''A Tribute to Courage'' monument is a statue of

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played an important role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two i ...

located in

Huntsville, Texas Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas. The population was 45,941 as of the 2020 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area. Huntsville is in the East Texas Piney Woods on Interstate 45 and home to ...

(where Sam Houston lived and died), which is 65 miles north of the city of Houston (named in his honor). Sam Houston is one of the founding fathers of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He led the army of Texas during their War for Independence from Mexico in 1836, including the victory at San Jacinto (about 100 miles from the statue) where Texas won her independence by defeating Mexican President Santa Ana in the field. The statue by sculptor

David Adickes David Pryor Adickes ( ; born 1927, Huntsville, Texas) is a modernist sculptor and painter. His most famous work is the 67-foot tall '' A Tribute to Courage'' statue of Sam Houston in Huntsville, Texas. Life and career Adickes was born in Huntsv ...

is 67 feet tall and was built in 1994. It is clearly visible to motorists heading north on

Interstate 45 Interstate 45 (I-45) is a major Interstate Highway located entirely within the US state of Texas. While most Interstate routes which have numbers ending in "5" are cross-country north–south routes, I-45 is comparatively short, with the ...

. It is the ninth-tallest statue in the United States. It was vandalized with graffiti in March 2008.

References

External links

Giant Statue of Sam Houston
Monuments and memorials in Texas Outdoor sculptures in Texas Buildings and structures in Walker County, Texas Colossal statues in the United States 1994 sculptures Concrete sculptures in Texas 1994 establishments in Texas Huntsville, Texas Statues of Sam Houston Vandalized works of art in Texas {{Texas-sculpture-stub