[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 3]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 3143]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 TEXAS INDEPENDENCE DAY--175 YEARS AGO

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, March 2, 2011

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the unique 
history of the great state of Texas.
  Today, March 2, marks Texas Independence Day.
  On this day, 175 years ago, Texas declared its independence from 
Mexico and its dictator, Santa Anna, the 19th century Muammar Gadhafi.
  In 1836, in the small farm village of Washington-on-the-Brazos, 54 
Texians, as they called themselves in those days, gathered to do 
something bold and courageous: Sign the Texas Declaration of 
Independence and once and for all ``declare that the people of Texas do 
now constitute a free, sovereign, and independent republic.''
  As these determined delegates met to declare independence, Santa Anna 
and 6,000 enemy troops were marching on an old beat-up Spanish mission 
that we now call the Alamo, where Texas defenders stood defiant, stood 
determined.
  They were led by a 27-year-old lawyer by the name of William Barrett 
Travis.
  The Alamo and its 186 Texans were all that stood between the invaders 
and the people of Texas.
  And behind the cold, dark, damp walls of that Alamo, Commander 
William Barrett Travis sent the following letter to Texas requesting 
aid.
  Here is what this appeal said in part: ``To all the people of Texas 
and Americans throughout the world, I am besieged by a thousand or more 
of the enemy under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continual bombardment 
and cannon fire for over 24 hours, but I have not lost a man. The enemy 
has demanded surrender at its discretion; otherwise the fort will be 
put to the sword. I have answered that demand with a cannon shot, and 
the flag still waves proudly over the wall. I shall never surrender or 
retreat. I call upon you in the name of liberty and patriotism and 
everything dear to our character to come to our aid with all dispatch. 
If this call is neglected, I am determined to sustain myself for 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.''--William Barrett 
Travis, Colonel, Texas Army.
  After 13 days of glory at the Alamo, Commander Travis and his men 
sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom March 6, 1836.
  However, those lives would not be lost in vain. Their determination 
did pay off, and because heroes like Travis, Davy Crockett and Jim 
Bowie held out so long, Santa Anna's forces took such great losses they 
became battered and demoralized.
  As Travis said, ``Victory will cost them more dearly than defeat.''
  The Alamo defenders were from every State and 13 foreign countries.
  They were black, brown, and white. Their ages were 16 through 67, and 
they were all volunteers.
  They were mavericks, revolutionaries, farmers, shopkeepers, and 
freedom fighters; and they came together to fight for something they 
believed in: freedom and independence.
  General Sam Houston, in turn, had the time he needed to devise a 
strategy to rally other Texas volunteers to ultimately defeat Santa 
Anna in the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836.
  The rest is Texas history.
  The war was over, and the Lone Star flag was visible all across the 
broad, bold, brazen plains of Texas.
  Texas remained a nation for 9 years and claimed land that now 
includes part of New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Wyoming, even 
up to the Canadian border.
  In 1845, Texas was admitted to the Union by only one vote when a 
Louisiana Senator changed his mind.
  By Treaty with the United States, Texas may divide into five States, 
and the Texas flag is to fly even with the U.S. flag and not below it.
  Freedom has a cost. It always does. It always will.
  And as we pause to remember those who lost their lives so that Texas 
could be a free Nation, we cannot forget those Americans that are 
currently fighting in lands across the seas for the United States' 
continued freedom and liberty today.
  Texas Independence Day is a day of pride and reflection in the Lone 
Star State.
  It is a day we remember to pay tribute to heroes like William Barrett 
Travis, Jim Bowie, Davy Crockett, Jim Bonham, Sam Houston, and the rest 
of the volunteers who fought the evil tyrant and terrorist Saint Anna. 
It was an effort to make Texas free, and that effort was successful.
  My first grandson is named Barrett Houston in honor of William 
Barrett Travis and General Sam Houston.
  So, today, we remember that Texas was a glorious nation once and won 
freedom and independence because some fierce volunteers fought to the 
death for liberty over tyranny.
  On this Texas Independence Day, let us not forget those brave men and 
women in our military that are fighting to preserve and uphold our 
freedom from a new world threat of terrorism.
  Mr. Speaker, I hope that the Congress and the country will join in 
celebrating this Texas Independence Day.
  In Colonel Travis' final letter and appeal for aid, he signed off 
with three words that I leave with you now: ``God and Texas.'' ``God 
and Texas'' and the rest, as they say, is Texas history.
  And that's just the way it is, Mr. Speaker.

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