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 The Republic of Texas ( es, República de Tejas) was a sovereign state in North America that existed from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846, that bordered Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande in 1840 (another breakaway republic from Mex ...

and was one of the first two individuals to represent

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 ...

in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

. He also served as the sixth governor of Tennessee and the seventh governor of Texas, the only individual to be elected governor of two different states in the United States. Born in

Rockbridge County, Virginia Rockbridge County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 22,650. Its county seat is the city of Lexington. Rockbridge County completely surrounds the in ...

, Houston and his family migrated to

Maryville, Tennessee Maryville is a city in and the county seat of Blount County, Tennessee, and is a suburb of Knoxville. Its population was 31,907 at the 2020 census. It is included in the Knoxville Metropolitan Area and a short distance from popular tourist de ...

, when Houston was a teenager. Houston later ran away from home and spent about three years living with the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

, becoming known as Raven. He served under General

Andrew Jackson Andrew Jackson (March 15, 1767 – June 8, 1845) was an American lawyer, planter, general, and statesman who served as the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. Before being elected to the presidency, he gained fame as ...

in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and after the war, he presided over the removal of many Cherokee from Tennessee. With the support of Jackson and others, Houston won election to the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...

in 1823. He strongly supported Jackson's presidential candidacies, and in 1827, Houston was elected as the governor of Tennessee. In 1829, after divorcing his first wife, Houston resigned from office, and moved to

Arkansas Territory The Arkansas Territory was a territory of the United States that existed from July 4, 1819, to June 15, 1836, when the final extent of Arkansas Territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Arkansas. Arkansas Post was the first territo ...

. Houston settled in Texas in 1832. After the Battle of Gonzales, he helped organize Texas's provisional government and was selected as the top-ranking official in the

Texian Army The Texian Army, also known as the Revolutionary Army and Army of the People, was the land warfare branch of the Texian armed forces during the Texas Revolution. It spontaneously formed from the Texian Militia in October 1835 following the ...

. He led the Texan Army to victory at the

Battle of San Jacinto The Battle of San Jacinto ( es, Batalla de San Jacinto), fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engage ...

, the decisive battle in Texas's war for independence against

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. After the war, Houston won election in the 1836 Texas presidential election. He left office due to term limits in 1838 but won election to another term in the 1841 Texas presidential election. Houston played a key role in the

annexation of Texas The Texas annexation was the 1845 annexation of the Republic of Texas into the United States. Texas was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on December 29, 1845. The Republic of Texas declared independence from the Republic of Mexico ...

by the United States in 1845, and in 1846, he was elected to represent Texas in the United States Senate. He joined the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

and supported President

James K. Polk James Knox Polk (November 2, 1795 – June 15, 1849) was the 11th president of the United States, serving from 1845 to 1849. He previously was the 13th speaker of the House of Representatives (1835–1839) and ninth governor of Tennessee (183 ...

's prosecution of the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War, also known in the United States as the Mexican War and in Mexico as the (''United States intervention in Mexico''), was an armed conflict between the United States and Mexico from 1846 to 1848. It followed the 1 ...

. His Senate record was marked by his unionism and opposition to extremists from both the

North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating Direction (geometry), direction or geography. Etymology T ...

and

South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...

. He voted for the

Compromise of 1850 The Compromise of 1850 was a package of five separate bills passed by the United States Congress in September 1850 that defused a political confrontation between slave and free states on the status of territories acquired in the Mexican–Am ...

, which settled many of the territorial issues left over from the Mexican–American War and the annexation of Texas. He later voted against the

Kansas–Nebraska Act The Kansas–Nebraska Act of 1854 () was a territorial organic act that created the territories of Kansas and Nebraska. It was drafted by Democratic Senator Stephen A. Douglas, passed by the 33rd United States Congress, and signed into law by ...

because he believed it would lead to increased sectional tensions over slavery, and his opposition to that act led him to leave the Democratic Party. He was an unsuccessful candidate for the presidential nomination of the American Party in the 1856 presidential election and the Constitutional Union Party in the 1860 presidential election. In 1859, Houston won election as the governor of Texas. In this role, he opposed secession and unsuccessfully sought to keep Texas out of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...

. He was forced out of office in 1861 and died in 1863. Houston's name has been honored in numerous ways, and he is the eponym of the city of

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

, the fourth most populous city in the United States.

Early life

Samuel Houston was born in

, on March 2, 1793, to Samuel Houston and Elizabeth Paxton. Both of Houston's parents were descended from Scottish and Irish immigrants who had settled in Colonial America in the 1730s, including his great-grandfather John Houston. Houston's father was descended from

Ulster Scots people The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch''), are an ethnic group in Ireland, who speak an U ...

. Samuel inherited the Timber Ridge plantation and mansion in Rockbridge County, Virginia that was worked by enslaved African Americans. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, Captain Houston served in Morgan's Rifle Brigade as a paymaster. He served in the Virginia militia, which required him to pay his own expenses and to be away from his family for long periods of time. The plantation and the family's finances suffered as a result. He had five brothers and three sisters: Paxton, Robert, James who married Patience Bills, John, William who married Mary Ball, Isabella, Mary who married Matthew Wallace and then his nephew Williams Wallace, and Eliza who married Samuel Moore. His father, Samuel, planned to sell Timber Ridge and move west to Tennessee, where land was less expensive, but he died in 1806. Elizabeth, his mother, followed through on those plans and settled the family near Maryville, the seat of

Blount County, Tennessee Blount County is a county located in the East Tennessee Grand Division of the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, its population was 135,280. The county seat is Maryville, which is also the county's largest city. Blount County ...

