[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 3]
[House]
[Pages 3947-3951]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1600
                 MARCH 6 FROM A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under the Speaker's announced policy of 
January 3, 2013, the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Poe) is recognized for 
60 minutes as the designee of the majority leader.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, this is March 6, and I want to talk 
about March 6 in a historical perspective, history that is very 
important that Americans know about.
  Yesterday, on the House floor, I talked about the things that are 
going on in the Ukraine and compared Mr. Putin's aggressive actions 
toward Europe, similar to the actions of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis.
  Before I do that today, I would like to yield some time to two of our 
Members who have discussions on other issues. First, I would like to 
yield as much time as he wishes to consume on a different issue to the 
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Wolf).


                         Stuttering Foundation

  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman from Texas for 
his courtesy.
  Mr. Speaker, today I rise to discuss something very close to me. I 
want to talk about stuttering. I have been a lifelong stutterer, and 
when I was young I experienced some very difficult times, but that is a 
story really for another day.
  More than 70 million people stutter. One in every 100 people in the 
world stutter. In the U.S., more than 3 million Americans stutter. You 
probably have a friend, a neighbor, a classmate, a coworker, or a 
family member who stutters. Most people do.
  About 5 percent of all children go through a stuttering phase that 
lasts 6 months or more. Some will recover by late childhood, but one 
out of every 100 children will be left with long-term stuttering.
  I would like to take this time to tell you a little bit more about 
stuttering, what it is and how family members and friends can help.
  Stuttering is a disorder where the flow of speech is broken by 
repetition, prolongations, or abnormal stoppages of sounds and 
syllables. For some people, unusual facial and body movements may 
happen when they try to speak.
  Stuttering is most likely caused by four factors:
  One, Genetics;
  Two, child development. For example, children with other speech and 
language problems or developmental delays are more likely to stutter;
  Three, the makeup of the brain. An ongoing research study by Dr. Anne 
Smith with the Purdue University Stuttering Project shows that people 
who stutter seem to process speech and language differently than those 
who don't;
  And four, lastly, family dynamics have an impact. High expectations 
and fast-paced lifestyles can also contribute to stuttering.
  People who stutter are no different from those who do not stutter. In 
fact, studies by Dr. Ehud Yairi at the University of Illinois show that 
people who stutter are as intelligent and as well-adjusted as those who 
don't.
  Contrary to what many people believe, stuttering can be treated. I 
want to let anyone know out there who stutters or who has a child who 
stutters, much can be done.
  Speech-language pathologists, therapists trained to help deal with 
speech issues like stuttering often work in schools, clinics, at 
universities, and in private practice to help treat stuttering.
  The most important thing, and many experts agree: early intervention 
is key. The earlier we can identify stuttering in our children and get 
them the help they need, the better chances we have at helping them to 
speak more fluently.
  If you stutter, or if a child or loved one stutters, or if you even 
think they might be stuttering, get help immediately.
  One of the best ways to help is by visiting the Stuttering 
Foundation. The foundation was started by Malcolm Fraser more than 70 
years ago. His book, called ``Self-Therapy for the Stutterer,'' was 
originally published in 1978, and still is one of the best books on 
stuttering available.
  You can visit the foundation's Web site at www.stutteringhelp.org. 
They have lots of well-trusted, expert information available for free, 
including Malcolm Fraser's book, as well as countless brochures and 
videos and other materials for parents and teachers.
  Unfortunately, there is no instant miracle cure for stuttering, no 
surgery, no pills, no intensive weekend retreats. Stuttering takes time 
and effort and commitment to work through.
  Some people outgrow it. Some people respond well to years of therapy 
and learn to speak fluently, with almost no trace of difficulty. For 
many others, stuttering becomes a lifelong struggle, as it has for me.
  For those of us who stutter, and for the millions of parents with 
children who stutter, we all know stuttering becomes more challenging 
for teenagers. Kids can be tough on classmates who stutter and, for 
some, the teasing and the mocking can be too much.
  We must help people who stutter understand that there are many people 
who know firsthand how difficult it is for someone who stutters, and 
that help is available.
  We need to be patient, kind, understanding, and attentive. We need to 
know and show that we care.
  If you stutter, let me just tell you something: Don't give up. So 
much can be done.
  I thank the gentleman for giving me the time.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, as I mentioned earlier, I believe 
history is something that we should remember and talk about.
  Today, is March 6. It probably doesn't mean much to a lot of folks in 
the United States, but to those of us from the State of Texas, March 6 
is an important day.
  I want to put it in context. There are 3 important, very important 
days for

