Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's Speech on the Senate Floor from Texas Independence Day
Senate Floor Speech
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
March 2, 2005 -- Page: S1891
TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY
MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I want to take a moment, as I do on March 2 every year since I have been in the Senate, and before me Senator John Tower did the same thing, to commemorate Texas Independence Day.
Today is, indeed, the 169th anniversary of the day when a solemn convention of 54 men in a small Texas settlement took a step which had a momentous impact, not only on Texas but on the future of the United States. These 54 men, including my great-great-grandfather Charles S. Taylor from the town of Nacogdoches, met on March 2, 1836. They were in Washington-on-the-Brazos and, after laying out the grievances they had with the Government of Mexico, they declared:
We therefore ..... do hereby resolve and declare ..... that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign and independent republic.
They brought the Lone Star Republic into existence with those words. At the time, Texas was a remote territory of Mexico. It was hospitable only to the bravest and most determined of settlers. While few of the men signing the declaration could have predicted Texas's future prosperity, they immediately embarked on drafting a constitution to establish foundations for this new republic.
The signers of the Texas declaration, as their forefathers who signed the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, risked their lives and families when they put pen to paper. They were considered traitors to Mexico because they were in a Mexican territory. But they were going to fight for freedom and independence.
My great-great-grandfather Charles S. Taylor didn't know it at the time, but all four of his children had died when he left home to go and sign the declaration of independence. His wife took the children in what is now called the ``runaway scrape,'' when the women in the Nacogdoches territory took the children to flee from what they thought might be the oncoming Mexican army. In the ``runaway scrape,'' many children died. They were fleeing to Louisiana at the time. But my great-great-grandmother had the same spunk and determination as my great-great-grandfather, so she returned to Nacogdoches and they had nine more children. That was one of the examples that was set by people of that time who believed freedom was worth fighting and dying to achieve.
They spent their last days in Texas, trying to build the Republic and eventually supporting the statehood of Texas coming into the United States of America.
While the convention met in Washington-on-the-Brazos, 6,000 Mexican troops held the Alamo under siege, seeking to extinguish this newly created republic.
Several days earlier, from the Alamo, Col. William Barrett Travis sent his immortal letter to the people of Texas and to all Americans. He knew the Mexican Army was approaching and he knew that he had, really only a few men, under 200 men to help defend the San Antonio fortress. Colonel Travis wrote:
Fellow Citizens and Compatriots: I am besieged with a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison is to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly over the wall. I shall never surrender or retreat.
Then I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due his honor and that of his country--Victory or Death.
No Texan--no person--can fail to be stirred by Colonel Travis' resolve in the face of such daunting odds.
Colonel Travis' dire prediction came true, 4,000 to 6,000 Mexican troops did lay siege to the Alamo. In the battle that followed, 184 brave men died in a heroic but vain attempt to fend off Santa Anna's overwhelming army. This battle, as all Texans know, was crucial to Texas independence because those heroes at the Alamo held out for so long that Santa Anna's forces were battered and diminished. Gen. Sam Houston gained the time he needed to devise a strategy to defeat Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto a month or so later on April 21, 1836. That battle was won and the Lone Star was visible on the horizon at last.
Each year on March 2, there is a ceremony at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park where there is a replica of the modest cabin where the 54 patriots pledged their lives, honor, and treasure for freedom.
Every year I honor the tradition Senator John Tower started by reading this incredible letter from the Alamo, written by William Barrett Travis, that showed so much about the kind of men who were willing to stand up and fight for freedom, men we have seen throughout the history of our country, starting in 1776 and going on. Even today, as we know, our young men are in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting the war on terrorism.
I think it is important for us to remember our history. I am proud to be able to do it. We were a republic for 10 years before we entered the United States as a State. We are the only State to enter the United States as a republic, and we are very proud that we are now a great State, a part of the United States of America, with a vivid history and past.
Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
March 2, 2005 -- Page: S1891
TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY
MRS. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I want to take a moment, as I do on March 2 every year since I have been in the Senate, and before me Senator John Tower did the same thing, to commemorate Texas Independence Day.
Today is, indeed, the 169th anniversary of the day when a solemn convention of 54 men in a small Texas settlement took a step which had a momentous impact, not only on Texas but on the future of the United States. These 54 men, including my great-great-grandfather Charles S. Taylor from the town of Nacogdoches, met on March 2, 1836. They were in Washington-on-the-Brazos and, after laying out the grievances they had with the Government of Mexico, they declared:
We therefore ..... do hereby resolve and declare ..... that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign and independent republic.
They brought the Lone Star Republic into existence with those words. At the time, Texas was a remote territory of Mexico. It was hospitable only to the bravest and most determined of settlers. While few of the men signing the declaration could have predicted Texas's future prosperity, they immediately embarked on drafting a constitution to establish foundations for this new republic.
The signers of the Texas declaration, as their forefathers who signed the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, risked their lives and families when they put pen to paper. They were considered traitors to Mexico because they were in a Mexican territory. But they were going to fight for freedom and independence.
My great-great-grandfather Charles S. Taylor didn't know it at the time, but all four of his children had died when he left home to go and sign the declaration of independence. His wife took the children in what is now called the ``runaway scrape,'' when the women in the Nacogdoches territory took the children to flee from what they thought might be the oncoming Mexican army. In the ``runaway scrape,'' many children died. They were fleeing to Louisiana at the time. But my great-great-grandmother had the same spunk and determination as my great-great-grandfather, so she returned to Nacogdoches and they had nine more children. That was one of the examples that was set by people of that time who believed freedom was worth fighting and dying to achieve.
They spent their last days in Texas, trying to build the Republic and eventually supporting the statehood of Texas coming into the United States of America.
While the convention met in Washington-on-the-Brazos, 6,000 Mexican troops held the Alamo under siege, seeking to extinguish this newly created republic.
Several days earlier, from the Alamo, Col. William Barrett Travis sent his immortal letter to the people of Texas and to all Americans. He knew the Mexican Army was approaching and he knew that he had, really only a few men, under 200 men to help defend the San Antonio fortress. Colonel Travis wrote:
Fellow Citizens and Compatriots: I am besieged with a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded surrender at discretion, otherwise, the garrison is to be put to the sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly over the wall. I shall never surrender or retreat.
Then I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, of everything dear to the American character, to come to our aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days. If this call is neglected I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due his honor and that of his country--Victory or Death.
No Texan--no person--can fail to be stirred by Colonel Travis' resolve in the face of such daunting odds.
Colonel Travis' dire prediction came true, 4,000 to 6,000 Mexican troops did lay siege to the Alamo. In the battle that followed, 184 brave men died in a heroic but vain attempt to fend off Santa Anna's overwhelming army. This battle, as all Texans know, was crucial to Texas independence because those heroes at the Alamo held out for so long that Santa Anna's forces were battered and diminished. Gen. Sam Houston gained the time he needed to devise a strategy to defeat Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto a month or so later on April 21, 1836. That battle was won and the Lone Star was visible on the horizon at last.
Each year on March 2, there is a ceremony at Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park where there is a replica of the modest cabin where the 54 patriots pledged their lives, honor, and treasure for freedom.
Every year I honor the tradition Senator John Tower started by reading this incredible letter from the Alamo, written by William Barrett Travis, that showed so much about the kind of men who were willing to stand up and fight for freedom, men we have seen throughout the history of our country, starting in 1776 and going on. Even today, as we know, our young men are in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting the war on terrorism.
I think it is important for us to remember our history. I am proud to be able to do it. We were a republic for 10 years before we entered the United States as a State. We are the only State to enter the United States as a republic, and we are very proud that we are now a great State, a part of the United States of America, with a vivid history and past.
posted by Mark "Puff" Anderson | 2:15 PM
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