. At this time, Tennessee was on the

American frontier The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...

, and even larger towns like Nashville were vigilant against Native American raids. He had dozens of cousins who lived in the surrounding area of east-central Tennessee. When they arrived, Elizabeth cleared the land, built a house, and planted crops. Her oldest children, Paxton, Isabella, and Robert died within a few years after they arrived in Tennessee. Elizabeth relied on James and John to run the store in Maryville, operate the farm, and watch over the younger children. He had a care-free disposition, however, and liked to escape to explore the frontier. He was at odds with concepts of hell and damnation of his mother's religion,

Presbyterianism Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

, and he was not interested schooling. He did take an interest in his father's library, reading works by classical authors like

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

as well as more recent works by authors such as

Jedidiah Morse Jedidiah Morse (August 23, 1761June 9, 1826) was a geographer whose textbooks became a staple for students in the United States. He was the father of the telegraphy pioneer and painter Samuel Morse, and his textbooks earned him the sobriquet of "f ...

. Not interested in farming and working in the family store, at the age of 16, he left his family to live with a

tribe led by Chief

John Jolly John Jolly (Cherokee: ''Ahuludegi''; also known as ''Oolooteka''), was a leader of the Cherokee in Tennessee, the Arkansas Territory, and the Indian Territory, now Oklahoma. After 1818, he was the Principal Chief and after reorganization of the t ...

( Cherokee name: ''Ahuludegi'', also spelled ''Oolooteka'') on

Hiwassee Island Hiwassee Island, also known as Jollys Island and Benham Island, is located in Meigs County, Tennessee, at the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers. It is about northeast of Chattanooga. The island was the second largest land mass on th ...

. Houston formed a close relationship with Jolly and learned the Cherokee language, becoming known as Raven. According to James L. Haley, he appreciated the "free and unsophisticated spiritual expression of the Native Americans". He left the tribe to return to Maryville in 1812, and he was hired at age 19 for a term as the schoolmaster of a one-room schoolhouse. He attended Porter Academy, where he was taught by Rev. Isaac L. Anderson (founder of

Maryville College Maryville College is a private liberal arts college in Maryville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1819 by Presbyterian minister Isaac L. Anderson for the purpose of furthering education and enlightenment into the West. The college is one of the ...

). According to biographer John Hoyt Williams, Houston was not close with his siblings or his parents, and he rarely spoke of them in his later life. Haley states that he was interested in his younger brother's and his sisters' welfare when he lived on Hiwassee Island. He felt used by the rest of the family.

War of 1812 and aftermath

In 1812, Houston enlisted in the United States Army, which then was engaged in the

against

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and Britain's Native American allies.Sam Houston Papers
#37, The Texas Collection, Baylor University. He quickly impressed the commander of the 39th Infantry Regiment, Thomas Hart Benton, and by the end of 1813, Houston had risen to the rank of the third lieutenant. In early 1814, the 39th Infantry Regiment became a part of the force commanded by General

, who was charged with putting an end to raids by a faction of the

Muscogee The Muscogee, also known as the Mvskoke, Muscogee Creek, and the Muscogee Creek Confederacy ( in the Muscogee language), are a group of related indigenous (Native American) peoples of the Southeastern WoodlandsOld Southwest. Houston was wounded badly in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the decisive battle in the Creek War. Although army doctors expected him to die of his wounds, Houston survived and convalesced in Maryville and other locations. While many other officers lost their positions after the end of the War of 1812 due to military cutbacks, Houston retained his commission with the help of Congressman

John Rhea John Rhea (pronounced ) (1753May 27, 1832) was an American soldier and politician of the early 19th century who represented Tennessee in the United States House of Representatives. Rhea County, Tennessee and Rheatown, a community and former ...

. During that time he was promoted to the rank of

second lieutenant Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank. Australia The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...

. Sometime in early 1817, Sam Houston was assigned to a clerical position in Nashville, serving under the adjutant general for the army's Southern Division. Later in the year, Jackson appointed Houston as a sub-agent to handle the removal of Cherokee from East Tennessee. In February 1818, he received a strong reprimand from Secretary of War John C. Calhoun after he wore Native American dress to a meeting between Calhoun and Cherokee leaders, beginning an enmity that lasted until Calhoun's death in 1850. Angry over the incident with Calhoun and an investigation into his activities, Houston resigned from the army in 1818. He continued to act as a government liaison with the Cherokee, and in 1818, he helped some of the Cherokee resettle in

Early political career

After leaving government service, Houston began an apprenticeship with Judge James Trimble in Nashville. He quickly won admission to the state bar and opened a legal practice in Lebanon, Tennessee. With the aid of Governor

Joseph McMinn Joseph McMinn (June 22, 1758October 17, 1824) was an American politician who served as the fourth Governor of Tennessee from 1815 to 1821. A veteran of the American Revolution, he had previously served in the legislature of the Southwest Territo ...

, Houston won election as the

district attorney In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a l ...

for Nashville in 1819. He was also appointed as a major general of the Tennessee militia. Like his mentors, Houston was a member of the

Democratic-Republican Party The Democratic-Republican Party, known at the time as the Republican Party and also referred to as the Jeffersonian Republican Party among other names, was an American political party founded by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison in the earl ...

