Honor San Jacinto Day
Howdy, y’all! I pray you enjoyed a blessed Resurrection Day with your family.
Today is an incredibly special and important day in the history of the Republic, and the state of Texas. It is San Jacinto Day. Now, of course, there may be some asking, “What the heck is the ol’ Colonel talking about?” If that is the case, you are justifying the reason for this missive. Now, if you are aware of the meaning of this day, awesome, kudos, but go out and ask twenty people today, and see what answer you get.
It was April 21, 1836 — 189 years ago — that the final battle of the Texian Revolution took place. The Texian army under the command of Sam Houston had pretty much been fighting a delaying action across much of what we know as southeast Texas. There had been monumental losses and massacres of Texian fighters at The Alamo and Goliad (La Bahia). On that day, 900 troops under Sam Houston took on some 1,300 of Mexican dictator General Santa Anna. The Mexican soldiers stood ready on the battlefield that is located due east from present day Houston, Texas. When the attack did not come as they had presumed, the Mexican army rested. At 4:30 pm that day, the Texian cannons fired, and to the bewilderment of the Mexican army, the Texians charged the battlefield shouting “Remember The Alamo” and “Remember Goliad,” and in 18 minutes the battle of San Jacinto was over. Some six hundred Mexican soldiers were captured, and over 600 were killed while only six Texians were killed. During the ensuing pursuit phase of the battle, General Santa Anna was captured. He had donned the uniform of a simple Mexican soldier, hoping he would not be recognized.
Santa Anna was forced to sign a document of surrender and capitulation. Remember those days when we fought and attained unconditional surrender? Texas had earned its independence, and the Republic of Texas was secured, which did not mean there would not be skirmishes, and ultimately the Mexican War.
Today, in Texas, as we boast of all the people moving here, how many will know the significance of this day, or actually even care? One would think that this day would be a state holiday, along with Texas Independence Day, after all, Texas is the only state in the Union with its very own Declaration of Independence. These are just some things to ponder as we prepare for early voting in our municipal elections that begin tomorrow with early voting.
I think we should ask ourselves of these people who seek to be elected officials in Texas if they would have been on that battlefield 189 years ago? Of course, there are those who will say that is a misogynistic question. It is not. See, I am not talking about physically, but do we believe that they are made of the same resolve, character, and courage, spirit, that would drive them to take a stand on the ramparts of The Alamo, or charge the Mexican Army at San Jacinto, or stand on a field and tell the Mexican cavalry to “Come and Take It?”
There is a spirit about Texas that must be revived, and not diluted by those who come here for lower housing costs or better economic opportunities. That is all fine and well. But, being a fella born in Georgia and educated at the University of Tennessee, I know that history. The history of the first Vice President of the Republic of Texas, a Georgian, Mirabeau Lamar. The first Texas Secretary of War, a Georgian, Thomas Jefferson Rusk; and a military leader who was shot point blank, executed with his men at Goliad, a Georgian, James Fannin.
My alma mater has a unique nickname, the Tennessee Volunteers, perhaps due to the 38 names — five Georgians — that are engraved into the Cenotaph at The Alamo. One of those names is a former member of Congress named Davy Crockett, who famously said upon losing his reelection, “May you all go to hell, I am going to Texas.” The first President of the Republic of Texas was a former Governor of Tennessee, Sam Houston. He also held many other leadership roles in the Lone Star State.
History is a wonderful thing, and of course there will be leftist detractors, like the ones who wrote the book, “Forget The Alamo: The Rise and Fall of an American Myth.”
On the eve of early voting in our municipal elections across Texas, the question to ask is, what type of resolve, spirit, and mentality should be leading Texas? We have some examples, and even the story of the Yellow Rose of Texas comes from this day 189 years ago, that of Emily West Morgan, a freed black woman who, well, kept Santa Anna busy. She has a beautiful bronze statue in tribute on the grounds of The Alamo. Hmm, could she possibly be a distant relative of mine?
If you want to honor San Jacinto Day, then elect those who would possess the same spirit as those who charged the battlefield on April 21, 1836, enabling us all to live here.
Steadfast and Loyal.
Chairman West's #MondayMessage
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