Sam Houston (1793-1863) was at once frontiersman, soldier, lawyer, Byronic hero, friend of both Indian chiefs and U.S. presidents, Commander-in-Chief of Armies during the Texas Revolution, husband, father, opportunist, politician and statesman. He had a flair for the flamboyant and, at over 6 feet tall, he had the physical presence to carry off his colorful showmanship. He was a Virginian, Tennessean and Texan. As the Raven, he was a full-fledged son of the Cherokee Nation and married for a time to one of its daughters. He served Tennessee as both a congressman and its governor. He was the liberator of the Republic of Texas and its first president as well as its senator and, finally, its governor. Houston even made a brief bid for president of the United States as a candidate for the Know-Nothing Party.
Sam Houston is best remembered for defeating Santa Ana in the Battle of San Jacinto and winning Texas its freedom from Mexico in 1836. The cause of the conflict between Texans and Mexicans had its roots in the Manifest Destiny of the young republic and, not, as I always naively thought due to the treachery of Mexican despots who wouldn’t leave the American settlers alone. Like most conflicts between polities, this war of revolution was a battle for territory and power. There’s a lot of Texas history to cover when you read about Sam Houston.
General
Houston was the voice of reason in the Texas Revolution and the model of
leadership. It is true that the courage
and steadfastness shown by Bowie, Travis and Crockett at the Alamo are marks of
true heroic virtue. But their lives need not have been lost. Houston had
instructed James Bowie to remove cannon and other weapons from the Alamo, blow
up the mission and abandon it. Bowie did
not follow orders. Neither did James
Fannin at Goliad who, along with his soldiers, was killed execution-style by
the Mexicans who trapped him there. It
was only after these and other disasters such as the ill-fated drive south to
Matamoros that Houston was finally able to exercise his full leadership and
battle plans for a remarkable victory at San Jacinto.
There are other significant events in the life of Houston, but the Texas Revolution is both a seminal event in the history of Texas and in the life of Sam Houston. This event defined his place in American history. Later in life, Houston again showed reason and leadership with the stance he took on the secession of Texas from the Union. Houston was staunchly against secession (though not exactly anti-slavery) and resigned his governorship of Texas over the issue.
A brief word about the two books. When we found ourselves in Texas in 2015, it seemed a good time to read about Sam Houston. Conveniently, we had the Marshall De Bruhl book in our home library so I was able to both further my reading goal and read on a subject of my choosing with the De Bruhl book close at hand. It wasn’t until I had finished the book that a Texan asked if I’d read Marquis James’ biography of which I had never heard.
James’ book was written in 1929 and De Bruhl’s in 1993. I don’t know if historians consider one better than the other but I found them of equal value. In fact, the only difference I noted between them is that the James book had slightly better maps. Both treat the person of Sam Houston with objectivity and a touch of humor. Both avoid the psychological probing of the man’s actions and thoughts that I find so irritating in a biography. Both give historical background with perhaps the De Bruhl book going into slightly more detail.
Both
are very good books to read when you’re ready to brush up on your American
history and read about this uniquely American soldier and statesman, General
Sam Houston.
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