Come and Take it!
Posted on 03/02/2014 2:09:44 PM PST by patriot08
On this day in 1836, Texas severed ties with Mexico and became a free and independent republic. It was an independent nation- until ten years later when Texas joined the Union. That streak of independence still runs strong and deep through Texans,
'Courage and a love of liberty have long been defining characteristics of the Texas spirit. Both were exemplified 178 years ago when fifty-nine delegates convened in Independence Hall at Washington-on-the-Brazos to declare Texas' independence.
Inflamed by General Santa Anna's refusal to abide by the Mexican Constitution of 1824 and inspired by the United States’ first Declaration of Independence, the men produced their own Declaration and resolved ‘that the people of Texas do now constitute a free, Sovereign, and independent republic.
The same love of ‘life, liberty, and property of the people’ that spurred the Texians at the Alamo and throughout the Revolution still lives in each Texan today. They fought for it. They died for it. We owe it to their sacrifice to carry the torch of freedom for future generations. And we will.
Keep that resolve strong and when anyone threatens our liberties, proudly say, as only a Texan can, ‘come and take it!’
Senator Ted Cruz
Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word- Author John
Texas is neither southern nor western. Texas is Texas - Senator William Blakley
Govern wisely, and as little as possible- Sam Houston
Here is what we know after more than a decade of Republican rule: Texas works. Even The New York Times' let it slip into its pages that Texas is the future.- Governor Rick
When William Barrett Travis wrote in 1836 that he would never surrender and he would have Victory or Death, what he was really saying was that he and his men were forged of a hotter fire. They weren't your average everyday men. Well, that is what it means to be a Texan. It meant it then, and that's what it means today. It means just what all those people North of the Red River accuse us of thinking it means. It means there's no mountain that we can't climb. It means that we can swim the Gulf in the winter. It means that Houston is bigger and Dallas is richer and Alpine is hotter and God vacations in Texas. It means that come Hell or high water, when the chips are down and the Good Lord is watching, we're Texans by damned, and just like in 1836, that counts for something- so If you are sitting wondering what the Hell I'm talking about, this ain't for you. But if the first thing you are going to do when the Good Lord calls your number is find the men who sat in that tiny mission in San Antonio and shake their hands, then you're the reason I wrote this, and this is for you'- Bum Phillips (famous Texas football coach) on what it means to be a Texan
Come and Take it!
The Battle of Gonzales was the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution. It was fought near Gonzales, Texas, on October 2, 1835, between rebellious Texas settlers and a detachment of Mexican army troops. In 1831, Mexican authorities gave the settlers of Gonzales a small cannon to help protect them from frequent Comanche raids. Over the next four years, the political situation in Mexico deteriorated, and in 1835 several states revolted. As the unrest spread, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, the commander of all Mexican troops in Texas, felt it unwise to leave the residents of Gonzales a weapon and requested the return of the cannon. When the initial request was refused, Ugartechea sent 100 dragoons to retrieve the cannon. The soldiers neared Gonzales on September 29, but the colonists used a variety of excuses to keep them from the town, while secretly sending messengers to request assistance from nearby communities. Within two days, up to 140 Texans gathered in Gonzales, all determined not to give up the cannon. On October 1, settlers voted to initiate a fight. With a battle cry of; 'Come and take it! and a 'come and take it flag' whipped up by the local ladies, they approached the Mexican camp in the early hours of October 2nd. Mexican soldiers opened fire. but after several hours of desultory firing, the Mexican soldiers withdrew.
Remember the Alamo!
Thirteen days to glory
When Mexico achieved it’s independence from Spain in 1821, the northern province of Texas was sparsely populated and remote from Mexico City. To encourage settlement, the government invited Americans to settle. Lead by Stephen Austin, many took the offer. By 1835 there were some 30,000 former Americans living in Texas, signs of rebellion were becoming frequent against the tyrannical central government of Mexico. Concerned, the central government of Mexico tried to bring Texas under direct rule from Mexico City and halt immigration from the United States. Rather then submit, the colonists revolted and declared independence.
The Mexican government, determined to restore order sent General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and his soldiers north to San Antonio and the Alamo. Santa Anna with nearly 1,800 Mexican troops far outnumbered the band of 188 men who had retreated into the Alamo. The army reached San Antonio on 23 February 1836. Though vastly outnumbered, the Alamo’s 188 defenders–commanded by William Barret Travis, and including Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie and other brave and adventuresome men held out courageously for 13 days before the Mexican invaders finally overpowered them. Santa Anna ordered that there be no quarter and no mercy. Those defenders taken alive were killed outside the mission and all the defenders bodies were burned.
Although there were only 188 Texans defending the Alamo, Santa Ann lost an estimated 600 soldiers in the siege and attack.
