[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 129 (Wednesday, September 29, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1986-E1987]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    HONORING EFFORTS TO PRESERVE THE SAN JACINTO BATTLEGROUND STATE 
                            HISTORICAL PARK

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KEN BENTSEN

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 29, 1999

  Mr. BENTSEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the people and the spirit 
behind efforts to restore and maintain San Jacinto Battleground State 
Historical Park in the 25th Congressional District. This weekend I will 
have the honor to join members of the Harris County State Legislative 
Delegation and other members of the Texas Legislature, including the 
Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives James E. ``Pete'' Laney 
as they tour the battleground site including a boat ride down Buffalo 
Bayou and the Houston Ship Channel to its confluence with the San 
Jacinto River where the Battle of San Jacinto took place on April 21, 
1836. This site, now State Park and monument along with the San Jacinto 
Museum of History, is where the Army of the Republic of Texas, under 
the command of General Sam Houston, surprised and overwhelmed the 
Mexican Army and forced the surrender by its General Santa Anna leading 
to the establishment of the Republic of Texas and, nine years later, 
its entry into the United States.
  In Texas, we believe in honoring our ancestors and preserving history 
for future generations. That's why the old-fashioned boat ride and 
picnic symbolizes more than a pleasant outing. It is a reenactment of 
boat trips from a century ago, when the San Jacinto Chapter of the 
Daughters of the Republic of Texas hosted trips in the 1980s to attempt 
to persuade State Legislators to purchase and preserve land around the 
Battlefield.
  The Battlefield and surrounding land, now totaling more than 1000 
acres, has long been considered a historical treasure by Texas 
residents, and was dedicated as a State Park in 1907, eventually 
receiving designation as a National Historic Landmark. In 1939, work 
was completed on the towering 567-foot San Jacinto Monument. Designated 
as a National Engineering Landmark, the Monument rises 12 feet higher 
than the Washington Monument and is the world's tallest monument 
column. The Museum which is housed in the base of the Monument opened 
in 1939 and holds hundreds of thousands of artifacts relating to Texas 
as a part of Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, and early Statehood. 
Operating in a public/private partnership, the Park is administered by 
the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; and the San Jacinto Museum of 
History, a nonprofit educational organization, operates the Museum.
  The goal of the individuals currently working to preserve San Jacinto 
State Park, the Battlefield, the Monument, and the Museum is just as 
compelling and challenging today as it was a hundred years ago. This 
weekend the Trustees of San Jacinto State Park and Museum will do more 
than launch a boat trip; they will launch the beginning of the effort 
to return much of the Battleground to its natural appearance at the 
time of the 1836 battle and to transform the site into a world-class 
interpretive center and museum. The New Master Plan for the San Jacinto 
Battleground State Park, which will be outlined for the public and 
legislators, will eliminate some of the modern additions to the site 
that lessen the impact of experience for the 1.5 million people who 
visit the site annually. Restoring the site to its original and natural 
state will serve to create a better understanding of the sacrifices of 
those who fought there and the extraordinary historical significance of 
the battle itself.
  Today it is very difficult for visitors to traverse the site and 
understand the Battle because of so many changes to the Battleground. 
Since its original designation as a Park, the Battleground has been 
partially obscured by buildings and monuments; by disposition of 
dredging soil; by landscaping; by construction of roads, picnic pads 
and other structures; and by subsidence ranging from eight to ten feet. 
interpretation of the Battle is further complicated by the presence of 
the Battleship of Texas and its parking and support facilities. The 
main goals of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historical Park Master 
Plan is to give primary emphasis to the Battle and its physical setting 
in order to enhance interpretation and the visitor experience. After 
all, the site's national significance

[[Page E1987]]

is due to the 1836 Battle, and to the extent feasible, the Master Plan 
focuses on returning the Battleground to its 1836 condition of prairie, 
marshes and trees so that visitors can visualize and understand the 
terrain and its influence on the tactics and outcome of the Battle.
  A hundred years after the Daughters of the Republic of Texas saw fit 
to lobby the Legislature, forward-thinking individuals with vision and 
heart who want to preserve historically significant Texas for our 
children and grandchildren are again springing into action. Great 
Texans such as the Trustees and officials of the San Jacinto Museum of 
History, including Paul Gervais Bell, William P. Conner, and J.C. 
Martin; the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, including Marian 
Beckham and Jan de Vault; Representatives for the Harris County 
Delegation, including Rep. Jessica Farrar and Rep. John Davis, and just 
some of the people who are once again taking up the cause of Texas 
history and culture. Also, Sam Houston IV, the great-grandson of 
General Sam Houston will be present along with Andrew Sansom, Executive 
Director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
  As a fifth generation Texan I am especially proud that my family has 
been actively involved in the preservation of battleground and museum. 
My grandfather, the late Col. William B. Bates, was one of the five 
founding Trustees of the San Jacinto Museum of History when it was 
organized in 1938. He was instrumental in helping to establish and 
maintain the museum's operations and its historically significant 
collection of Texana and Western Americana. I maintain many volumes of 
Texas history from his personal library. That enduring love for 
preserving history and heritage lives on with my mother, Mary Bates 
Bentsen, who currently serves as a Trustee of the Museum.
  In an area now known for petro-chemical production and the activity 
associated with one of the world's busiest seaports, one can still look 
out from the battleground site and see the Lynchburg Ferry which ran at 
the time of the battle and does so today. In his farewell to his troops 
delivered May 5, 1836, General Houston said of his forces, ``Your valor 
and heroism have proved unrivaled . . . You have countered the odds of 
two to one and borne yourselves in the onset and conflict of battle in 
a manner unknown in the manners of modern warfare. (W)hen liberty is 
firmly established by your patience and your valor, it will be fame 
enough to say, ``I was a member of the Army of San Jacinto.' ''
  Mr. Speaker, we Texans believe the Battle of San Jacinto was a 
defining moment in our history which must be preserved for generations 
to come. I congratulate the San Jacinto Museum of History's Trustees, 
the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, and other friends of the Park 
for continuing the fight to preserve our historical places and culture. 
All of Harris County, the entire state of Texas, and our future 
generations are the richer for their noble efforts.

                          ____________________