Bay from ca. 1840 through 1863.

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U.S. Senator

Sam Houston as a U.S. senator.

After the annexation of Texas by the United States in 1845, he was elected to the U.S. Senate along with Thomas Jefferson Rusk. Houston served there from February 21, 1846, until March 4, 1859. He was a Senator during the Mexican-American War, when the U.S. acquired from Mexico vast new territory in the Southwest.

Throughout his term in the Senate, Houston spoke out against the growing sectionalism of the country, and blamed the extremists of both the North and South, saying: "Whatever is calculated to weaken or impair the strength of [the] Union, — whether originating at the North or the South, — whether arising from the incendiary violence of abolitionists, or from the coalition of nullifiers, will never meet with my unqualified approval."

Houston supported the Oregon Bill in 1848, which was opposed by many Southerners. In his passionate speech in support of the Compromise of 1850, Houston said "A nation divided against itself cannot stand". Eight years later, Abraham Lincoln would express a similar sentiment.

Houston opposed the Kansas-Nebraska Act in 1854, and correctly predicted that it would cause a sectional rift in the country that would eventually lead to war: "…what fields of blood, what scenes of horror, what mighty cities in smoke and ruins — it is brother murdering brother… I see my beloved South go down in the unequal contest, in a sea of blood and smoking ruin." He was only one of two Southern senators (the other being John Bell of Tennessee) to vote against the Kansas-Nebraska Act. He was considered a potential candidate for president. But, despite the fact that he was a slave-owner, his strong Unionism and opposition to the extension of slavery alienated the Texas legislature and other southern States.

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Governor of Texas

Bust of Houston by Elisabet Ney.

He twice ran for governor of Texas, unsuccessfully in 1857 and successfully against Hardin R. Runnels in 1859 as a Unionist, making him the only person in U.S. history to be the governor of two different states (as well as the only governor to previously have been a foreign head of state.) Despite Houston's being a slave owner and against abolition, he opposed the secession of Texas from the Union. In 1860, he offered the following prediction: "Let me tell you what is coming. After the sacrifice of countless millions of treasure and hundreds of thousands of lives you may win Southern independence, but I doubt it. The North is determined to preserve this Union."^[3]

Despite Houston's wishes, Texas seceded from the United States on February 1, 1861, and joined the Confederate States of America on March 2, 1861. This act was soon branded illegal by Houston, but the Texas legislature nevertheless upheld the legitimacy of secession. The political forces that brought about Texas's secession also were powerful enough to replace the state's Unionist governor. Houston chose not to resist, stating that, "I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon her. To avert this calamity, I shall make no endeavor to maintain my authority as Chief Executive of this State, except by the peaceful exercise of my functions...." He was evicted from his office on March 16, 1861, for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy, writing,

"Fellow-Citizens, in the name of your rights and liberties, which I believe have been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath. In the name of the nationality of Texas, which has been betrayed by the Convention, I refuse to take this oath. In the name of the Constitution of Texas, I refuse to take this oath. In the name of my own conscience and manhood, which this Convention would degrade by dragging me before it, to pander to the malice of my enemies....I refuse to take this oath."

He was replaced by Lieutenant Governor Edward Clark. To avoid more bloodshed in Texas, Houston turned down U.S. Col. Frederick W. Lander's offer from President Abraham Lincoln of 50,000 troops to prevent Texas's secession, stating in his response, "Allow me to most respectfully decline any such assistance of the United States Government."

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Final years

Sam Houston's grave in Huntsville, Texas.

In 1854, Houston, having earlier made a profession of Christian faith, was baptized by the Baptist minister, Rufus C. Burleson, who was later the president of Baylor University, then Baylor College. At the time Burleson was the pastor of the Independence, Texas, Baptist Church in Washington County, which Houston and his wife attended. Houston was also a close friend of another Baylor president and Burleson's predecessor as pastor at the Independence church, the Reverend George Washington Baines, maternal great-grandfather of Lyndon B. Johnson.