After the Alamo he sent his soldiers to attack Colonel James Fannin's camp at Goliad and massacred its 342 defenders.
On 21 April 1836, 46 days after the Alamo fell, General Sam Houston lead 783 men against Santa Anna’s army of 1,500. Striking while the army rested, the Texans routed the enemy and captured Santa Anna. The Battle of San Jacinto resulted in Texas independence. Their battle cry was:'Remember the Alamo!, and 'Remember Goliad!'
The brave men of the Alamo defended it against over whelming odds in 1836, and the delay allowed promulgation of independence, formation of a revolutionary government, drafting of a constitution and buying Texans time to organize themselves into an effective fighting force. People worldwide continue to remember the Alamo as a heroic struggle against impossible odds — a place where men made the ultimate sacrifice for freedom. For this reason, the Alamo remains hallowed ground and the Shrine of Texas Liberty.
The Alamo was badly damaged in the Battle of the Alamo in 1836. It was repaired by the U.S. Army in 1850. The building was bought by the state of Texas in 1905. The Alamo was later given to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, who maintain the Alamo as a public monument and a shrine to the heroes of the Battle of the Alamo.
If you’ve never been into the Alamo, it’s cold and deathly quiet. There are no cameras or noisy visitors. What conversation you hear is spoken in whispers. Many visitors say you can feel the ghostly figures of the brave men who fought at the Alamo. It’s a humbling experience to stand there on that hallowed ground knowing those brave men chose death over tyranny.
‘Texas is a state of mind. Texas is an obsession. Above all, Texas is a nation in every sense of the word-’
Above quote should read, by author John Steinbeck
Hell yeah.
And I've got a replica of that Gonzales Flag ready for service.
I love it here, and so far I haven't had any Mexicans try to kill me outside a church.
IIRC, Texas was forced to join the Union.
After Mexico withdrew, they blew up the fortifications of the Alamo leaving only the chapel which we have today.
You would be surprised to see all the art work done in the past showing only the Chapel as the fortification.
***Texas was forced to join the Union.***
Actually it was Great Britain that caused it. Britain recognized Texas with the Rio Grande as the southern border. They hoped to forge an alliance with Mexico, Canada, and Texas against the US over the Oregon territories.
Texas was so shocked at such an alliance against the US they applied for admission as a state, and got it. The US sent troops to the north side of the Rio Grand, which Mexico claimed as their own. Mexican forces began a bombardment of the outpost which was named Ft Brown, after the first soldier killed there, and the war was on!
$100 bill: Stephen Austin
$50 bill: Sam Houston
$20 bill: William Travis
$10 bill: Dwight D. Eisenhower
$5 bill: Chester Nimitz
$2 coin: Davey Crockett
$1 coin: Tom Landry & Roger Staubach
Texas Revolution (((ping)))!
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.... After some sparring, Houston consented to the negotiation of a treaty of annexation, which was rejected by the United States Senate in June 1844. Annexation then became an issue in the presidential election of 1844; James K. Polk, who favored annexation, was elected. Tyler, feeling the need of haste if British designs were to be circumvented, suggested that annexation be accomplished by a joint resolution offering Texas statehood on certain conditions, the acceptance of which by Texas would complete the merger. The United States Congress passed the annexation resolution on February 28, 1845, and Andrew Jackson Donelson proceeded to Texas to urge acceptance of the offer.
Public opinion in Texas, fanned by special agents from the United States, demanded acceptance of the American offer. President Anson Jones called the Texas Congress to meet on June 16, 1845, and a convention of elected delegates was assembled on July 4. He placed before both bodies the choice of annexation or independence recognized by Mexico. Both Congress and the convention voted for annexation. A state constitution, drawn up by the convention, was ratified by popular vote in October 1845 and accepted by the United States Congress on December 29, 1845, the date of Texas’s legal entry into the Union. The formal transfer of authority from the republic to the state was not made until a ceremony held on February 19, 1846. President Anson Jones handed over the reins of state government to Governor James Pinckney Henderson having declared “The final act in this great drama is now performed; the Republic of Texas is no more.”
State of Texas Historical Society
https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/mga02
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Welcome, Friend.
But watch your back. :)
Thanks for posting. I remember reading about it in an old book I had.
I am American by birth. Texan by choice. I wasn’t born here but I got here as fast as I could.
I’ve been to the Alamo more times than I can remember. And I’d like to go again.
Travis was only 26 years old. He was killed in the first attack.
Don’t forget Bum Phillips.
And Jim Bowie.
Thanks for the ping, Windflier.
It is too bad Texas didn’t keep its independence. Same for California.
You bet, Berdie.
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