Bill Text: TX HR592 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Honoring Anahuac's crucial role in the struggle for Texas independence.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-03-15 - Reported enrolled [HR592 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR592-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 592 |
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WHEREAS, Anahuac was the scene of a number of pivotal | ||
incidents that helped ignite the Texas Revolution in the 1830s, and | ||
the town is indeed deserving of recognition for its seminal role in | ||
the creation of the Lone Star State; and | ||
WHEREAS, Those momentous events were set in motion by the | ||
passage of the Law of 1830, under which Mexico established a series | ||
of new outposts in Texas to enforce Mexican law, collect taxes, and | ||
stem the influx of U.S. citizens into the region; that year, | ||
Lieutenant Colonel Juan Davis Bradburn and 43 other Mexican | ||
soldiers arrived at Perry's Point, where the Trinity River enters | ||
Galveston Bay, and established a fort that they named Anahuac; | ||
Colonel Bradburn soon incited the discontent of local settlers with | ||
his heavy-handed style of governance, his refusal to issue land | ||
titles, his unfair taxing practices, and the alleged criminal | ||
activity of some of his soldiers; and | ||
WHEREAS, In May and June of 1832, two law partners in Anahuac, | ||
Patrick Jack and William B. Travis, took a stand against Colonel | ||
Bradburn's policies, and after the two men were arrested and | ||
incarcerated at the fort, a force of outraged Texans advanced to | ||
nearby Turtle Bayou, intent on freeing the two men; several armed | ||
skirmishes between the Mexican troops and the Texans led to the | ||
Battle of Velasco, in which the Mexican force surrendered; | ||
meanwhile, the insurgents drafted the "Turtle Bayou Resolutions" to | ||
explain their opposition to the Mexican government; ultimately, the | ||
insurrection freed Jack and Travis and forced the Mexicans to | ||
abandon their outpost at Anahuac, and the incident helped set the | ||
stage for the Battle of Nacogdoches a short time later; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1835, Captain Antonio Tenorio of the Mexican army | ||
attempted to reestablish the fort and customhouse at Anahuac but | ||
was driven off by a force of 25 Texans led by William Travis; as a | ||
result of the Texan victories at Anahuac, Velsaco, and Nacogdoches, | ||
the eastern half of Texas was free of Mexican control on the eve of | ||
the Texas Revolution, which was an important factor in the decisive | ||
defeat of the Mexican army under General Santa Anna at the Battle of | ||
San Jacinto in 1836; and | ||
WHEREAS, In the opinion of historian Carroll A. Lewis, | ||
Anahuac was the site of a number of important firsts as Texas sought | ||
its independence; these included the first opposition to Mexican | ||
martial law, the first written declaration challenging the | ||
authority of the central Mexican government, the first armed | ||
rebellion against Mexican forces, and the first battle casualties | ||
on both sides of the conflict; as a result, Anahuac has earned the | ||
fitting nickname of "First Stand of the Texas Revolution"; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby honor Anahuac's crucial role in the struggle for | ||
Texas independence; and, be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for the City of Anahuac as an expression of high regard by | ||
the Texas House of Representatives. | ||
Middleton | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 592 was adopted by the House on March | ||
13, 2019, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||