, which dominated state and national politics in the decade following the War of 1812. Tennessee gained three seats in the United States House of Representatives after the 1820 United States Census, and, with the support of Jackson and McMinn, Houston ran unopposed in the 1823 election for Tennessee's 9th congressional district. In his first major speech in Congress, Houston advocated for the recognition of Greece, which was fighting a

war of independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List o ...

against the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Houston strongly supported Jackson's candidacy in the 1824 presidential election, which saw four major candidates, all from the Democratic-Republican Party, run for president. As no candidate won a majority of the vote, the House of Representatives held a

contingent election In the United States, a contingent election is used to elect the president or vice president if no candidate receives a majority of the whole number of Electors appointed. A presidential contingent election is decided by a special vote of th ...

, which was won by

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

. Supporters of Jackson eventually coalesced into the

, and those who favored Adams became known as

National Republicans The National Republican Party, also known as the Anti-Jacksonian Party or simply Republicans, was a political party in the United States that evolved from a conservative-leaning faction of the Democratic-Republican Party that supported John Q ...

. With Jackson's backing, Houston won election as governor of Tennessee in 1827. Governor Houston advocated the construction of internal improvements such as canals, and sought to lower the price of land for homesteaders living on public domain. He also aided Jackson's successful campaign in the 1828 presidential election. In January 1829, Houston married Eliza Allen, the daughter of wealthy plantation owner John Allen of Gallatin, Tennessee. The marriage quickly fell apart possibly because Eliza loved another man. In April 1829, following the collapse of his marriage, Houston resigned as governor of Tennessee. Shortly after leaving office, he traveled to Arkansas Territory to rejoin the Cherokee.

Political exile and controversy

Houston was reunited with Ahuludegi's group of Cherokee in mid-1829. Because of Houston's experience in government and his connections with President Jackson, several local Native American tribes asked Houston to mediate disputes and communicate their needs to the Jackson administration. In late 1829, the Cherokee accorded Houston tribal membership and dispatched him to Washington to negotiate several issues. In anticipation of the removal of the remaining Cherokee east of the Mississippi River, Houston made an unsuccessful bid to supply rations to the Native Americans during their journey. When Houston returned to Washington in 1832, Congressman

William Stanbery William Stanbery (August 10, 1788 – January 23, 1873) was an American attorney and politician who served as a U.S. Representative from Ohio from 1827 to 1833. Early life Born in Essex County, New Jersey, Stanbery received an academic educ ...

alleged that Houston had placed a fraudulent bid in 1830 in collusion with the Jackson administration. On April 13, 1832, after Stanbery refused to answer Houston's letters regarding the incident, Houston beat Stanbery with a cane. After the beating, the House of Representatives brought Houston to trial. By a vote of 106 to 89, the House convicted Houston, and Speaker of the House

Andrew Stevenson Andrew Stevenson (January 21, 1784 – January 25, 1857) was an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. He represented Richmond, Virginia in the Virginia House of Delegates and eventually became its speaker before being elected to the United S ...

formally reprimanded Houston. A federal court also required Houston to pay $500 in damages.

Texas Revolution

General Sam Houston, the hero of San Jacinto

In mid-1832, Houston's friends William H. Wharton and John Austin Wharton wrote to convince him to travel to the Mexican possession of

, where unrest among the American settlers was growing. The Mexican government had invited Americans to settle the sparsely populated region of Texas, but many of the settlers, including the Whartons, disliked Mexican rule. Houston crossed into Texas in December 1832, and shortly thereafter, he was granted land in Texas. Houston was elected to represent Nacogdoches, Texas at the

Convention of 1833 The Convention of 1833 (April 1–13, 1833), a political gathering of settlers of Mexican Texas, was a successor to the Convention of 1832, whose requests had not been addressed by the Mexican government. Despite the political uncertainty succeedin ...

, which was called to petition Mexico for statehood (at the time, Texas was part of the state of

Coahuila y Tejas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) f ...

). Houston strongly supported statehood, and he chaired a committee that drew a proposed state constitution. After the convention, Texan leader

Stephen F. Austin Stephen Fuller Austin (November 3, 1793 – December 27, 1836) was an American-born empresario. Known as the "Father of Texas" and the founder of Anglo Texas,Hatch (1999), p. 43. he led the second and, ultimately, the successful colonization ...

petitioned the Mexican government for statehood, but he was unable to come to an agreement with President

Valentín Gómez Farías Valentín Gómez Farías (; 14 February 1781 – 5 July 1858) was a Mexican physician and liberal politician who became president of Mexico twice, first in 1833, during the period of the First Mexican Republic, and again in 1846, during the ...

. In 1834,

Antonio López de Santa Anna Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón (; 21 February 1794 – 21 June 1876),Callcott, Wilfred H., "Santa Anna, Antonio Lopez De,''Handbook of Texas Online'' Retrieved 18 April 2017. usually known as Santa Ann ...

assumed the presidency, took on new powers, and arrested Austin. In October 1835, the Texas Revolution broke out with the Battle of Gonzales, a skirmish between Texan forces and the Mexican Army. Shortly after the battle, Houston was elected to the

Consultation Consultation may refer to: * Public consultation, a process by which the public's input on matters affecting them is sought * Consultation (Texas), the 1835 Texas meeting of colonists on a proposed rebellion against the Republic of Mexico * Cons ...

