[87] 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. [49], In early 1837, the government moved to a new capital, the city of Houston, named for the country's first president. He served under General Andrew Jackson in the War of 1812, and after the war, he presided over the removal of many Cherokee from Tennessee. Shortly after leaving office, he traveled to Arkansas Territory to rejoin the Cherokee. Once Texas became a state, he served as its U.S. He and others tried repeatedly to wrench a long arrow out of his thigh until a final attempt succeeded leaving him in a pool of his own blood. 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. In the midst of the Civil War, Houston was shunned by many Texas leaders, though he continued to correspond with Confederate officer Ashbel Smith and Texas governor Francis Lubbock. Did you know that Sam Houston's father, Robert Houston, was a Revolutionary Veteran and died when Houston was at the age of 14 Did you know that Eliza Allen, Sam Houston's wife, was nineteen-years old? On April 1, 1814, John Coffee wrote a letter to his wife, Mary, describing the Battle of Horseshoe Bend: "I crossed the river with 700 mounted men and 600 Indians and took possession of the other bank to prevent them swiming over the river and escaping â all was executed well, the enemy faught with their usual desperation, but we overpowered them, and after Cannonading them about two hours, we charged their works by storm, and put the whole to death but a few that hid under the banks of the river, the slaughter was great we counted 557 dead bodies on the ground besides about 300 that was shot and sunk in the river, making in the whole that we killed from 850 to 900 â and took about 500 prisoners squaws and children â we lost on our part of white men 26 killed and 106 wounded besides 23 friendly Indians killed and 47 wounded . [7][16] Like his mentors, Houston was a member of the Democratic-Republican Party, which dominated state and national politics in the decade following the War of 1812. Inspired by the actions of the Shawnee leader Tecumseh, the Upper Creek elected to side with the British during the War of 1812 … Although the Houstons had numerous houses, they kept only one continuously: Cedar Point (1840–1863) on Trinity Bay. March 27, 1814: Instead of being shot in the arm and shoulder during the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, Third Lieutenant Sam Houston is shot in the stomach, a near untreatable wound. He was forced out of office in 1861 and died in 1863. Battle of Horseshoe Bend, also known as the Battle of Tohopeka, (27 March 1814), a U.S. victory in central Alabama over Native Americans opposed to white expansion into their terroritories and which largely brought an end to the Creek War (1813–14). [92] Houston's health suffered a precipitous decline in April 1863, and he died on July 26, 1863, at 70 years of age.[93]. Fun Fact about: Sam Houston Did you know that Sam Houston got three nearly-mortal wounds from the Battle of Horseshoe Bend? Houston's uncle, the Presbyterian Rev. He was an important leader of the Texas Revolution, Houston served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas, and was one of the first two individuals to represent Texas in the United States Senate. Capitalizing on Runnels's unpopularity over state issues such as Native American raids, Houston won the election and took office in December 1859. Houston also came away with an injury that might have affected his life in a different way. The battle goes on as OTL, but with higher American casualties. [82], Houston ran against Runnels in the 1859 gubernatorial election. Houston has been portrayed in works such as Man of Conquest, Gone to Texas, Texas Rising, and The Alamo. In the Battle of Horseshoe Bend in 1814, he became a hero when he fought on despite an arrow wound in his thigh. An ensign was a junior officer who carried one of the regiment's two flags. On March 27, 1814, General Andrew Jackson led troops consisting of 2,600 American soldiers, 500 Cherokee, and 100 Lower Creek allies up a steep hill near Tehopeka. [15], After leaving government service, Houston began an apprenticeship with Judge James Trimble in Nashville. [88] In an undelivered speech, Houston wrote: Fellow-Citizens, in the name of your rights and liberties, which I believe have been trampled upon, I refuse to take this oath. According to historian Randolph Campbell: After leaving office, Houston returned to his home in Galveston. Eleven weeks. Houston crossed into Texas in December 1832, and shortly thereafter, he was granted land in Texas. Houston was wounded three times at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. At 6:30am, he split his troops and sent roughly 1,300 men to cross the Tallapoosa Riverand surround the Creek village. [23], Houston was reunited with Ahuludegi's group of Cherokee in mid-1829. [9], In 1812, Houston enlisted in the United States Army, which then was engaged in the War of 1812 against Britain and Britain's Native American allies. In February 1846, the Texas legislature elected Houston and Thomas Jefferson Rusk as Texas's two inaugural U.S. senators. [7][41] In the aftermath of the Battle of San Jacinto, a detachment of Texans captured Santa Anna. [35] Houston helped organize the Convention of 1836, where the Republic of Texas declared independence from Mexico, and appointed him as Commander-in-Chief of the Texas Army. Lebanon, thirty miles east of Nashville. Regular Army in 1813 and rose to the rank of ensign in 1814. The marriage lasted 11 weeks. At the Battle of Horseshoe Bend during the War of 1812, a young Sam Houston (all 6’3” of him) charged through withering fire into hand-to-hand combat, sustaining a near-mortal wound. The Creek Indians were divided into the Upper Creeks and … [8] 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. In the Oregon Treaty, reached later in 1846, Britain and the United States agreed to split Oregon Country. [citation needed], In 1833, Houston was baptized into the Catholic faith in order to qualify under the existing Mexican law for property ownership in Coahuila y Tejas. [21], In January 1829, Houston married Eliza Allen, the daughter of wealthy plantation owner John Allen of Gallatin, Tennessee. He was struck again with bullets in his shoulder and arm. [28] After the beating, the House of Representatives brought Houston to trial. On March 27, 1814, The Cherokee Indians fought in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. His courage in combat caught the attention of General Andrew Jackson. In 1829, after divorcing his first wife, Houston resigned from office, and moved to Arkansas Territory. The Consultation appointed Houston as a major general and the highest-ranking officer of the Texian Army,[7][10] though the appointment did not give him effective control of the militia units that constituted the Texian Army. A Brave Soldier. [67] After two years of fighting, the United States defeated Mexico and, through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, acquired the Mexican Cession. U.S. dead and wounded, including allied Cherokees and Creeks, numbered around 250. [48] 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. A Great Orator—A Pure Patriot. On April 13, 1832, after Stanbery refused to answer Houston's letters regarding the incident, Houston beat Stanbery with a cane. Unlike most of his Southern colleagues, Houston voted for the Oregon Bill of 1848, which organized Oregon Territory as a free territory. Outnumbered three-to-one, the Red Sticks fought with ferocity, asking for no quarter and giving none. In 1827, Houston was elected governor in what state? ", Letter from John Coffee to Sam Houston, Florence, Alabama, April 25, 1828Dyas Collection of John Coffee Papers, John Coffee refutes the accusation by the anti-Jacksonians that the Battle of Horseshoe Bend was a "cold blooded Massacre.". [75] 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. But when they begin to move in a given direction, they move with the steady momentum and perseverance of a mighty avalanche; and what I fear is, they will overwhelm the South.[90]. An arrow struck Sam Houston near his upper thigh. The marriage quickly fell apart possibly because Eliza loved another man. Samuel Houston (March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American soldier and politician. [97][98][99], On May 9, 1840, Houston, aged 47, married for a third time. Other backers attempted to launch a nationwide campaign, but in August 1860, Houston announced that he would not be a candidate for president. The … In the name of the nationality of Texas, which has been betrayed by the Convention, I refuse to take this oath. [50] In 1838, Houston frequently clashed with Congress over issues such as a treaty with the Cherokee and a land-office act[51] and was forced to put down the Córdova Rebellion, a plot to allow Mexico to reclaim Texas with aid from the Kickapoo Indians. 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