Bill Text: TX HR1318 | 2011-2012 | 82nd Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Honoring Hendrick Arnold for his contributions to the struggle for Texas independence and to the development of the republic and the Lone Star State.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Passed) 2011-04-14 - Reported enrolled [HR1318 Detail]
Download: Texas-2011-HR1318-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 1318 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Hendrick Arnold, a noted early Texas scout and | ||
| guide, earned a lasting place of honor for his significant service | ||
| to the cause of Texas independence; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Born to Daniel and Martha Ann Holly Arnold in | ||
| Kentucky in 1806, Hendrick Arnold moved to Texas with his family in | ||
| the mid-1820s; Daniel Arnold settled on the Brazos River, in | ||
| Stephen F. Austin's first colony, and later located his headright | ||
| on the site of present-day Navasota; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1831, Hendrick Arnold married Maria Ignacia | ||
| Saucedo, the stepdaughter of Erastus "Deaf" Smith, and settled in | ||
| San Antonio; in October 1835, he was engaged in manufacturing | ||
| lumber on the Medina River, near present-day Bandera, for sale in | ||
| San Antonio; when he received word there that Stephen F. Austin and | ||
| an army of Texas volunteers were marching on San Antonio to confront | ||
| General Martin Perfecto de Cos, who had just arrived with a force of | ||
| several hundred soldiers to reassert the authority of the Mexican | ||
| government, he assembled his men and set out to join the Texas | ||
| troops; and | ||
| WHEREAS, During the ensuing siege of Bexar, the first | ||
| significant campaign of the Texas Revolution, Hendrick Arnold and | ||
| his father-in-law served as scouts and guides for the Texas army; on | ||
| October 28, they took part in the Battle of Concepcion, in which the | ||
| Texans successfully repelled an attack from Mexican forces sent out | ||
| from San Antonio; a week later, on December 3, the Texans chose to | ||
| postpone an attack on the Mexican troops in San Antonio because Mr. | ||
| Arnold was away at the time, and several officers refused to advance | ||
| without him; after his return, an attack on the town was set for | ||
| December 5, and Hendrick Arnold guided one of the two divisions that | ||
| entered Bexar and that ultimately compelled the Mexican forces | ||
| there to surrender on December 9; in the official report following | ||
| the battle, the commanding Texas officer singled out Mr. Arnold for | ||
| particular praise; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Anticipating a Mexican invasion in response to the | ||
| defeat inflicted on General Cos, Hendrick Arnold moved his family | ||
| to safety at his father's home on the Brazos and then returned to | ||
| San Antonio; while General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna laid siege to | ||
| the Texas troops in the Alamo, Mr. Arnold, who remained outside the | ||
| fort, helped to sustain those within by supplying them with corn and | ||
| beef; afterward, he served as a spy for General Sam Houston, a role | ||
| he continued to perform through the Battle of San Jacinto; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In March 1842, when Rafael Vasquez and some 700 | ||
| Mexican troops occupied San Antonio for several days, Mr. Arnold | ||
| served as a scout for an opposing force of Texas Rangers led by John | ||
| C. Hays; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Following the revolution, Mr. Arnold received land | ||
| in Bandera County in compensation for his military service, but he | ||
| seems not to have ever settled there; by 1843, he and his family | ||
| were living in a Mexican settlement at Castroville, where he made | ||
| cypress shingles for sale in San Antonio; his business interests in | ||
| San Antonio apparently also included at one time a wool-washing | ||
| mill, which he built near Mission San Juan in about 1836; in | ||
| addition, he negotiated to buy half an interest in another mill near | ||
| the same mission before his death from cholera on November 9, 1849; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, Mr. Arnold had three children, Mary Ann, Margaret, | ||
| and Napolean, with his first wife, who died in 1839; he remarried | ||
| and also had several children with his second wife, Martina | ||
| Fuentes; in 1893, his daughter Mary Ann Adams and her daughter, | ||
| Sarah D. Adams, were among the first to join the Daughters of the | ||
| Republic of Texas; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Hendrick Arnold was laid to rest in the Arnold | ||
| Cemetery, located on the Straus-Medina Ranch in Bexar County; in | ||
| 1936, in conjunction with the Texas Centennial, a grave marker | ||
| noting his service in the Siege of Bexar was erected in his honor; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, Held in high esteem by the men with whom he served, | ||
| Hendrick Arnold is indeed deserving of recognition in 2011, the | ||
| 175th anniversary of Texas independence, for the vital role he | ||
| played in that watershed event; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Hendrick Arnold for | ||
| his notable service in behalf of Texas liberty and for his | ||
| contributions to the development of the republic and the Lone Star | ||
| State. | ||
| McClendon | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 1318 was adopted by the House on April | ||
| 13, 2011, by a non-record vote. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
