[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 3]
[Senate]
[Pages 3143-3144]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY

  Mrs. HUTCHISON. Mr. President, I want to take a moment, as I do on 
March 2 every year since I have been in the Senate, and before me 
Senator John Tower did the same thing, to commemorate Texas 
Independence Day.
  Today is, indeed, the 169th anniversary of the day when a solemn 
convention of 54 men in a small Texas settlement took a step which had 
a momentous impact, not only on Texas but on the future of the United 
States. These 54 men, including my great-great-grandfather Charles S. 
Taylor from the town of Nacogdoches, met on March 2, 1836. They were in 
Washington-on-the-Brazos and, after laying out the grievances they had 
with the Government of Mexico, they declared:

       We therefore . . . do hereby resolve and declare . . . that 
     the people of Texas do now constitute a free, sovereign and 
     independent republic.

  They brought the Lone Star Republic into existence with those words. 
At the time, Texas was a remote territory of Mexico. It was hospitable 
only to the bravest and most determined of settlers. While few of the 
men signing the declaration could have predicted Texas's future 
prosperity, they immediately embarked on drafting a constitution to 
establish foundations for this new republic.
  The signers of the Texas declaration, as their forefathers who signed 
the American Declaration of Independence in 1776, risked their lives 
and families when they put pen to paper. They were considered traitors 
to Mexico because they were in a Mexican territory. But they were going 
to fight for freedom and independence.
  My great-great-grandfather Charles S. Taylor didn't know it at the 
time, but all four of his children had died when he left home to go and 
sign the declaration of independence. His wife took the children in 
what is now called the ``runaway scrape,'' when the women in the 
Nacogdoches territory took the children to flee from what they thought 
might be the oncoming Mexican army. In the ``runaway scrape,'' many 
children died. They were fleeing to Louisiana at the time. But my 
great-great-grandmother had the same spunk and determination as my 
great-great-grandfather, so she returned to Nacogdoches and they had 
nine more children. That was one of the examples that was set by people 
of that time who believed freedom was worth fighting and dying to 
achieve.
  They spent their last days in Texas, trying to build the Republic and 
eventually supporting the statehood of Texas coming into the United 
States of America.
  While the convention met in Washington-on-the-Brazos, 6,000 Mexican 
troops held the Alamo under siege, seeking to extinguish this newly 
created republic.
  Several days earlier, from the Alamo, Col. William Barrett Travis 
sent his immortal letter to the people of Texas and to all Americans. 
He knew the Mexican Army was approaching and he knew that he had, 
really only a few men, under 200 men to help defend the San Antonio 
fortress. Colonel Travis wrote:

       Fellow Citizens and Compatriots: I am besieged with a 
     thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have 
     sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours 
     and have not lost a man. The enemy has demanded surrender at 
     discretion, otherwise, the garrison is to be put to the 
     sword, if the fort is taken. I have answered the demand with 
     a cannon shot, and our flag still waves proudly over the 
     wall. I shall never surrender or retreat.
       Then I call on you in the name of Liberty, of patriotism, 
     of everything dear to the American character, to come to our 
     aid with all dispatch. The enemy is receiving reinforcements 
     daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in 
     four or five days. If this call is neglected I am determined 
     to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier 
     who never forgets what is due his honor and that of his 
     country--Victory or Death.

  No Texan--no person--can fail to be stirred by Colonel Travis' 
resolve in the face of such daunting odds.
  Colonel Travis' dire prediction came true, 4,000 to 6,000 Mexican 
troops did lay siege to the Alamo. In the battle that followed, 184 
brave men died in a heroic but vain attempt to fend off Santa Anna's 
overwhelming army. This battle, as all Texans know, was crucial to 
Texas independence because those heroes at the Alamo held out for so 
long that Santa Anna's forces were battered and diminished. Gen. Sam 
Houston gained the time he needed to devise a strategy to defeat Santa 
Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto a month or so later on April 21, 
1836. That battle was won and the Lone Star was visible on the horizon 
at last.
  Each year on March 2, there is a ceremony at Washington-on-the-Brazos 
State Park where there is a replica of the modest cabin where the 54 
patriots pledged their lives, honor, and treasure for freedom.
  Every year I honor the tradition Senator John Tower started by 
reading this incredible letter from the Alamo, written by William 
Barrett Travis, that showed so much about the kind of men who were 
willing to stand up and fight for freedom, men we have seen throughout 
the history of our country, starting in 1776 and going on. Even today, 
as we know, our young men are in Iraq and Afghanistan, fighting the war 
on terrorism.
  I think it is important for us to remember our history. I am proud to 
be

[[Page 3144]]

able to do it. We were a republic for 10 years before we entered the 
United States as a State. We are the only State to enter the United 
States as a republic, and we are very proud that we are now a great 
State, a part of the United States of America, with a vivid history and 
past.
  Mr. President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. FEINGOLD. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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