H.R. No. 1318
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Hendrick Arnold, a noted early Texas scout and
guide, earned a lasting place of honor for his significant service
to the cause of Texas independence; and
WHEREAS, Born to Daniel and Martha Ann Holly Arnold in
Kentucky in 1806, Hendrick Arnold moved to Texas with his family in
the mid-1820s; Daniel Arnold settled on the Brazos River, in
Stephen F. Austin's first colony, and later located his headright
on the site of present-day Navasota; and
WHEREAS, In 1831, Hendrick Arnold married Maria Ignacia
Saucedo, the stepdaughter of Erastus "Deaf" Smith, and settled in
San Antonio; in October 1835, he was engaged in manufacturing
lumber on the Medina River, near present-day Bandera, for sale in
San Antonio; when he received word there that Stephen F. Austin and
an army of Texas volunteers were marching on San Antonio to confront
General Martin Perfecto de Cos, who had just arrived with a force of
several hundred soldiers to reassert the authority of the Mexican
government, he assembled his men and set out to join the Texas
troops; and
WHEREAS, During the ensuing siege of Bexar, the first
significant campaign of the Texas Revolution, Hendrick Arnold and
his father-in-law served as scouts and guides for the Texas army; on
October 28, they took part in the Battle of Concepcion, in which the
Texans successfully repelled an attack from Mexican forces sent out
from San Antonio; a week later, on December 3, the Texans chose to
postpone an attack on the Mexican troops in San Antonio because Mr.
Arnold was away at the time, and several officers refused to advance
without him; after his return, an attack on the town was set for
December 5, and Hendrick Arnold guided one of the two divisions that
entered Bexar and that ultimately compelled the Mexican forces
there to surrender on December 9; in the official report following
the battle, the commanding Texas officer singled out Mr. Arnold for
particular praise; and
WHEREAS, Anticipating a Mexican invasion in response to the
defeat inflicted on General Cos, Hendrick Arnold moved his family
to safety at his father's home on the Brazos and then returned to
San Antonio; while General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna laid siege to
the Texas troops in the Alamo, Mr. Arnold, who remained outside the
fort, helped to sustain those within by supplying them with corn and
beef; afterward, he served as a spy for General Sam Houston, a role
he continued to perform through the Battle of San Jacinto; and
WHEREAS, In March 1842, when Rafael Vasquez and some 700
Mexican troops occupied San Antonio for several days, Mr. Arnold
served as a scout for an opposing force of Texas Rangers led by John
C. Hays; and
WHEREAS, Following the revolution, Mr. Arnold received land
in Bandera County in compensation for his military service, but he
seems not to have ever settled there; by 1843, he and his family
were living in a Mexican settlement at Castroville, where he made
cypress shingles for sale in San Antonio; his business interests in
San Antonio apparently also included at one time a wool-washing
mill, which he built near Mission San Juan in about 1836; in
addition, he negotiated to buy half an interest in another mill near
the same mission before his death from cholera on November 9, 1849;
and
WHEREAS, Mr. Arnold had three children, Mary Ann, Margaret,
and Napolean, with his first wife, who died in 1839; he remarried
and also had several children with his second wife, Martina
Fuentes; in 1893, his daughter Mary Ann Adams and her daughter,
Sarah D. Adams, were among the first to join the Daughters of the
Republic of Texas; and
WHEREAS, Hendrick Arnold was laid to rest in the Arnold
Cemetery, located on the Straus-Medina Ranch in Bexar County; in
1936, in conjunction with the Texas Centennial, a grave marker
noting his service in the Siege of Bexar was erected in his honor;
and
WHEREAS, Held in high esteem by the men with whom he served,
Hendrick Arnold is indeed deserving of recognition in 2011, the
175th anniversary of Texas independence, for the vital role he
played in that watershed event; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Hendrick Arnold for
his notable service in behalf of Texas liberty and for his
contributions to the development of the republic and the Lone Star
State.
McClendon
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1318 was adopted by the House on April
13, 2011, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House