, a congregation of Texas leaders. Along with Austin and others, Houston helped organize the Consultation into a provisional government for Texas. In November, Houston joined with most other delegates in voting for a measure that demanded Texas statehood and the restoration of the 1824 Constitution of Mexico. The Consultation appointed Houston as a major general and the highest-ranking officer of the

, though the appointment did not give him effective control of the militia units that constituted the Texian Army. Houston helped organize the

Convention of 1836 The Convention of 1836 was the meeting of elected delegates in Washington-on-the-Brazos, Texas in March 1836. The Texas Revolution had begun five months previously, and the interim government, known as the Consultation, had wavered over whether ...

, where the

declared independence from Mexico, and appointed him as Commander-in-Chief of the Texas Army. Shortly after the declaration, the convention received a plea for assistance from William B. Travis, who commanded Texan forces

under siege ''Under Siege'' is a 1992 American action thriller film directed by Andrew Davis, written by J. F. Lawton, and starring Steven Seagal as a former Navy SEAL who must stop a group of mercenaries, led by Tommy Lee Jones, after they commandeer the ...

by Santa Anna at the Alamo. The convention confirmed Houston's command of the Texian Army and dispatched him to lead a relief of Travis's force, but the Alamo fell before Houston could organize his forces at Gonzales, Texas. Seeking to intimidate Texan forces into surrender, the Mexican army killed every defender at the Alamo; news of the defeat outraged many Texans and caused desertions in Houston's ranks. Commanding a force of about 350 men that numerically was inferior to that of Santa Anna, Houston retreated east across the Colorado River. Though the provisional government, as well as many of his own subordinates, urged him to attack the Mexican army, Houston continued the retreat east, informing his soldiers that they constituted "the only army in Texas now present ... There are but a few of us, and if we are beaten, the fate of Texas is sealed." Santa Anna divided his forces and finally caught up to Houston in mid-April 1836. Santa Anna's force of about 1,350 soldiers trapped Houston's force of 783 men in a marsh; rather than pressing the attack, Santa Anna ordered his soldiers to make camp. On April 21, Houston ordered an attack on the Mexican army, beginning the

. The Texans quickly routed Santa Anna's force, though Houston's horse was shot out under him and his ankle was shattered by a stray bullet. In the aftermath of the Battle of San Jacinto, a detachment of Texans captured Santa Anna. Santa Anna was forced to sign the Treaty of Velasco, granting Texas its independence. Houston stayed briefly for negotiations, then returned to the United States for treatment of his ankle wound.

President of Texas

Victory in the Battle of San Jacinto made Houston a hero to many Texans, and he won the 1836 Texas presidential election, defeating Stephen F. Austin, another former governor who would also receive the honor of having the city of Austin named after him, and Henry Smith. Houston took office on October 22, 1836, after interim president

David G. Burnet David Gouverneur Burnet (April 14, 1788 – December 5, 1870) was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas (1836 and again in 1841), Vice President of the Republic of Texas (1839–1841), and Se ...

resigned. During the presidential election, the voters of Texas overwhelmingly indicated their desire for Texas to be annexed by the United States. Houston, meanwhile, faced the challenge of assembling a new government, putting the country's finances in order, and handling relations with Mexico. He selected

Thomas Jefferson Rusk Thomas Jefferson Rusk (December 5, 1803July 29, 1857) was an early political and military leader of the Republic of Texas, serving as its first Secretary of War as well as a general at the Battle of San Jacinto. He was later a US politician and ...

as secretary of war, Smith as secretary of the treasury,

Samuel Rhoads Fisher Samuel Rhoads Fisher was the secretary of the Navy of the Republic of Texas. He was born in Pennsylvania on December 31, 1794 and settled in Texas in 1830 with his wife and four children in the Matagorda area. He represented Matagorda Municipality ...

as secretary of the navy,

James Collinsworth James Thompson Collinsworth (1802 – July 11, 1838) was an American-born Texian lawyer and political figure in early history of the Republic of Texas. Early life Collinsworth was born in 1802 Davidson County, Tennessee. His father, Edward Co ...

as attorney general, and Austin as secretary of state. Houston sought normalized relations with Mexico, and despite some resistance from the legislature, arranged the release of Santa Anna. Concerned about upsetting the balance between

slave states and free states In the United States before 1865, a slave state was a state in which slavery and the internal or domestic slave trade were legal, while a free state was one in which they were not. Between 1812 and 1850, it was considered by the slave states ...

, U.S. President Andrew Jackson refused to push for the annexation of Texas, but in his last official act in office he granted Texas diplomatic recognition. With the United States unwilling to annex Texas, Houston began courting British support; as part of this effort, he urged the end of the importation of slaves into Texas. In early 1837, the government moved to a new capital, the city of Houston, named after him as the country's first president. In 1838, Houston frequently clashed with Congress over issues such as a treaty with the Cherokee and a land-office act and was forced to put down the

Córdova Rebellion The Córdova Rebellion, in 1838, was an uprising instigated in and around Nacogdoches, Texas. '' Alcalde'' Vicente Córdova and other leaders supported the Texas Revolution as long as it espoused a return to the Constitution of 1824, It erupted i ...

, a plot to allow Mexico to reclaim Texas with aid from the Kickapoo Indians. The Texas constitution barred presidents from seeking a second term, so Houston did not stand for re-election in the 1838 election and left office in late 1838. He was succeeded by

Mirabeau B. Lamar Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar (August 16, 1798 – December 25, 1859) was an Lawyer, attorney born in Georgia, who became a Texas politician, poet, diplomat, and soldier. He was a leading Texas political figure during the Republic of Texas, Texas ...