[[Page 3948]]

those of us from Texas, March 2, March 6, and April 21, and I will get 
to the significance in just a moment.
  Many, many years ago, parts of Texas, Mexico, Central America, and 
even South America, were controlled by the European country of Spain. 
It controlled all of that area.
  The people of Mexico decided that they wanted to have their own 
independent country. It sounds familiar, does it not?
  They rebelled against the Spanish, and they formed the Republic of 
Mexico. They established a Constitution. It was called the Constitution 
of 1824.
  As sometimes happens with new democracies, the President takes over. 
His name was Santa Anna. Santa Anna, when he took power legally, 
constitutionally, under a democratic regime, did what some dictators, 
unfortunately, still do. He abolished the government. He abolished the 
Constitution of 1824. He created a centralist, authoritarian 
government.
  But several areas, states, if you will, in Mexico dissented, 
objected, vocally objected, even rebelled. Those areas of Mexico were 
Coahuila y Tejas, the state of Coahuila and Texas; Durango; Jalisco; 
Nuevo Leon; Queretaro; San Luis Potosi; Tamaulipas; Yucatan; Zacatecas; 
and a couple of others.
  Most of those areas, those states did nothing more than just object, 
dissent, and quickly Santa Anna moved in to quell any disruption or 
disturbances.
  But there were three of those areas that actually formed their own 
republics, if you will. There was the Republic of the Rio Grande, the 
Republic of the Yucatan, and the Republic of Texas.
  Santa Anna quickly, of course, moved to stop these new countries, if 
you will, areas, that were seeking independence from this totalitarian 
dictator named Santa Anna. As history has shown, they all failed--
except the Republic of Texas.
  That is what I would like to talk about this evening, Mr. Speaker. 
What happened in Texas was that the people objected, people of all 
races, both Tejanos--and Tejano is a uniquely Texan name; a Tejano is 
someone of Mexican or Spanish descent that is, or was, born in what is 
now Texas--and the Anglos as well dissented, objected to Santa Anna's 
imperialistic dictatorship.
  It started over a cannon. In October of 1835, the Mexican government 
sent some military over to the little town of Gonzalez, Texas, and 
demanded that the colonists, the people there, give up their cannon, 
their arms, and they objected. They refused to do it, and so there was 
a skirmish between the Mexican regulars and the colonists who lived in 
Gonzalez.
  Shots were fired on both sides. I don't know that anybody was really 
hurt too bad. A couple of folks were wounded. More importantly, the 
Mexican military left, and they did not get the cannon, and thus 
started the Texas War of Independence.
  You may have heard of the flag, the Come and Take It flag. The 
Texians, as they called themselves, painted a cannon on a white 
background and wrote underneath it, ``Come and Take It,'' being 
defiant.
  In any event, that started the battle. That started the Texas War of 
Independence against a dictator, a person who had abolished, remember, 
the Constitution of the Republic of Mexico.
  Santa Anna then decided he would put down this rebellion, all of 
these rebellions that I talked about, and he successfully did so in 
other parts of Mexico, in those areas that I had mentioned. Then he 
moves across the Rio Grande River with three different armies coming 
into Texas to put down this so-called rebellion against his 
dictatorship.
  So the first battles of Texas independence were successful, in 1835, 
October of 1835, and that brought us into 1836.
  Success was not the norm in 1836. On March 2, 1836, 54 Texans, 
including Lorenzo De Zavala, Thomas Rusk, Antonio Navarro, and that 
famous person, Sam Houston, gathered not too far from San Antonio in a 
place called Washington-on-the-Brazos, declared their independence from 
Mexico, wrote a constitution, declaration of independence, rather, very 
similar to the American Declaration of Independence. It was signed by 
all of them on March 2, 1836.
  Turned out March 2 also happens to be the birthday of Sam Houston. 
Imagine that. That is the first important date.
  Meanwhile, assembled down the road from Texas, declaring independence 
at Washington-on-the-Brazos, were a group of volunteers. They were all 
together in this old, beat-up Spanish church that was 150 years old at 
the time. It was a town called Bexar. We know it now as San Antonio.
  The place that they assembled themselves to fight off the invasion of 
the dictator was the Alamo.
  This is an artist sketch of the way the Alamo looked at the time that 
the 187 volunteers defended the place.

