H.R. No. 123
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, March 2, 2025, marks the 232nd anniversary of the
birth of Texas icon Sam Houston; and
WHEREAS, Born in Virginia in 1793, Sam Houston was the son of
Samuel and Elizabeth Houston; his father died when he was 13, and
his mother resettled the family on a farm in Tennessee; in 1809, he
left home to live among the Cherokees; he enlisted in the U.S. Army
during the War of 1812 and quickly earned promotion to third
lieutenant; serving under General Andrew Jackson, he demonstrated
great valor and leadership in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, despite
suffering three near-fatal wounds; and
WHEREAS, General Jackson became a mentor, spurring his
protégé's swift rise in the military and politics; elected to the
U.S. House of Representatives in 1823, Mr. Houston served two terms
before winning the governor's race in Tennessee; he resigned two
years later and went to live among the Cherokees in Oklahoma, where
he often acted as a tribal emissary and worked to keep peace among
tribes; perceiving Texas as a land of promise, he relocated in 1832
and soon became involved in the Anglo-Texan independence movement;
he was a delegate from Refugio to the convention at
Washington-on-the-Brazos, where the Texas Declaration of
Independence was signed on March 2, 1836; appointed major general
of the new republic's army, he led his troops to victory over
Mexican General Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto; and
WHEREAS, Hailed as a hero, Mr. Houston became the first
regularly elected president of the Republic of Texas and guided it
through many perils during two terms, separated by a stint
representing San Augustine in the Texas House; he facilitated the
Lone Star State's entry into the Union and then became a U.S.
senator, serving from 1846 to 1859; a staunch Unionist and powerful
orator, he strenuously opposed rising sectionalism; opposition
from proslavery factions caused his political fortunes to wane, but
after an unsuccessful run for governor in 1857, he triumphed in the
next gubernatorial election; as the clamor for secession rose, he
warned that civil war would result in the destruction of the South;
he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the newly formed
Confederate States of America, and the Texas Secession Convention
removed him from office; retiring from public life, he moved his
family to Huntsville in 1862; he died of pneumonia on July 26 of the
following year, at the age of 70; and
WHEREAS, Bold and resolute, Sam Houston was a towering figure
in the history of our state and nation, and his enormously
consequential accomplishments remain a source of inspiration
today; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
Legislature hereby commemorate the 232nd anniversary of the birth
of Sam Houston.
Cain
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 123 was adopted by the House on April
17, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 133, Nays 7, 2 present, not
voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House