"Dear Sir- I have had much difficulty and many severe trials since you left here..."
On January 15th, 1836, Governor Henry Smith wrote down his troubles to Dr. Asa Hoxey. His troubles were the culmination of three months of dysfunction between the General Council and himself that had finally plunged Texas into Anarchy. How did Governor Henry Smith get himself impeached? And why was the General Council so dysfunctional? Join us for our next episode of Re-Collections of the Revolution. http://bit.ly/41z8lzo
On December 20th, 1835, Fort Defiance at Goliad became the first military garrison to declare independence during the Texas Revolution.
To hear the declaration, listen to our special episode of Re-Collections of the Revolution here: https://bit.ly/3XU84oZ
In the fall of 1835, Presido La Bahia emerged as a crucial stronghold in the fight for Texan independence. Join us as we unravel the story of Phillip Dimmit, the fort commander, whose journey from Mexican Federalist to the leader of the first military garrison to declare Texas Independence set the stage for a new era. Listen to our next episode of Re-Collections of the Revolution now! https://bit.ly/4goAPln
#onthisday The ambiguous "Declaration of November 7, 1835," adopted by a vote of 33-14 at the San Felipe Consultation, declared the causes for taking up arms against Mexico. Because of concerns that Mexican Federalists might interpret the movement as one of secession, the statement was drafted as a strategic document that would justify actions being taken in the eyes of the world and still convince the Mexican Federalists that Texans desired to preserve the Mexican Constitution of 1824.
To learn more about this document and the role that Branch T. Archer, a major war party member, played in it, check out our podcast episode "The Spirit of '76" here: https://bit.ly/3YvIebg
On December 20th, 1835, the garrison at Goliad declared its independence from Mexico. William G. Hill, an important planter from Brazoria, was tasked with helping take the declaration to the Committee in San Felipe. As he got ready for the journey, he hastily scrawled a note to his friend General Houston and attached a copy of the declaration. This episode has a special reading of this forgotten first Texas Declaration of Independence. This important document helped shift the wars in Texas from a Civil War to a War for Independence. Listen now at: https://bit.ly/3XU84oZ
Many thanks to Denver Gaydon for his voice talents in this episode.
On October 2nd, 1836, shots were fired at Gonzales over a small signal cannon. For Texans, this small skirmish was a match to the powder keg, becoming the first battle of the Texas Revolution.
Want to learn more about how the Battle of Gonzales fit within the wider Texas Revolution? Listen to our episode on the start of the Texas Revolution here: https://bit.ly/3N64rr5
Thomas Lubbock and other volunteers of the New Orleans Greys knew they stood on a legal knife's edge. They arrived in Texas as individuals, hoping to skirt neutrality laws. Arriving in Texas under arms and without a national flag left Lubbock and other American volunteers open to charges of freebooting and piracy by the Mexican government.
For José Maria Tornel, the Mexican Minister for War, the potential threat these American volunteers posed became real in November 1835 when 150 American volunteers under José Antonio Mexía attacked Tampico. This attack led the Mexican leaders to organize a response that culminated in a December decree called the Tornel Decree.
Listen to our next episode of Re-Collections of the Revolution as we meet José Maria Tornel, the influential Mexican Minister of War, and his role in crafting the Centralist response to the Texas Revolution. Want to learn more about why American volunteers flocked to Texas? Check out our last episode, "When the Greys Go Marching." (https://bit.ly/4d5iadd)
On October 13, 1835, a meeting was called at Bank's Arcade in New Orleans to raise support and funds for the Texas Revolution. Swept up with enthusiasm, Adolphus Stern, a prominent merchant from Nacgadoches, offered to arm the first volunteers who offered their services to Texas. One of the first to sign up was 19-year-old Thomas Lubbock. His brother later described Thomas as "... well up in all manly sports, quite an athlete, very strong and muscular, and full of fire and determination." Until January 1836, Lubbock would be part of the famed New Orleans Greys ranks, the first organized militia group to leave the United States to fight for Texas.
Join us now for our next episode of Re-Collection of the Revolution as we join Thomas Lubbock on his adventures in Texas during the fall of 1835 and the impact he and the American volunteers pouring in from Texas had on the Texas Revolution. To listen to Lubbocks adventures click here: https://bit.ly/4d5iadd
Colonel Ugartacha, who had scraped with American settlers once before at the battle of Velasco, ordered 100 dragoons to march from San Antonio to Gonzales. They were ordered to retrieve a small cannon used by the settlers for defense. After several days of back-and-forth across the Guadalupe River (conducted by an unlucky doctor named Lancelot Smithers), the Texans were ready to fight. On October 1, as the men readied their guns, a Methodist minister gave a sermon reminding them they were the "sons of 76." By the morning of October 2, the shot heard across Texas was fired.
Across the United States, militia groups began to form and march to Texas to support American settlers. One of the earliest and most important to organize was the New Orleans Greys, organized on October 13, 1835, at Bank's Arcade. Join us next Friday as we explore the New Orleans Greys and other American volunteers' impact on the Texas Revolution on a new episode of Re-Collections of the Revolution.
Want to catch up? Listen to July's episode "The Sons of 76" to learn more about how the War Party began to nudge the Texas Revolution from a Mexican Civil War to a War for Independence. Click here to listen now: https://bit.ly/3xZYV5d
Have you been exploring the museums, art galleries, and libraries of the Brazos Valley through the Museum Trail this summer?
If not, hop on the trail and visit any 6 participating venues to enter a raffle to win tickets, prizes, and more! The Museum Trail Giveaway ends on Labor Day, September 2nd, 2024.
Don’t forget to complete the online survey at each venue you visit!
To Learn More, Visit: https://bit.ly/BVMuseumTrail
Join us for our July episode of Re-Collections of the Revolution (apologies for the delay; the universe decided to celebrate the 4th of July with a hurricane). Join us as we explore how the War Party took advantage of the summer and fall of 1835 to successfully gain support for the upcoming Revolution but failed to gain support for Independence during the Consultation of 1835.
Listen in today on Spotify: https://bit.ly/3xZYV5d
On the night of June 25-26, 1832, simmering anger at the Mexican Centralist forces in Texas finally exploded. A meeting was held in Brazoria to bring cannons and support to the men camped in Turtle Bayou. The cannons were loaded into a small schooner to sail along the coast into Galveston Bay. However, before they could leave the Brazos River, the armed garrison at Velasco had to be faced...
Learn more about some of the first shots of the Revolution in our second episode of Re-collections of the Revolution, 10 Steps to War here: https://bit.ly/4cUtdpT
Located at the site where 59 delegates gathered on March 2, 1836 to declare Texas’ independence.
