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| 6 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, March 2, 2025, marks the 232nd anniversary of the |
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| 8 | 9 | | birth of Texas icon Sam Houston; and |
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| 9 | 10 | | WHEREAS, Born in Virginia in 1793, Sam Houston was the son of |
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| 10 | 11 | | Samuel and Elizabeth Houston; his father died when he was 13, and |
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| 11 | 12 | | his mother resettled the family on a farm in Tennessee; in 1809, he |
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| 12 | 13 | | left home to live among the Cherokees; he enlisted in the U.S. Army |
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| 13 | 14 | | during the War of 1812 and quickly earned promotion to third |
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| 14 | 15 | | lieutenant; serving under General Andrew Jackson, he demonstrated |
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| 15 | 16 | | great valor and leadership in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, despite |
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| 16 | 17 | | suffering three near-fatal wounds; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, General Jackson became a mentor, spurring his |
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| 18 | 19 | | protégé's swift rise in the military and politics; elected to the |
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| 19 | 20 | | U.S. House of Representatives in 1823, Mr. Houston served two terms |
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| 20 | 21 | | before winning the governor's race in Tennessee; he resigned two |
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| 21 | 22 | | years later and went to live among the Cherokees in Oklahoma, where |
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| 22 | 23 | | he often acted as a tribal emissary and worked to keep peace among |
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| 23 | 24 | | tribes; perceiving Texas as a land of promise, he relocated in 1832 |
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| 24 | 25 | | and soon became involved in the Anglo-Texan independence movement; |
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| 25 | 26 | | he was a delegate from Refugio to the convention at |
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| 26 | 27 | | Washington-on-the-Brazos, where the Texas Declaration of |
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| 27 | 28 | | Independence was signed on March 2, 1836; appointed major general |
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| 28 | 29 | | of the new republic's army, he led his troops to victory over |
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| 29 | 30 | | Mexican General Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto; and |
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| 30 | 31 | | WHEREAS, Hailed as a hero, Mr. Houston became the first |
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| 31 | 32 | | regularly elected president of the Republic of Texas and guided it |
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| 32 | 33 | | through many perils during two terms, separated by a stint |
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| 33 | 34 | | representing San Augustine in the Texas House; he facilitated the |
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| 34 | 35 | | Lone Star State's entry into the Union and then became a U.S. |
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| 35 | 36 | | senator, serving from 1846 to 1859; a staunch Unionist and powerful |
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| 36 | 37 | | orator, he strenuously opposed rising sectionalism; opposition |
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| 37 | 38 | | from proslavery factions caused his political fortunes to wane, but |
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| 38 | 39 | | after an unsuccessful run for governor in 1857, he triumphed in the |
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| 39 | 40 | | next gubernatorial election; as the clamor for secession rose, he |
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| 40 | 41 | | warned that civil war would result in the destruction of the South; |
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| 41 | 42 | | he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the newly formed |
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| 42 | 43 | | Confederate States of America, and the Texas Secession Convention |
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| 43 | 44 | | removed him from office; retiring from public life, he moved his |
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| 44 | 45 | | family to Huntsville in 1862; he died of pneumonia on July 26 of the |
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| 45 | 46 | | following year, at the age of 70; and |
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| 46 | 47 | | WHEREAS, Bold and resolute, Sam Houston was a towering figure |
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| 47 | 48 | | in the history of our state and nation, and his enormously |
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| 48 | 49 | | consequential accomplishments remain a source of inspiration |
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| 49 | 50 | | today; now, therefore, be it |
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| 50 | 51 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 51 | 52 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the 232nd anniversary of the birth |
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| 52 | 53 | | of Sam Houston. |
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