Wild West Monday - The Additional Fact

While we're all celebrating Wild West Monday and Texas Independence Day, it turns out that it's the birthday of none other than Sam Houston, 216 years ago today. (For those of y'all who don't like math, that's 1793.) The native Virginian went on to become governor of Tennessee, President of the Republic of Texas (twice), U. S. Senator from Texas, and, finally, in 1859, governor of Texas. When the secession fervor erupted after Abraham Lincoln's election in 1860, Houston, a strong Unionist, opposed secession. The Texas Legislature declared the office vacant and the governorship fell to Houston's Lt. Governor, Edward Clark. The name Clark may not mean much to, well, almost everyone but he was the colonel of the 14th Texas Infantry, the subject of my Master's thesis.

But today is Sam's day...and Texas Independence Day...and Wild West Monday! Go be Western!