                              {time}  1615

  You will notice, Mr. Speaker, the flag that is flying over the Alamo 
was not what a lot of people think, the Lone Star flag, which was the 
flag of the Republic of Texas, the flag of Texas now. It is the flag of 
1824. It is very similar to the Mexican flag.
  But what the defenders had done was remove the Mexican eagle and put 
the number 1824. Why did they do that? Because when they went into the 
Alamo, what they were wanting--what they were trying to do was 
reestablish a constitutional government in Mexico, and they wanted the 
constitution of 1824. That is why that flag flew over the Alamo.
  The people who entered the Alamo did so on February 23, 1826. They 
did so before March 2, before the declaration of independence, because 
they knew that the invaders were coming under the direction of the 
president, the dictator, and the general, Santa Anna.
  It is interesting, these people who were in the Alamo, they were all 
volunteers, Mr. Speaker. They came from almost every State in the 
United States and 13 foreign countries, including Mexico; and I will 
just mention some of the States that they came from.
  They came from Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, 
Louisiana, Maryland, several from Massachusetts. They came from the 
State of Mississippi, Missouri, as far away as New Hampshire, New 
Jersey, several folks from New York, North Carolina, Ohio.
  A great number came from Pennsylvania and, of course, South Carolina, 
even one from Rhode Island; and many, many came from the State of 
Tennessee. There were also native Texans in the Alamo, if you would 
refer to them as that; and they were the nine--at least nine Tejanos 
that fell in the Alamo. There may have been more. We don't know. There 
was also one from Vermont and several from Virginia.
  They were also from foreign countries, Denmark, several from England, 
Ireland, Germany, Scotland, Wales, France, and some other countries as 
well.
  Mr. Speaker, I will now place into the Record a list of the defenders 
who fell at the Alamo and the States or countries that they were from.


                       The Defenders of the Alamo

       1) Buchanan, James, Alabama; 2) Fishbaugh, William, 
     Alabama; 3) Fuqua, Galba, Alabama; 4) White, Isaac, Alabama; 
     5) Baker, Isaac G., Arkansas; 6) Thompson, Jesse G., 
     Arkansas; 7) Warnell, Henry, Arkansas; 8) Jennings, Gordon 
     C., Connecticut; 9) Grimes, Albert (Alfred) Calvin, Georgia; 
     10) Melton, Eliel, Georgia; 11) Shied, Manson, Georgia; 12) 
     Wells, William, Georgia; 13) Wills, William, Georgia; 14) 
     Lindley, Jonathan L., Illinois; 15) Bailey, Peter James III, 
     Kentucky; 16) Bowie, James, Kentucky; 17) Cloud, Daniel 
     William, Kentucky; 18) Darst, Jacob C., Kentucky; 19) Davis 
     John, Kentucky; 20) Fauntleroy, William H., Kentucky.
       21) Gaston, John E., Kentucky; 22) Harris, John, Kentucky; 
     23) Jackson, William Daniel, Kentucky; 24) Jameson, Green B., 
     Kentucky; 25) Kellogg, John Benjamin, Kentucky; 26) Kent, 
     Andrew, Kentucky; 27) Rutherford, Joseph, Kentucky; 28) 
     Thomas, B. Archer M., Kentucky; 29) Washington, Joseph G., 
     Kentucky; 30) Despallier, Charles, Louisiana; 31) Kerr, 
     Joseph, Louisiana; 32) Ryan, Isaac, Louisiana; 33) Garrand, 
     James W., Louisiana; 34) Smith, Charles S., Maryland; 35) 
     Flanders, John, Mass.; 36) Howell, William D., Mass.; 37) 
     Linn, William, Mass.; 38) Pollard, Amos. Mass.
       39) Clark, M.B., Mississippi; 40) Millsaps, Isaac, 
     Mississippi; 41) Moore, Willis A., Mississippi; 42) Pagan, 
     George, Mississippi; 43)

