At age 16, after his father died, Houston ran off to live with the Cherokee Indians on the Tennessee River, being adopted by Chief Oolooteka and given the name “Raven.”
Three years later, Houston returned to Knox County, Tennessee, and opened a one-room schoolhouse, the first school built in the State.
He joined the army and fought in the War of 1812, where he was struck by a Creek arrow at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend and struck by bullets in the shoulder and arm while fighting the Red Sticks.
He was noticed by General Andrew Jackson, who mentored him.
In 1818, wearing Indian dress, Sam Houston led a delegation of Cherokee to Washington, D.C., to meet with President James Monroe.
He studied law under Judge James Trimble, and passed the bar, opening up a legal practice in Lebanon, Tennessee.
Houston was appointed the local prosecutor and was given a command in the state militia.
Sam Houston was elected to Congress in 1823, and became Governor of Tennessee in 1827. After a failed marriage, Sam Houston moved to the Arkansas Territory where he lived among the Cherokee Tribe.
At this time, Houston was interviewed by the French writer Alexis de Tocqueville, who was traveling through the United States.
While visiting Washington, DC, a politician slandered his character resulting in an altercation and trial. Francis Scott Key was Houston’s lawyer, and future President James K. Polk interceded for him, but nevertheless, Houston was fined $500.
Rather than pay, Houston left for the Mexican Territory of Tejas in 1832.
In 1833, in Nacogdoches, Texas, Sam Houston was baptized into the Catholic faith, a requirement to own property in the Mexican Territory. Twenty-one years later he was baptized in Little Rocky Creek as a Baptist.
In 1836, at the age of 43, Sam Houston was made Commander-in-Chief to fight Santa Anna.
On March 2, 1836, Sam Houston signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, which stated:
“When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people…and…becomes an instrument in the hands of evil rulers for their oppression…
it is a…sacred obligation to their posterity to abolish such government, and create another in its stead.”
The Texas Declaration ended:
“Conscious of the rectitude of our intentions, we fearlessly and confidently commit the issue to the decision of the Supreme Arbiter of the Destinies of Nations.”
Sam Houston defeated Santa Ana at the Battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, though a bullet shattered Houston’s ankle.
On OCTOBER 22, 1836, General Sam Houston was sworn in as the first President of the Republic of Texas.
William J. Federer is a nationally known speaker, best-selling author, and president of Amerisearch, Inc., a publishing company dedicated to researching America’s noble heritage.
To learn more about the author please visit William Federer
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