March 2 1836 - Texas Declares Independence!

Today is Texas Independence Day. 

I am a Texan.  As such, I hold this day in a reverence superseded by only the Holiest Days of  my Catholic Faith. You see, being a Texan is not so far removed from being of person of Faith. Being a Texan is not just a birthright, it's a spiritual thing, a state of mind. For non-Texans, the best way I can equivocate this is to compare it to being an American, with a little extra pride and a touch of bluster thrown in for good measure. 

Former Houston Oilers coach and legendary Texan Bum Phillips' Grandpa perhaps said it best when he told a young Bum that "Texans are forged of a hotter fire". 

Following, you will read of men, Texans, forged of a hotter fire. Men, who against great odds gave us Texas. Men whose courage and bravery were exceeded only by the Natural yearning for Freedom and self-determination embedded in each human's soul. Men over matched by superior firepower willing to give their lives for what God had bestowed upon them - inalienable rights that guide the destiny of free men. Men on a mission for a cause greater than temselves. Heroes. Texans.

Texas Independence Day  

In the early 19th century, the initials "GTT" sometimes were found carved in haste on the doors of homes abandoned by folks fleeing unpaid debts and other life problems. The three letters were shorthand for "Gone to Texas," the frontier sanctuary of choice for folks in these kinds of unfixable fixes. The three letters have found a place in our state's lore and legend. (Houston Chronicle)

On March 2,1836 "Texas became a republic. On March 1 delegates from the seventeen Mexican municipalities of Texas and the settlement of Pecan Point met at Washington-on-the-Brazos to consider independence from Mexico. George C. Childress presented a resolution calling for independence, and the chairman of the convention appointed Childress to head a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence. In the early morning hours of March 2, the convention voted unanimously to accept the resolution. After fifty-eight members signed the document, Texas became the Republic of Texas. The change remained to be demonstrated to Mexico."

Sam Houston

The Battle of the Alamo would soon come. Her defenders including Davy Crockett and James Bowie,  would fall at the hands of the Mexican Army lead by General Santa Ana. A few weeks later came a battle that would change Texas, and perhaps the World, forever - San Jacinto.

Thus was born the Republic of Texas.

May the Spirit of Texas live forever in the hearts of men.

God bless "The damnedest lady you ever saw" (John Wayne) 

God bless Texas and Texans - a land and a people forged of a hotter fire.

Texas Statehood: December 29, 1845

In their first election after Texas won its independence, Texans voted overwhelmingly in favor of annexation to the United States. However, throughout the Republic period, no annexation treaty was approved by both countries.

With nothing solid to indicate that Mexico accepted the defeat at San Jacinto (Treaties of Velasco were ignored by both the Republic of Texas and Mexico) and fearful of a second attack by the powerful Mexican army to the south perhaps joined by the Comanches and Apaches, Texas again petitioned to become a State of the U.S. 

Thus begins the story of how the Republic of Texas became the 28th State of the United States of America.

It's a fascinating tale about a fascinating place.

Although I am now living 2000 miles from the land of my birth, she is forever in my heart and I am forever her Son, separated by time and distance yet connected by Fate and Destiny. 

Throughout her history, Texas has nurtured a special breed of people, a people that former football coach Bum Phillips described as "forged of a hotter fire." Coach Phillips went on, "The same spirit that made 186 men cross that line in the sand in San Antonio damned near 165 years ago is still in you today. Why else would my friend send me William Barrett Travis' plea for help in an email just a week ago, or why would Charles Stanfield ask me to reprint a Texas Independence column from a year ago? What would make my friend Elizabeth say, "I don't know if I can marry a man who doesn't love Texas like I do?" Why in the hell are 1,000 people coming to my house this weekend to celebrate a holiday for what used to be a nation that is now a state?

Because the spirit that made that nation is the spirit that burned in every person who founded this great place we call Texas, and they passed it on through blood or sweat to everyone of us.
You see, that spirit that made Texas what it is is alive in all of us, even if we can't stand next to a cannon to prove it, and it's our responsibility to keep that fire burning. 

Forged of a hotter fire. That's me, that's you and that's millions of Texans from her very first people of ten milennia ago to the guy next door who just arrived from California and is now a Texan by choice. Bonded by an insatiable desire for freedom and a fierce yearning for independence, we are all the children of the damnedest lady you ever saw. 

By the Grace of God, we are Texans.

God Bless Texas!