[[Page 3949]]

     Parker, Christopher Adams, Mississippi; 44) Baker, William 
     Charles M., Missouri; 45) Butler, George D., Missouri; 46) 
     Clark, Charles Henry, Missouri; 47) Cottle, George 
     Washington, Missouri; 48) Day, Jerry C., Missouri; 49) 
     Tumlinson, George W., Missouri; 50) Cochran, Robert E., New 
     Hampshire; 51) Stockton, Richard Lucius, New Jersey; 52) 
     Cunningham, Robert W., New York; 53) Dewall, Lewis, New York; 
     54) Evans, Samuel B., New York; 55) Forsyth, John Hubbard, 
     New York; 56) Jones, John, New York; 57) Tylee, James, New 
     York.
       58) Autry, Micajah, North Carolina; 59) Floyd, Dolphin 
     Ward, North Carolina; 60) Parks, William, North Carolina; 61) 
     Scurlock, Mial, North Carolina; 62) Smith, Joshua G., North 
     Carolina; 63) Thomson, John W., North Carolina; 64) Wright, 
     Claiborne, North Carolina; 65) Harrison, William B., Ohio; 
     66) Holland, Tapely, Ohio; 67) Musselman, Robert, Ohio; 68) 
     Rose, James M., Ohio; 69) Ballentine, John J., Pennsylvania; 
     70) Brown, James Murry, Pennsylvania; 71) Cain (Cane), John, 
     Pennsylvania; 72) Crossman, Robert, Pennsylvania; 73) 
     Cummings, David P., Pennsylvania; 74) Hannum, James, 
     Pennsylvania; 75) Holloway, Samuel, Pennsylvania; 76) 
     Johnson, William, Pennsylvania; 77) Kimble (Kimbell), George 
     C., Pennsylvania; 78) McDowell, William, Pennsylvania; 79) 
     Reynolds, John Purdy, Pennsylvania; 80) Thurston, John M., 
     Pennsylvania; 81) Williamson, Hiram James, Pennsylvania; 82) 
     Wilson, John, Pennsylvania.
       83) Martin, Albert, Rhode Island; 84) Bonham, James Butler, 
     South Carolina; 85) Crawford, Lemuel, South Carolina; 86) 
     Neggan, George, South Carolina; 87) Nelson, Edward, South 
     Carolina; 88) Nelson, George, South Carolina; 89) Simmons, 
     Cleveland Kinloch, South Carolina; 90) Travis, William 
     Barret, South Carolina; 91) Bayliss, Joseph, Tennessee; 92) 
     Blair, John, Tennessee; 93) Blair, Samuel C., Tennessee; 94) 
     Bowman, Jesse B., Tennessee; 95) Campbell, James (Robert), 
     Tennessee; 96) Crockett, David, Tennessee; 97) Daymon, 
     Squire, Tennessee; 98) Dearduff, William, Tennessee; 99) 
     Dickinson, Almeron, Tennessee; 100) Dillard, John Henry, 
     Tennessee; 101) Ewing, James L., Tennessee; 102) Garrett, 
     James Girard, Tennessee.
       103) Harrison, Andrew Jackson, Tennessee; 104) Haskell, 
     Charles, M., Tennessee; 105) Hays, John M., Tennessee; 106) 
     Marshall, William, Tennessee; 107) McCoy, Jesse, Tennessee; 
     108) McKinney, Robert, Tennessee; 109) Miller, Thomas R., 
     Tennessee; 110) Mills, William, Tennessee; 111) Nelson, 
     Andrew M., Tennessee; 112) Robertson, James Waters, 
     Tennessee; 113) Smith, Andrew H., Tennessee; 114) Summerlin, 
     A. Spain, Tennessee; 115) Summers, William E., Tennessee; 
     116) Taylor, Edward, Tennessee; 117) Taylor, George, 
     Tennessee; 118) Taylor, James, Tennessee; 119) Taylor, 
     William, Tennessee; 120) Walker, Asa, Tennessee; 121) Walker, 
     Jacob, Tennessee.
       122) Abamillo, Juan, Texas; 123) Badillo, Juan Antonio, 
     Texas; 124) Espalier, Carlos, Texas; 125) Esparza, Gregorio 
     (Jose Maria), Texas; 126) Fuentes, Antonio, Texas; 127) 
     Jimenez, Damacio, Texas; 128) King, William Phillip, Texas; 
     129) Lewis, William Irvine, Texas; 130) Lightfoot, William 
     J., Texas; 131) Losoya, Jose Toribio, Texas; 132) Nava, 
     Andres, Texas; 133) Perry, Richardson, Texas; 134) Andross, 
     Miles Deforest, Vermont; 135) Allen, Robert, Virginia; 136) 
     Baugh, John J., Virginia; 137) Carey, William R., Virginia; 
     138) Garnett, William, Virginia; 139) Goodrich, John Camp, 
     Virginia; 140) Herndon, Patrick Henry, Virginia; 141) Kenny, 
     James, Virginia; 142) Main, George Washington, Virginia; 143) 
     Malone, William T., Virginia; 144) Mitchasson, Edward F., 
     Virginia; 145) Moore, Robert B., Virginia; 146) Northcross, 
     James, Virginia.
       147) Zanco, Charles, Denmark; 148) Blazeby, William, 
     England; 149) Bourne, Daniel, England; 150) Brown, George, 
     England; 151) Dennison, Stephen (or Ireland), England; 152) 
     Dimpkins, James R., England; 153) Gwynne, James C., England; 
     154) Hersee William Daniel, England; 155) Nowlan, James, 
     England; 156) Sewell, Marcus L., England; 157) Starr, 
     Richard, England; 158) Stewart, James E., England; 159) 
     Waters, Thomas, England; 160) Wolfe, Anthony (Avram), 
     England; 161) Wolfe, son age 12, England; 162) Wolfe, son age 
     11, England.
       163) Burns, Samuel E., Ireland; 164) Duvalt, Andrew, 
     Ireland; 165) Evans, Robert, Ireland; 166) Hawkins, Joseph 
     M., Ireland; 167) Jackson, Thomas, Ireland; 168) McGee, 
     James, Ireland; 169) Rusk, Jackson J., Ireland; 170) Rusk, 
     Jackson J., Ireland; 171) Ward, William B., Ireland; 172) 
     Courtman, Henry, Germany; 173) Thomas, Henry, Germany; 174) 
     Ballentine, Richard W., Scotland; 175) McGregor, John, 
     Scotland; Robinson, Isaac, Scotland; 177) Wilson, David L., 
     Scotland; 178) Johnson, Lewis, Wales; 179) Brown, Robert, 
     France.
       180) Day, Freeman H.K.; 181) Garvin, John E.; 182) George, 
     James; 183) McCafferty, Edward; 184) Mitchell, William T.; 
     185) Mitchell, Napoleon B.; 186) Roberts, Thomas H.; 187) 
     Smith, William H.; 188) Sutherland, William Depriest; 189) 
     White, Robert; 190) John (last name unknown).