In 1862, Houston returned to Huntsville, Texas, and rented the Steamboat House; the hills in Huntsville reminded him of his boyhood home near Maryville, Tennessee. His health deteriorated quickly over the next few months as he developed a persistent cough. In mid-July, Houston was struck with a severe chill which progressed into pneumonia. Despite the efforts of Drs. Markham and Kittrell, on July 26, 1863, at 6:16 p.m, Houston died quietly in his Steamboat House with his wife Margaret by his side. His last recorded words were "Texas. Texas. Margaret". The inscription on his tomb reads:

A Brave Soldier. A Fearless Statesman.

A Great Orator — A Pure Patriot.

A Faithful Friend, A Loyal Citizen.

A Devoted Husband and Father.

A Consistent Christian — An Honest Man.

While Sam Houston is buried in Huntsville, Texas, his wife Margaret Lea is buried in the City of Independence, Texas.

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Monuments and museums

70 Foot Tall Statue of Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas.

• Huntsville, Texas, is the home of the Sam Houston Memorial Museum, a 69 ft (21 m) statue, Sam Houston State University, and Houston's gravesite. The statue (which is the world's largest statue of an American hero, easily visible by motorists traveling on Interstate 45) is the title and subject of a country music song by Merle Haggard.

• A bronze equestrian sculpture of Houston is located in Hermann Park in Houston, Texas.

• The Sam Houston Wayside near Lexington, Virginia, is a 38,000-pound piece of Texas pink granite commemorating Houston's birthplace.
• The Sam Houston Schoolhouse in Maryville, Tennessee, is Tennessee's oldest schoolhouse. In addition to the schoolhouse there is a museum on the grounds.

• USS Sam Houston, an Ethan Allen class submarine, was named after Houston.

• The Sam Houston National Forest, one of four national forests in Texas, was named after Houston. [1]

• The Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, located outside of Liberty, Texas has the largest known collection of photographs and illustrations of Houston.

• Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas, is named after Houston.

• Many cities in the U.S. have a street, school, or park named for Houston.

• The State of Texas has placed a statue of Sam Houston inside Statuary Hall of the United States Capitol.

• The Sam Houston Coliseum in Houston, Texas, is named after Houston. The Beatles performed there in 1965.

• There is a mural depicting Sam Houston on a gas tank near State Hwy 225 in Houston. [2]

• Sam Houston Elementary School in Lebanon, TN.

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Children

By Margaret Lea

1. Sam Houston, Jr., 1843-1894
2. Nancy Elizabeth, 1846-1920
3. Margaret Lea, 1848-1906
4. Mary William, 1850-1931
5. Antoinette Power, 1852-1932
6. Andrew Jackson Houston, 1854-1941
7. William Rogers Houston, 1858-1891
8. Temple Lea Houston, 1860-1905

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Popular culture

Houston has been a character in a number of movies. His life story was portrayed in "Man of Conquest" starring Richard Dix, made in 1939, which garnered three Academy Award nominations. The best known is probably "The First Texan," in which he was played by Joel McCrea. Richard Boone played Houston in the 1960 movie The Alamo. In the 1986 CBS TV movie Gone to Texas: The Sam Houston Story, he was played by Sam Elliott. He makes a brief appearance in the 1987 television movie Alamo: Thirteen Days to Glory, portrayed by Lorne Greene. In the 2004 film, "The Alamo", Houston was portrayed by Dennis Quaid. A famous painting of the wounded Houston accepting the surrender of Santa Anna (Surrender of Santa Anna, by William H. Huddle) is recreated in the film. Houston also appears in a few alternative history novels, including The Difference Engine by William Gibson and Bruce Sterling, in which he appears attempting to gain support from the French in his campaign to restore Texas's independence, and in 1812: The Rivers of War, by Eric Flint, in which he distinguishes himself at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend during the War of 1812 and is not seriously wounded. Sent to Washington, D.C., by General Andrew Jackson, he arrives in time to rally fleeing American forces and repels the British invasion of Washington. He later leads an expedition to reinforce Jackson and fights at the Battle of New Orleans. Flint, in his Afterword, refers to the novel "as an alternate biography of Sam Houston."

