Bosque River Chapter
March is Texas History Month, a time to fly the Texas flag and celebrate our state’s unique history. Recognizing the importance of Texas history, the Legislature enacted legislation on June 20, 2003 declaring March 1-31 of every year as Texas History Month. Several key events which shaped the destiny of Texas occurred in the month of March and have been designed as Texas Honor Days by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas (D.R.T.).
Texas Independence and Flag Day, March 2
In near freezing temperatures, fifty-four delegates elected from all municipalities in Texas convened on March 1, 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. They met in a oneroom, unfinished building with no door, and only cotton cloth to cover the windows. A resolution was adopted without debate for the appointment of a committee to draft a declaration of independence from Mexico. Those appointed were George Childress, Chairman, Edwin Conrad, James Gaines, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney. The next day, March 2, Mr. Childress presented a draft to the convention, and on the motion of Sam Houston, the Texas Declaration of Independence was adopted. Entitled, “The Unanimous Declaration of Independence, by the Delegates of the People of Texas, in General Convention, at the Town of Washington, on the Second Day of March, 1836,” Texans had declared themselves a free and independent republic. Five additional delegates arrived, making a total of fifty-nine signers along with the convention president, Richard Ellis, to the Texas Declaration of Independence.
March 2 is also Flag Day for Texas, as declared by the Legislature in 1915. A law was later passed in 1933 establishing rules for proper display of the flag and a pledge to the flag, “Honor the Texas Flag; I pledge allegiance to thee, Texas, one state under God, one and indivisible.”
Sam Houston’s Birthday, March 2
One of the best known figures in Texas history, Samuel “Sam” Houston was born in Virginia on March 2, 1793. Sam was thirteen years old when his father died and shortly thereafter, his mother moved the family to Tennessee. Houston served in Andrew Jackson’s army, studied law, and was elected governor of Tennessee at the age of thirty four. Within five years, he had set his sights on the promise of new adventures in Texas. Arriving in December of 1832, he quickly became involved in politics. He served as a delegate from Nacogdoches to the Convention of 1833 and Consultation of 1835, and from Refugio at the Convention of 1836. Houston served as Commander-in-Chief of the Texas Revolution Army, twice as President of the Republic of Texas, and along with Thomas J. Rusk, became the first U.S. Senators from the State of Texas. Sam Houston died on July 26, 1863 and is buried in the Oakwood Cemetery in Huntsville, Texas. He is remembered throughout the state with monuments, streets named for him, a state university that bears his name, and the city bearing his name is now the largest city in Texas.
For more information on the D.R.T., please visit the website at drtinfo.org