, who, along with Burnet, led a faction of Texas politicians opposed to Houston. The Lamar administration removed many of Houston's appointees, launched a war against the Cherokee, and established a new capital at Austin, Texas. Meanwhile, Houston opened a legal practice and co-founded a land company with the intent of developing the town of Sabine City. In 1839, he was elected to represent San Augustine County in the Texas House of Representatives. Houston defeated Burnet in the 1841 Texas presidential election, winning a large majority of the vote. Houston appointed

Anson Jones Anson Jones (January 20, 1798 – January 09, 1858) was a doctor, businessman, member of Congress, and the fourth and last President of the Republic of Texas. Early life Jones was born on January 20, 1798, in Great Barrington, Massach ...

as secretary of state, Asa Brigham as secretary of the treasury,

George Washington Hockley George Washington Hockley (1802 – June 6, 1854) was a Texas revolutionary who served as secretary of war for the Republic of Texas. Hockley was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. His parents were Thomas Hockley (1764-1805), a Philadelphia me ...

as secretary of war, and

George Whitfield Terrell George Whitfield Terrell (1803 – 1846) was an attorney general, judge, and diplomat in the Republic of Texas. He was born in Kentucky in 1803. His father was James Terrell. His family moved to Tennessee when he was a child. He studied law an ...

as attorney general. The republic faced a difficult financial situation; at one point, Houston commandeered an American brig used to transport Texas soldiers because the government could not afford to pay the brig's captain. The

Santa Fe Expedition The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was a commercial and military expedition to secure the Republic of Texas's claims to parts of Northern New Mexico for Texas in 1841. The expedition was unofficially initiated by the then-President of Texas, Mirabeau B ...

and other initiatives pursued by Lamar had stirred tensions with Mexico, and rumors frequently raised fears that Santa Anna would launch an invasion of Texas. Houston continued to curry favor with Britain and France, partly in the hope that British and French influence in Texas would encourage the United States to annex Texas. The Tyler administration made the annexation of Texas its chief foreign policy priority, and in April 1844, Texas and the United States signed an annexation treaty. Annexation did not have sufficient support in Congress, and the United States Senate rejected the treaty in June. Henry Clay and

Martin Van Buren Martin Van Buren ( ; nl, Maarten van Buren; ; December 5, 1782 – July 24, 1862) was an American lawyer and statesman who served as the eighth president of the United States from 1837 to 1841. A primary founder of the Democratic Party, he ...

, the respective front-runners for the Whig and Democratic nominations in the 1844 presidential election, both opposed the annexation of Texas. However, Van Buren's opposition to annexation damaged his candidacy, and he was defeated by

, an acolyte of Jackson and an old friend of Houston, at the 1844 Democratic National Convention. Polk defeated Clay in the general election, giving backers of annexation an electoral mandate. Meanwhile, Houston's term ended in December 1844, and he was succeeded by Anson Jones, his secretary of state. In the waning days of his own presidency, Tyler used Polk's victory to convince Congress to approve of the

. Seeking Texas's immediate acceptance of annexation, Tyler made Texas a generous offer that allowed the state to retain control of its public lands, though it would be required to keep its public debt. A Texas convention approved of the offer of annexation in July 1845, and Texas officially became the 28th U.S. state on December 29, 1845.

U.S. Senator

Mexican–American War and aftermath (1846–1853)

In February 1846, the Texas legislature elected Houston and Thomas Jefferson Rusk as Texas's two inaugural U.S. senators. Houston chose to align with the Democratic Party, which contained many of his old political allies, including President Polk. As a former president of Texas, Houston is the only former foreign head of state to have served in the U.S. Congress. He was the first person to serve as the governor of a state and then be elected to the U.S. Senate by another state. In 2018, Mitt Romney became the second. William W. Bibb accomplished the same feat in reverse order. Breaking with the Senate tradition that held that freshman senators were not to address the Senate, Houston strongly advocated in early 1846 for the annexation of Oregon Country. In the

Oregon Treaty The Oregon Treaty is a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United States that was signed on June 15, 1846, in Washington, D.C. The treaty brought an end to the Oregon boundary dispute by settling competing American and British claims to t ...

, reached later in 1846, Britain and the United States agreed to split Oregon Country. Meanwhile, Polk ordered General

Zachary Taylor Zachary Taylor (November 24, 1784 – July 9, 1850) was an American military leader who served as the 12th president of the United States from 1849 until his death in 1850. Taylor was a career officer in the United States Army, rising to th ...

to lead a U.S. army to the

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

, which had been set as the Texas-Mexico border under the Treaty of Velasco; Mexico claimed the Nueces River constituted the true border. After a skirmish between Taylor's unit and the Mexican army, the

broke out in April 1846. Houston initially supported Polk's prosecution of the war, but differences between the two men emerged in 1847. After two years of fighting, the United States defeated Mexico and, through the

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ( es, Tratado de Guadalupe Hidalgo), officially the Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement between the United States of America and the United Mexican States, is the peace treaty that was signed on 2 ...

