HR 124

H.R. No. 124
  R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, March 2, 2026, marks the 233rd anniversary of the
  birth of Texas icon Sam Houston; and
         WHEREAS, Born in Virginia in 1793, Sam Houston was the son of
  Samuel and Elizabeth Houston; his father died when he was 13, and
  his mother resettled the family on a farm in Tennessee; in 1809, he
  left home to live among the Cherokees; he enlisted in the U.S. Army
  during the War of 1812 and quickly earned promotion to third
  lieutenant; serving under General Andrew Jackson, he demonstrated
  great valor and leadership in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, despite
  suffering three near-fatal wounds; and
         WHEREAS, General Jackson became a mentor, spurring his
  protégé's swift rise in the military and politics; elected to the
  U.S. House of Representatives in 1823, Mr. Houston served two terms
  before winning the governor's race in Tennessee; he resigned two
  years later and went to live among the Cherokees in Oklahoma, where
  he often acted as a tribal emissary and worked to keep peace among
  tribes; perceiving Texas as a land of promise, he relocated in 1832
  and soon became involved in the Anglo-Texan independence movement;
  he was a delegate from Refugio to the convention at
  Washington-on-the-Brazos, where the Texas Declaration of
  Independence was signed on March 2, 1836; appointed major general
  of the new republic's army, he led his troops to victory over
  Mexican General Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto; and
         WHEREAS, Hailed as a hero, Mr. Houston became the first
  regularly elected president of the Republic of Texas and guided it
  through many perils during two terms, separated by a stint
  representing San Augustine in the Texas House; he facilitated the
  Lone Star State's entry into the Union and then became a U.S.
  senator, serving from 1846 to 1859; a staunch Unionist and powerful
  orator, he strenuously opposed rising sectionalism; opposition
  from proslavery factions caused his political fortunes to wane, but
  after an unsuccessful run for governor in 1857, he triumphed in the
  next gubernatorial election; as the clamor for secession rose, he
  warned that civil war would result in the destruction of the South;
  he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the newly formed
  Confederate States of America, and the Texas Secession Convention
  removed him from office; retiring from public life, he moved his
  family to Huntsville in 1862; he died of pneumonia on July 26 of the
  following year, at the age of 70; and
         WHEREAS, Bold and resolute, Sam Houston was a towering figure
  in the history of our state and nation, and his enormously
  consequential accomplishments remain a source of inspiration
  today; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas
  Legislature hereby commemorate the 233rd anniversary of the birth
  of Sam Houston.
  Cain
  ______________________________
  Speaker of the House     
         I certify that H.R. No. 124 was adopted by the House on May
  23, 2025, by a non-record vote.
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House