Page:Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (1892, volume 3).djvu/302

274 1787 he was appointed by the general assembly a commissioner for settling disputes respecting the boundary-line between Georgia and South Caro- lina ; but he differed with the other commission- ers, and protested against their proceedings. This protest is contained in Marbury and Crawford's " Digest." He was an able lawyer, and was ap- pointed judge of the state supreme court in 1792.

HOUSTON, Samuel, president of Texas, b. in Rockbridge county, Va., 2 March. 1793 ; d. in Huntsville, Walker co., Texas, 25 July, 1863. He was of Scotch-Irish descent. On the death of his father, the family removed to a place in Tennessee near the Cherokee ter- ritory. He received but little education, and spent much of his time with the In- dians, by one of whom he was adopted. In 1813 he enlisted in the 7th U.S. infantry, and soon became a sergeant. He was present at the bat- tle of the Horseshoe Bend (Tohopeka), where he attracted the attention of Gen. Jackson by his des- perate bravery, and was several times wounded. He was made ensign in the 39th infantry, 29 July, 1813, and in the following May became 2d lieutenant. For a time he acted as sub-agent for the Cherokees, at Jackson's re- quest. He became 1st lieutenant in March, 1818, but resigned in the following May on account of criticism emanating from the war department, of which John C. Calhoun was secretary, touching the smuggling of negroes from Florida into the United States. This he had tried to prevent, and, being accused of complicity, he demanded an investiga- tion and was fully exonerated. He began the study of law at Nashville, in June, 1818, obtained his license in a few months, and commenced practice at Lebanon. In 1819 he was elected district at- torney of the Davidson district, whereupon he re- moved to Nashville. He was also appointed ad- jutant-general of the state. In 1821 he was elect- ed major-general, and within a year resigned the district attorneyship. In 1823 he was elected to congress, and in 1825 was re-elected. In the last year of his term, he fought a duel with Gen. White, whom he wounded. In 1827 he was a candidate for governor, and was elected by an overwhelming majority. In January, 1829, he married a Miss Allen, of Sumner county, Tenn., but a few weeks after the marriage Houston sud- denly separated from his wife without a word of explanation. He always protested that the cause of separation in no manner affected his wife's char- acter. He left the state amid a storm of vitupera- tion, and made his way up the Arkansas to the mouth of the Illinois, where lived his former Cherokee father- by-adoption. Here he remained about tjjree years. In 1832 he made a trip to Washington in the interest of the Indians. He wore the Indian garb, and was warmly received by President Jackson. While in Washington he was accused by William Stansberry, of Ohio, a member of congress, of attempting to obtain a fraudulent contract for furnishing the Indians supplies. In retaliation, he attacked Stansberry, and beat him severely. He received a mild reprimand at the bar of the house, and was fined $500, but Jackson re- mitted the fine. This year he made a trip to Texas. He was elected a member of the convention called to • meet at San Felipe de Austin, 1 April, 1833, where a constitution was adopted, in which Hous- ton had inserted a clause, forbidding the legisla- ture to establish banks. Shortly afterward, Hous- ton was elected general of Texas, east of Trinity river. He was also a member of the so-called " General Consultation " that met in October, 1835, for the purpose of establishing a provisional gov- ernment. He successfully opposed a declaration of absolute independence as premature. He was here elected commander-in-chief of the army of Texas, and at once proceeded to perfect the mili- tary organization of the scattered population, though constantly hampered by the bickerings ;md jealousies of those in control of the law-making power, who soon deprived him of his office. He was elected a member of the convention that met at New Washington, and adopted a declaration of absolute independence, 2 March, 1836, which also re-elected him commander-in-chief. The Mexi- cans, under Santa-Anna, began the invasion of Texas, about 5,000 strong, in three columns. On 6 March the Alamo fell, and 185 men were put to death, Bowie, David Crockett, and Travis among the number. A few days later, Goliad was cap- tured by the Mexicans, and 500 men were put to death. After some manoeuvring, Houston, on 21 April, 1836, with 750 men, met the main division of the Mexicans, 1,800 strong, under Santa-Anna, on the banks of the San Jacinto, near the mouth of Buffalo bayou. The American battle-cry was "Remember the Alamo!" The fight lasted less than an hour, and the Mexicans were totally routed, losing 630 killed and 730 prisoners, among them Santa- Anna. Houston, wounded in the ankle, was treated with great indignity by the civil authorities immediately after the battle, and retired to New Orleans. In the autumn of 1836, when he returned to Nacogdoches, Mirabeau B. Lamar had been made commander-in-chief. An election for president of the republic had been ordered by the March convention, and Houston announced himself a candidate twelve days before the day of election. In a total vote of 5,104, he received 4,374, and on 22 Oct., 1836, he became first president of the republic of Texas. His term expired 12 Dec, 1838. He left the country in a healthy condition, its treasury notes at par, at peace with the Indians, and on a friendly footing with Mexico, although a permanent peace had not yet been negotiated. Houston had been in the Texan congress for the two terms 1839-'41. In April, 1840, he married Margaret Moffette, having been divorced from his first wife. His second wife, who exercised an ennobling and restraining influence over him, was from Alabama. In 1841 he was re-elected to the presidency. From 12 Dec., 1841, till 9 Dec, 1844, Houston's work was to undo the mischief of his predecessor, Lamar. He probably saved the government from disbanding. Congress, in June, 1842, passed a bill making him dictator, and 10,000,000 acres of land were voted to resist the threatened Mexican invasion. Houston vetoed these measures, and the danger of invasion soon passed away. In 1838 he had taken the first step toward securing the annexation of Texas to the United States. Van Buren hesitated, when Houston began to coquette, as he afterward said, with Spain, France, and England, knowing that the United States dreaded the intrusion of a European power upon American soil. On 29 Dec,