  As I mentioned, they were all volunteers. They did not look like an 
army. They were everything from lawyers, doctors, shopkeepers, 
frontiersmen, adventurers, people who had served in other armies. They 
were all, though, freedom fighters who volunteered to go into the Alamo 
on February 23.
  Commanding the Alamo was my favorite person in all of history, 
William Barret Travis. William Barret Travis was a lawyer. That is one 
reason I like him. I am a lawyer. But he was a 27-year-old individual, 
first born in South Carolina, raised in Alabama, and found his way to 
Texas; and he was a revolutionary. He wanted independence for the State 
of Texas--or the Republic of Texas.
  He took command of the Alamo, and he sent out ``scouts''--would be 
the term--asking that people who lived in the area come to the Alamo 
and help defend the Alamo, fight against this imperialistic dictator, 
and get Texas independence.
  He sent his best friend, who also came from South Carolina, Jim 
Bonham, out as a scout, along with others--Juan Seguin was one--trying 
to get folks to come to help out at the Alamo.
  Unfortunately, only one small town responded in the affirmative, and 
that was Gonzales, Texas, where it all began. There were 32 volunteers 
from Gonzalez, all men--young men--primarily the entire population of 
Gonzales, Texas, marched from Gonzalez to the Alamo. They were the only 
reinforcements that were there.
  Now, if you would, Mr. Speaker, think about frontier life, the harsh 
frontier where the male population--basically the entire male 
population of a small town leaves. They headed to the Alamo where they 
figured that they were not going to be able to return.
  The ones that were left were those strong-willed frontier women and 
their children, who later had to forge their own history, absent their 
spouses--remarkable women, remarkable men who went to the Alamo.
  It is said, in history, that when these 32 defenders showed up at the 
Alamo, Travis looked down and said to his friend: They came here to 
die.
  Now, William Barret Travis, in his plea for help to go and fight for 
liberty, independence--as I told you, most of the folks did not go. 
They were there already, the ones that were going to fight. He sent out 
many dispatches, and he sent a letter asking the people to go to the 
Alamo.
  I have a copy of that letter, and I have another copy on my wall in 
my office. I have had that since the days I was a prosecutor and a 
judge in Texas, and many other Members from Texas have what I think is 
the most passionate plea for liberty written by anybody anywhere in the 
world.
  So you see the surroundings, 186 men surrounded by thousands of other 
enemies, military. Here is what he said in that letter, Mr. Speaker. It 
is dated February 24, 1836, at the Alamo.

