Bill Text: TX SCR33 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Designating September 8 as Major Jefferson Van Horne Day for a 10-year period beginning in 2015.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2)
Status: (Passed) 2015-06-09 - Signed by the Governor [SCR33 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-SCR33-Enrolled.html
| S.C.R. No. 33 | ||
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| WHEREAS, On September 8, 1849, Major Jefferson Van Horne and | ||
| a contingent of United States Army troops arrived in the vicinity of | ||
| present-day El Paso to establish a post on the Rio Grande, the first | ||
| American military encampment in an area that has hosted United | ||
| States armed forces now for more than a century and a half; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A native of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, Jefferson | ||
| Van Horne was born to Dorothy Johns Marple Van Horne and General | ||
| Isaac Van Horne, a veteran of the American Revolution; following | ||
| the family tradition of military service, he graduated from the | ||
| United States Military Academy at West Point in 1827 and upheld its | ||
| motto of "Duty, Honor, Country" throughout his life; and | ||
| WHEREAS, His early assignments included frontier duty at | ||
| Jefferson Barracks in Missouri and a tour at Fort Smith, Arkansas; | ||
| from 1846 to 1848, he served his country in the Mexican War, and his | ||
| distinguished efforts earned him promotion to the rank of major; | ||
| and | ||
| WHEREAS, While on leave in his hometown of Zanesville, Ohio, | ||
| Jefferson Van Horne met Mary Gilbert, and after exchanging romantic | ||
| letters for two years, the couple were married on November 28, 1850; | ||
| they had one son, Lewis Cass Van Horne; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In May 1849, Major Van Horne was instructed to | ||
| establish a military post on the north bank of the Rio Grande, | ||
| opposite what is now Ciudad Juarez, for the purpose of protecting | ||
| both settlers in the area and travelers bound for California from | ||
| Indian attack; he departed Camp Salado, on the outskirts of San | ||
| Antonio, on June 1, commanding regimental staff, six companies of | ||
| the Third Infantry, and a howitzer battery; his party of nearly 260 | ||
| soldiers was accompanied by some 100 civilians who played a | ||
| supporting role; and | ||
| WHEREAS, With 275 wagons, the expedition represented the | ||
| longest wagon train to embark westward across Texas; after 100 days | ||
| and a 643-mile overland march, Major Van Horne and his men reached | ||
| their destination on September 8, 1849; Major Van Horne | ||
| subsequently quartered four companies at Coon's Rancho, where | ||
| downtown El Paso now stands, and sent two companies to garrison the | ||
| old Spanish presidio at San Elizario, 20 miles to the southeast; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In September 1851, the War Department closed both | ||
| the post at Coon's Rancho and the presidio and ordered Major Van | ||
| Horne and most of his troops to Fort Fillmore, 40 miles north of El | ||
| Paso, near Mesilla, New Mexico; Major Van Horne had recruiting duty | ||
| from 1852 to 1854, and between 1855 and 1857 he served at Fort | ||
| Stanton, New Mexico, and at the Post of Albuquerque; he died in | ||
| Albuquerque on September 26, 1857; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A new army post was established on the site of | ||
| present-day El Paso in January 1854, and in March of that year it | ||
| was named Fort Bliss after Lieutenant Colonel William Bliss, a | ||
| career army officer and an accomplished scholar who was also the | ||
| son-in-law of President Zachary Taylor; the fort acquired a | ||
| permanent location in El Paso in 1893; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The post that Major Jefferson Van Horne established | ||
| at the site of present-day El Paso served to protect a vital route | ||
| for a dynamic and burgeoning nation pushing westward and marked the | ||
| beginning of a long and close association between the United States | ||
| military and the people of El Paso, and it is indeed fitting that | ||
| the anniversary of his arrival at the Pass of the North be | ||
| commemorated; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby designate September 8 as Major Jefferson Van Horne Day in the | ||
| State of Texas; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section | ||
| 391.004(d), Government Code, this designation remain in effect | ||
| until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally | ||
| passed by the legislature. | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 33 was adopted by the Senate | ||
| on April 30, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| I hereby certify that S.C.R. No. 33 was adopted by the House | ||
| on May 19, 2015, by the following vote: Yeas 141, Nays 0, one | ||
| present not voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| Approved: | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