, acquired the Mexican Cession. Mexico also agreed to recognize the Rio Grande as the border between Mexico and Texas. After the war, disputes over the extension of slavery into the

territories A territory is an area of land, sea, or space, particularly belonging or connected to a country, person, or animal. In international politics, a territory is usually either the total area from which a state may extract power resources or a ...

raised sectional tensions. Unlike most of his Southern colleagues, Houston voted for the Oregon Bill of 1848, which organized

Oregon Territory The Territory of Oregon was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from August 14, 1848, until February 14, 1859, when the southwestern portion of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Oregon. O ...

as a free territory. Defending his vote to create a territory that excluded slavery, Houston stated "I would be the last man to wish to do anything injurious to the South, but I do not think that on all occasions we are justified in agitating

lavery Lavery, also spelled Lowry, Lowrie, Lory, Lavoy and Lowery, is an Irish surname derived from the Gaelic ''Ó Labhradha'', meaning the "descendants of Labhradha". The Ó Labhradha descend from Labhradh, who was the father of Etru, chief of the Mona ...

" He criticized both Northern

abolitionists Abolitionism, or the abolitionist movement, is the movement to end slavery. In Western Europe and the Americas, abolitionism was a historic movement that sought to end the Atlantic slave trade and liberate the enslaved people. The Britis ...

and Democratic followers of Calhoun as extremists who sought to undermine the union. He supported the

, a sectional compromise on slavery on the territories. Under the compromise, California was admitted as a free state, the slave trade was prohibited in the District of Columbia, a more stringent

fugitive slave law The fugitive slave laws were laws passed by the United States Congress in 1793 and 1850 to provide for the return of enslaved people who escaped from one state into another state or territory. The idea of the fugitive slave law was derived from ...

was passed, and

Utah Territory The Territory of Utah was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from September 9, 1850, until January 4, 1896, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Utah, the 45th state ...

and

New Mexico Territory The Territory of New Mexico was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from September 9, 1850, until January 6, 1912. It was created from the U.S. provisional government of New Mexico, as a result of ''Santa Fe de Nuevo México ...

were established. Texas gave up some of its claims on New Mexico, but it retained El Paso, Texas, and the United States assumed Texas's large public debt. Houston sought the Democratic nomination in the 1852 presidential election, but he was unable to consolidate support outside of his home state. The 1852 Democratic National Convention ultimately nominated Franklin Pierce, a compromise nominee, who went on to win the election.

Pierce and Buchanan administrations (1853–1859)

In 1854, Senator

Stephen A. Douglas Stephen Arnold Douglas (April 23, 1813 – June 3, 1861) was an American politician and lawyer from Illinois. A senator, he was one of two nominees of the badly split Democratic Party for president in the 1860 presidential election, which wa ...

led the passage of the

, which organized

Kansas Territory The Territory of Kansas was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until January 29, 1861, when the eastern portion of the territory was admitted to the United States, Union as the Slave and ...

and

Nebraska Territory The Territory of Nebraska was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from May 30, 1854, until March 1, 1867, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Nebraska. The Nebrask ...

. The act also repealed the

Missouri Compromise The Missouri Compromise was a federal legislation of the United States that balanced desires of northern states to prevent expansion of slavery in the country with those of southern states to expand it. It admitted Missouri as a slave state and ...

, an act that had banned slavery in territories north of parallel 36°30′ north. Houston voted against the act, in part because he believed that Native Americans would lose much of their land as a result of the act. He also perceived that it would lead to increased sectional tensions over slavery. Houston's opposition to the Kansas–Nebraska Act led to his departure from the Democratic Party. In 1855, Houston began to be associated publicly with the American Party, the political wing of the nativist and unionist Know Nothing movement. The Whig Party had collapsed after the passage of the Kansas–Nebraska Act, and the Know Nothings and the anti-slavery Republican Party had both emerged as major political movements. Houston's affiliation with the party stemmed in part from his fear of the growing influence of Catholic voters; though he opposed barring Catholics from holding office, he wanted to extend the naturalization period for immigrants to 21 years. He was attracted to the Know Nothing's support for a Native American state as well the party's unionist stance. Houston sought the presidential nomination at the Know Nothing party's 1856 national convention, but the party nominated former President

Millard Fillmore Millard Fillmore (January 7, 1800March 8, 1874) was the 13th president of the United States, serving from 1850 to 1853; he was the last to be a member of the Whig Party while in the White House. A former member of the U.S. House of Represen ...

. Houston was disappointed by Fillmore's selection as well as the party platform, which did not rebuke the Kansas–Nebraska Act, but he eventually decided to support Fillmore's candidacy. Despite Houston's renewed support, the American Party split over slavery, and Democrat James Buchanan won the 1856 presidential election. The American Party collapsed after the election, and Houston did not affiliate with a national political party for the remainder of his tenure in the senate. In the 1857 Texas gubernatorial election, Texas Democrats nominated

Hardin Richard Runnels Hardin Richard Runnels (August 30, 1820 – December 25, 1873) was a United States politician. He served as the sixth Governor of Texas for one term but notably was the only person to ever defeat Sam Houston in a political contest. Early lif ...

, who supported the Kansas–Nebraska Act and attacked Houston's record. In response, Houston announced his own candidacy for governor, but Runnels defeated him by a decisive margin. It was the only electoral defeat of his career. After the gubernatorial election, the Texas legislature denied Houston re-election in the senate; Houston rejected calls to resign immediately and served until the end of his term in early 1859.

Governor of Texas

Houston ran against Runnels in the 1859 gubernatorial election. Capitalizing on Runnels's unpopularity over state issues such as Native American raids, Houston won the election and took office in December 1859. In the 1860 presidential election, Houston and John Bell were the two major contenders for the presidential nomination of the newly formed Constitutional Union Party, which consisted largely of Southern unionists. Houston narrowly trailed Bell on the first ballot of the

1860 Constitutional Union Convention The 1860 Constitutional Union National Convention met on May 9, 1860 in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the only national convention ever held by the Constitutional Union Party, which was organized largely by former Whig Party members from the Sou ...