       To all the people of Texas, fellow citizens, and 
     compatriots, I am besieged with 1,000 or more of the enemy 
     under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continuous 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. I shall never 
     retreat. I call upon you in the name of liberty, patriotism, 
     and everything dear to our character to come to my 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 that 
     never forgets what is due his honor and that of his country.
       Victory or death, William Barret Travis, commander of the 
     Alamo.

  We all know what happened later. He and his fellow freedom fighters 
were killed. Some historians say that before it was impossible to leave 
the Alamo, William Barret Travis brought the whole group--garrison, 186 
volunteers, drew a line in the sand and said: if you are with me, cross 
the line.
  Everybody crossed. They had the opportunity to leave, but they did 
not.
  After 13 days of glory, if you will, at the Alamo, Travis and his men 
sacrificed their lives on the altar of freedom. March 6, 1836, that is 
why I mention March 6, because today is March 6. It is an anniversary 
of those people who gave up their lives willingly to

[[Page 3950]]

fight for freedom, similar to the history of the United States.
  You know, America took 7 years to gain independence from the British. 
They lost a lot of lives, men and women, during that. It seems as 
though freedom always has a cost. Good things always do. Important 
things always do.
  You see, some people in history have down in their soul, Mr. Speaker, 
that living free is more important than anything, including their own 
lives; and if they can't live as free people, they will fight and give 
up their lives in exchange for that belief. Those are remarkable people 
who have done that throughout history all over the world.
  But today, we remember those 186 defenders of the Alamo, people like 
William Barret Travis, Davy Crockett from Tennessee, Jim Bowie from 
Louisiana, the 11 Tejanos that I have mentioned, because they were 
willing to do that.
  Travis said, in the last letter that he sent from the Alamo, that 
victory will be worse for Santa Anna than defeat because of the losses. 
It turns out that was true. He was able to delay Santa Anna's march 
into Texas while a Texas Army was being built, surrounded by their 
commander, General Sam Houston, which I will get to in a minute.
  Jim Bonham is another person of interest, I think. He was the scout, 
along with Juan Seguin, who went out to send the word: come to the 
Alamo for help.
  As legend says, when he got to Washington-on-the-Brazos, where the 
Texas Republic was being formed, on March 2, 1836, drafting the 
declaration of independence, he asked for those men there to come to 
their Alamo.
  They refused to do it. They said forming a government was more 
important than going to the Alamo. Bottom line, they didn't go.
  So he gets on his horse, and he starts to ride back to the Alamo. The 
men there at Washington-on-the-Brazos tried to stop him: What are you 
doing? You will be killed.
  And he said: My friends have the right to know that no one is coming.
  I don't know if that happened or not. Some historians say it did. It 
just shows you the type of people that they were at the Alamo.
  So after 13 days, Santa Anna did what he said he was going to do. He 
flew the red flag, blew the bugles. It was said that they would not 
offer any quarter to anyone unless they surrendered at a certain time.
  They did not surrender. None of the men in the Alamo were given any 
quarter. They were all killed. Santa Anna then continued his march 
through Texas.
  Remember, if you will, Mr. Speaker, he had already established his 
domain militarily over other peoples in Mexico that had the desire to 
object to his dictatorship and suppressed them militarily.
  Now, he had moved that experienced army into Texas, one at the Alamo, 
and was moving towards Sam Houston, who was moving his army toward the 
eastern part of Texas, toward the United States. That time in history 
is called the ``Runaway Scrape.''
  The colonists, everybody between San Antonio and the American/Texas 
border, was moving east. They were leaving their property. It was being 
burned. They left in what is called the Runaway Scrape, not only the 
volunteer army, but the families as well.
  So Sam Houston kept moving toward the east. He did not pitch a battle 
right away. He formed the army, as I said, all volunteers. Juan Seguin 
and his band of scouts, cavalry, if you will, had ended up joining Sam 
Houston.
  And then, in April 1836, on the plains of San Jacinto--most Americans 
don't even know where that is--but it is down there near Houston, 
Texas. You probably have heard of that place.
  In the marsh, in the swamp, these same type of individuals who were 
at the Alamo were in Sam Houston's army. It was a little larger, almost 
600, and these were individuals of all races.
  They were people from the United States, foreign countries, from 
Mexico, Tejanos; and they finally decided, on April 20, that they were 
going to stop where they were on the plains of San Jacinto in the marsh 
and pitch a battle.

