On this day in 1836, colorful, controversial hero of the Battle of San Jacinto, Sam Houston, (left) was sworn in as President of Texas, an office he would hold twice.
Born in Virginia, raised in Tennessee, Houston excelled in military arts, his service in the War of 1812 catching the eye of future president, Andrew Jackson. He was wounded twice in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, fighting the traditionalist“Red Sticks” faction of the Muscogee Creek. Injured in the groin by a Creek arrow, he returned to the ranks and was then shot in the shoulder.
Those injuries became a most unlikely factor in his later political life and led to his resignation as governor of Tennessee. At age 35 he married 19-year-old Eliza Allen, the daughter of a wealthy planter and close friend of Jackson’s. Shortly after the marriage, Eliza publicly announced that his war injuries had “emasculated” the governor.
Her claim was rendered somewhat moot in later years. Houston sired a total of nine children with two other wives. A variety of sources contend the break-up was actually caused by Houston’s philandering and alcohol use and that Eliza preferred another younger man.
Resigning the governorship, Houston accompanied the Cherokee into exile in Arkansas Territory, marrying Tiana Rogers,(sketch said to be Rogers, left) daughter of chief John Headman Hellfire Rogers under Cherokee law. The couple was known to have one child, Margaret. Tiana elected to stay with the Cherokee when Houston left for Texas in 1832. She later married Dr. Elmore Douglass, becoming stepmother to his ten children.
Houston’s move to Texas was not entirely voluntary. He was arrested and pled guilty to beating Ohio Congressman William Stanbery (below) with a “hickory cane.” 
In Washington to complain about the fraud being visited on the Cherokee, Houston was accused of colluding with two Stanbery adversaries in the fraud. Houston confronted the Ohioan on the steps of the Capitol.
After thrashing the Congressman, he hired Francis Scott Key of Star Spangled Banner fame as his lawyer, pled self-defense and lost. Meanwhile Stanbery won a civil suit and was awarded a $500 judgement. Houston skipped town without paying the damages.
Never one to maintain a low profile, he waded knee deep into Texas politics. As a representative of Nacogdoches he pushed for Texas independence and in 1835 was made a Major General in the Texas Army. Following the Battle of the Alamo, Houston organized a rag-tag army of 374 poorly equipped souls at Gonzales. As outrage over the Alamo spread among the Americans, his force grew to more than 600. A another 139 joined the fight after Mexican general Santa Anna executed 400 Texas militiamen.
Houston continued to retreat toward the eastern coast and was roundly criticized. Santa Anna (left) in pursuit, caught up with Houston’s volunteers and attempted to encircle the Texans. Taking a page from George Washington’s Christmas assault on the Hessians, on the afternoon of April 21, 1836, Houston’s force surprised Santa Anna’s troops during their siesta. The disastrous defeat known as the Battle of San Jacinto, resulted in the Treaty of Velasco and Houston’s election as president of the Republic of Texas.
Restricted to one term, he then served as representative of San Augustine in the Texas House and was critical of the new president, who opposed statehood and favored annihilation of the Native Americans.
His 1840 marriage to 21-year-old Margaret Moffette Lea (right) of Marion, Alabama, may have helped him politically. She apparently had a “sobering” influence. Mother to his nine children, she convinced the hard-drinking Houston to give up his intemperate ways.
Following annexation of Texas in 1845, he served as a senator and was elected governor in 1861. But his opposition to joining the Confederacy cost him the office. The Texas Legislature deposed Houston, effectively ending his political career.
In declining health, he and Margaret retired to the rented Steamboat House in Huntsville in 1862 and he died of pneumonia, on July 26, 1863 at the age of 70. He is buried in Huntsville.
The inscription on his grave site attempted to cover it all: “A Brave Soldier. A Fearless Statesman. A Great Orator. A Pure Patriot. A Faithful Friend. A Loyal Citizen. A Consistent Christian. An Honest Man.”
Houston is still the only person in American history to be the popularly elected governor of two states, although he failed to complete his terms in either Texas or Tennessee. 
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, located on the campus of Sam Houston State University in Huntsville includes 15 acres of park like 
grounds, historic buildings and museum galleries. The collections of 5,000 objects and artifacts and extensive archival and manuscript holdings include the letters of Sam and Margaret Houston.The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m and Sundays, noon to 4:30. For more information go to samhoustonmemorialmuseum.com or call (936) 294-1832.
The annual General Sam Houston Folk Festival features the folk crafts, wares, and food of the lifestyles of pioneer East Texas, historical reenactments and musical events. Tentative dates for th 2018 event are May 1, 2 and 3. For more information go to events.shsu.edu.
© Text Only – 2017 – Headin’ West LLC – All photos – public domain.