, but Bell clinched the nomination on the second ballot. Nonetheless, some of Houston's Texan supporters nominated him for president in April 1860. Other backers attempted to launch a nationwide campaign, but in August 1860, Houston announced that he would not be a candidate for president. He refused to endorse any of the remaining presidential candidates. In late 1860, Houston campaigned across his home state, calling on Texans to resist those who advocated for secession if Republican nominee

Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...

won the 1860 election. After Lincoln won the November 1860 presidential election, several Southern states seceded from the United States and formed the

. A Texas political convention voted to secede from the United States on February 1, 1861, and Houston proclaimed that Texas was once again an independent republic, but he refused to recognize that same convention's authority to join Texas to the Confederacy. After Houston refused to swear an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy, the legislature declared the governorship vacant. Houston did not recognize the validity of his removal, but he did not attempt to use force to remain in office, and he refused aid from the federal government to prevent his removal. His successor, Edward Clark, was sworn in on March 18. In an undelivered speech, Houston wrote: On April 19, 1861, he told a crowd: According to historian Randolph Campbell: :Houston did everything possible to prevent secession and war, but his first loyalty was to Texas—and the South. Houston refused offers of troops from the United States to keep Texas in the Union and announced on May 10, 1861 that he would stand with the Confederacy in its war effort.

Retirement and death

After leaving office, Houston returned to his home in Galveston. He later settled in Huntsville, Texas, where he lived in a structure known as the Steamboat House. In the midst of the Civil War, Houston was shunned by many Texas leaders, though he continued to correspond with Confederate officer

Ashbel Smith Ashbel Smith (August 13, 1805 – January 21, 1886) was a pioneer physician, diplomat, slave owner, and official of the Republic of Texas, Confederate officer and first President of the Board of Regents of the University of Texas. Smith was an a ...

and Texas governor

Francis Lubbock Francis Richard Lubbock (October 16, 1815June 22, 1905) was the ninth Governor of Texas and was in office during the American Civil War. He was the brother of Thomas Saltus Lubbock, for whom Lubbock County, Texas, and the eponymous county se ...

. His son, Sam Houston, Jr., served in the Confederate army during the Civil War, but returned home after being wounded at the

Battle of Shiloh The Battle of Shiloh (also known as the Battle of Pittsburg Landing) was fought on April 6–7, 1862, in the American Civil War. The fighting took place in southwestern Tennessee, which was part of the war's Western Theater. The battlefield i ...

. Houston's health suffered a precipitous decline in April 1863, and he died on July 26, 1863, at 70 years of age. The inscription on Houston's tomb reads: A Brave Soldier. A Fearless Statesman. A Great Orator—A Pure Patriot. A Faithful Friend, A Loyal Citizen. A Devoted Husband and Father. A Consistent Christian—An Honest Man.

Personal life

In January 1829 Houston, then Governor of Tennessee, married 19-year-old Eliza Allen. The marriage lasted 11 weeks. Neither Houston nor Eliza ever gave a reason for their separation, but Eliza refused to sanction divorce. Subsequently, he resigned his governorship and went to live with his Cherokee family for three years. In the summer of 1830, Houston married Tiana Rogers (sometimes called Diana), daughter of Chief John "Hellfire" Rogers (1740–1833), a Scots-Irish trader, and Jennie Due (1764–1806), a sister of Chief John Jolly, in a Cherokee ceremony. The ceremony was modest since it was Tiana's second marriage; she was widowed with two children from her previous marriage: Gabriel, born 1819, and Joanna, born 1822. She and Houston first met when she was ten years old, and he was stunned to see how beautiful she was when he returned to her village years later. The two lived together for several years. Tennessee society disapproved of the marriage because under civil law, he was still legally married to Eliza Allen Houston. After declining to accompany Houston to Texas in 1832, Tiana later remarried. She died in 1838 of pneumonia. Will Rogers was her nephew, three generations removed. In 1837, after becoming President of the Republic of Texas, he was able to acquire, from a district court judge, a divorce from Eliza Allen. In 1839, he purchased a horse which became one of the foundation sires of the American Quarter Horse breed named Copperbottom. He owned the horse until its death in 1860. Margaret Lea Houston 1839

On May 9, 1840, Houston, aged 47, married for a third time. His bride was 21-year-old Margaret Moffette Lea of Marion, Alabama, the daughter of planters. They had eight children. Margaret acted as a tempering influence on her much older husband and convinced him to stop drinking. Although the Houstons had numerous houses, they kept only one continuously: Cedar Point (1840–1863) on Trinity Bay. In 1833, Houston was baptized into the Catholic faith in order to qualify under the existing Mexican law for property ownership in

. The sacrament was held in the living room of the Adolphus Sterne House in Nacogdoches, Texas. By 1854, Margaret had spent 14 years trying to convert Houston to the Baptist church. With the assistance of

George Washington Baines George Washington Baines (December 29, 1809 – December 28, 1882) was an American frontier politician, editor, teacher, and Baptist preacher in Texas; he was also president and co-founder of Baylor University. Background Baines was born near ...

, she convinced Houston to convert, and he agreed to adult baptism. Spectators from neighboring communities came to Independence, Texas, to witness the event. On November 19, 1854, Houston was baptized by Rev. Rufus C. Burleson, president of

Baylor University Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the fir ...

