Category talk:Sam Houston

Sam(uel) Houston, governor of two states, president of the Republic of Texas, U.S. senator, and military hero, was one of the most colorful figures of 19th-century America. Born near Lexington, Va., on Mar. 2, 1793, he was reared in Tennessee by his widowed mother. As a youth he spent much time with Cherokee Indians and developed close ties with them. Joining the army, he served under Andrew Jackson in the Creek wars (1813-14). In 1818, Houston resigned his commission and, after studying law for a few months, was elected attorney general for Nashville and appointed adjutant general of Tennessee. He served two terms in Congress (1823-27) and in 1827 was elected governor of Tennessee. While governor, Houston married Eliza Allen on Jan. 1, 1829. For unexplained reasons (see below), however, the marriage was dissolved almost immediately, and Houston, under pressure from the influential Allen family, resigned his office. For the next 6 years he lived with Cherokee Indians in the Indian Territory (now Oklahoma), taking a Cherokee wife, Tiana Rogers (see below), and adopting Cherokee citizenship. He was a trader, advisor, and special envoy for the tribe on several occasions. It was in this last capacity that he first went to Texas, then under Mexican rule, in 1832 in a futile attempt to secure a land grant for the tribe. By 1835, Houston had moved to Texas. With the outbreak of the Texas Revolution in that year he was named commanding general of the revolutionary army. In March 1836, Houston was a delegate to the convention that declared Texas an independent republic. His command was reconfirmed, and he led the Texas army to a brilliant victory over Santa Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto (Apr. 21, 1836).