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Notes

1. ^ Samuel Houston from the Handbook of Texas Online
2. ^ Lebanon, Tennessee: A Tour of Our City (PDF). Lebanon/Wilson County Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved on February 5, 2007.
3. ^ James, Marquis. The Raven. Dunwoody, Georgia: Norman S. Berg, Publisher, by arrangement with Bobbs-Merrill Co., 1929.. Retrieved on March 5, 2007.

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References

The following are reference sources (alphabetical by author):

• Andrew Jackson-His Life and Times; Brands, H.W.; Doubleday; ISBN 0-385-50738-0.
• The Texas Revolution; Brinkley, William, Texas A&M Press: ISBN 0-87611-041-3.
• Sword of San Jacinto, Marshall De Bruhl, Random House: ISBN 0-394-57623-3.
• Sam Houston, Haley, James L., University of Oklahoma Press: ISBN 0-8061-3644-8.
• The Raven: A Biography of Sam Houston; James, Marquis; University of Texas Press: ISBN 0-292-77040-5.
• The Eagle and the Raven; Michener, James A., State House Press: ISBN 0-938349-57-0.

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External links

• Sam Houston at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Life of General Houston, 1793-1863 published 1891, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Sam Houston ; David Crockett. published 1901, hosted by the Portal to Texas History.
• Samuel Houston from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Sam Houston Memorial Museum
• Sam Houston Memorial Museum Antiquities Collection From Texas Tides
• Sam Houston's Obituary - The Tri Weekly Telegraph, Houston, Texas July 29, 1863 - TexasBob.com
• Sam Houston Historic Schoolhouse in Maryville, TN USA
• Tennessee Encyclopedia entry
• Tennessee State Library & Archives, Papers of Governor Sam Houston, 1827-1829
• Sam Houston Rode a Gray Horse

v • d • e United States Senators from Texas Class 1: Rusk • Henderson • Ward • Wigfall • Flanagan • Maxey • Reagan • Chilton • Mills • Culberson • Mayfield • Connally • Daniel • Blakley • Yarborough • Bentsen • Krueger • Hutchison Class 2: S. Houston • Hemphill • Hamilton • Coke • Chilton • Bailey • Johnston • Sheppard • A. Houston • O'Daniel • Johnson • Blakley • Tower • Gramm • Cornyn

v • d • e Governors of Tennessee Sevier • Roane • Sevier • Blount • McMinn • Carroll • Houston • Hall • Carroll • Cannon • Polk • Jones • A Brown • N Brown • Trousdale • Campbell • Johnson • Harris • Johnson • East • Brownlow • Senter • J Brown • Porter • Marks • Hawkins • Bate • R Taylor • Buchanan • Turney • R Taylor • McMillin • Frazier • Cox • Patterson • Hooper • Rye • Roberts • A Taylor • Peay • Horton • McAlister • Browning • Cooper • McCord • Browning • Clement • Ellington • Clement • Ellington • Dunn • Blanton • Alexander • McWherter • Sundquist • Bredesen

v • d • e Presidents of the Republic of Texas Burnet (interim) • Houston • Lamar • Houston • Jones

v • d • e Governors of Texas J. P. Henderson • Wood • Bell • J. W. Henderson • Pease • Runnels • Houston • Clark • Lubbock • Murrah • Hamilton • Throckmorton • Pease • Davis • Coke • Hubbard • Roberts • Ireland • Ross • Hogg • Culberson • Sayers • Lanham • Campbell • Colquitt • J. Ferguson • Hobby • Neff • M. Ferguson • Moody • Sterling • M. Ferguson • Allred • O'Daniel • Stevenson • Jester • Shivers • Daniel • Connally • Smith • Briscoe • Clements • White • Clements • Richards • Bush • Perry