, by immersion in Little Rocky Creek, two miles southeast of Independence.

Relationship to slavery

Houston was born on and inherited a slave plantation and mansion, and had many slaves throughout his life. While he did not enforce some anti-slavery measures, strong slavery laws were still in place under his leadership. He did not support the westward expansion of slavery. His attitude towards slavery was of pragmatism within the context of his time and place. Houston owned slaves but held a “centrist” position believing both sides of the slavery debate were too extreme on the issue. Houston’s greatest focus was not splitting up the Union. He thought states should decide for themselves on the issue of slavery.

Legacy

Statue of Sam Houston -- Huntsville, Texas

, the largest city in Texas and the American South, is named in his honor. Several other things and places are named for Houston, including Sam Houston State University; Houston County, Minnesota; Houston County, Tennessee; Houston County, Texas. Other

monuments and memorials A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

include

Sam Houston National Forest The Sam Houston National Forest, one of four National Forests in Texas, is located 50 miles north of Houston. The forest is administered together with the other three United States National Forests and two National Grasslands located entirely in ...

, Sam Houston Regional Library and Research Center, U.S. Army post

Fort Sam Houston Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas. "Fort Sam Houston, TX • About Fort Sam Houston" (overview), US Army, 2007, webpageSH-Army. Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the U.S. Senator from Texas, U.S. Represen ...

in San Antonio, the USS ''Sam Houston'' (SSBN-609), and a sculpture of Houston in the city of Houston's

Hermann Park Hermann Park is a urban park in Houston, Texas, situated at the southern end of the Museum District. The park is located immediately north of the Texas Medical Center and Brays Bayou, east of Rice University, and slightly west of the Third ...

. In addition, a 67-foot-tall statue of Houston, created 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 ...

, named ''

A Tribute to Courage ''A Tribute to Courage'' monument is a statue of Sam Houston located in Huntsville, Texas (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 Texa ...

'' (and colloquially called "Big Sam") stands next to

I-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 ...

, between Dallas and Houston, in Huntsville, Texas. Along with Stephen F. Austin, Houston is one of two Texans with a statue in the

National Statuary Hall The National Statuary Hall is a chamber in the United States Capitol devoted to sculptures of prominent Americans. The hall, also known as the Old Hall of the House, is a large, two-story, semicircular room with a second story gallery along th ...

. Houston has been portrayed in works such as ''

Man of Conquest ''Man of Conquest'' is a 1939 American Western film directed by George Nicholls Jr. and starring Richard Dix, Gail Patrick, and Joan Fontaine. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Score, Best Sound ( Charles L. Lootens), a ...

'', ''

Gone to Texas Gone to Texas (often abbreviated GTT), was a phrase used by Americans emigrating to Texas in the 19th century. During the Panic of 1819, many left the United States and moved there to escape debt. Moving to Texas, which at the time was part of M ...

'', '' Texas Rising'', and '' The Alamo''. In 1960, he was inducted into the

Hall of Great Westerners The Hall of Great Westerners was established by the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in 1958. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, U.S., the Hall was created to celebrate the contributions of more than 200 men and women of the American ...

of the

National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum The National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum is a museum in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, with more than 28,000 American West, Western and Native Americans in the United States, American Indian art works and Artifact (archaeology), ar ...

. There is a question about whether Houston made a pejorative comment about Mexicans in an 1835 speech to the Texas volunteer army at Refugio. One second hand source makes this claim; however, subsequent research casts doubt on the source and concludes that the disparaging comment is unlikely to have occurred.

Notes

References

Bibliography

Works cited

* * * * * * *

External links

Sam Houston papers
(Woodson Research Center, Fondren Library, Rice University, Houston, Texas)
''Life of General Houston, 1793–1863''
published 1891, hosted by th
Portal to Texas History
*
Sam Houston Memorial Museum
in Huntsville, Texas
Sam Houston Historic Schoolhouse
in Maryville, Tennessee
Documentary film ''Sam Houston: American Statesman, Soldier, and Pioneer''.
2009, The Sam Houston Project.
Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture entry

Tennessee State Library & Archives, Papers of Governor Sam Houston, 1827–1829

* ttps://archive.org/details/lifeselectlitera00cran Life and select literary remains of Sam Houston of Texas published 1884 {{DEFAULTSORT:Houston, Sam * 1793 births 1863 deaths 19th-century American politicians American emigrants to Mexico American people of Scottish descent American people of Scotch-Irish descent American prosecutors American slave owners Army of the Republic of Texas generals Baptists from Tennessee Baptists from Texas Baptists from Virginia Candidates in the 1860 United States presidential election Confederate States of America state governors Converts to Baptist denominations from Roman Catholicism Democratic Party United States senators from Texas Democratic-Republican Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Democratic-Republican Party state governors of the United States Governors of Tennessee Governors of Texas Independent state governors of the United States Jacksonian members of the United States House of Representatives from Tennessee Know-Nothing United States senators People from Huntsville, Texas People from Maryville, Tennessee People from Rockbridge County, Virginia People from San Augustine, Texas People of Texas in the American Civil War People of the Creek War People of the Texas Revolution Presidents of the Republic of Texas Republican Party governors of Texas Republican Party United States senators from Texas Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence Southern Unionists in the American Civil War Tennessee lawyers Texas Consultation delegates Texas Democrats Texas Independents Texas Know Nothings United States Army officers United States Army personnel of the War of 1812 United States senators who owned slaves