                              {time}  1630

  Now, the plan was to have the battle held April 22. What had happened 
was Santa Anna had already caught up with them. He had pitched his 
tents, he had his thousand or so soldiers. He had two other armies 
still in Texas moving in to reinforce him, and everyone expected this 
battle to take place on April 22.
  But history and war determines when battles are to take place. Sam 
Houston talked to his commanders. They decided it was time on April 21 
to do battle. Now, history has always shown that battles take place at 
dawn. They still do. Well, these Texans they didn't get around to it 
until the afternoon on April 21. And they decided that they would just 
attack the Mexican Army, Santa Anna, who was not prepared for an 
attack. And sure enough, in the middle of the afternoon, this 
outnumbered Texas Army attacked Santa Anna's army.
  The battle lasted 18 minutes. Something that I thought was quite 
unique and clever, once again, as I have mentioned, his Tejanos, of 
course, were fighting for Texas' independence. They were pushing for 
Texas' independence against the dictator Santa Anna. But they weren't 
wearing uniforms, not like the Mexican Army. They wore whatever they 
had. They looked pretty rough and pretty tough.
  So Sam Houston, to make sure that the Tejanos weren't mistaken for 
Santa Anna's army, he had all of them put a playing card in their 
hatband. In those days, playing cards weren't little like we have 
today; they were big. So they would stick a playing card in their 
hatbands so they could be recognized.
  His cavalry protected the flanks. The Texas Army marched in one long 
column. They didn't have enough for two columns. They marched down and 
in 18 minutes defeated Santa Anna's army, caught them by surprise, and 
captured almost all of them. In fact, they captured more than were in 
Sam Houston's army. Casualties on the part of the Texans were minor. 
Sam Houston was wounded in the leg. And the rest, they say, was Texas 
history. It was American.
  Texas quickly declared and set up its own government and claimed a 
lot of Texas. Things have changed. When Texas became a country in 1836, 
here is a map of what they claimed was Texas. I won't make any 
editorial comments about whether we think that still should be Texas or 
not, Mr. Speaker, but, anyway, you see what is now modern-day Texas 
over here. But Texas claimed part of New Mexico, part of Arizona, all 
of Oklahoma, Colorado, and up to Wyoming. And you may ask: Well, how 
did you lose that land? Well, when Texas became part of the Union, 
Texas sold that to the Federal Government to pay off its debts for the 
war.
  So, anyway, that is the way Texas used to look. It doesn't look like 
that anymore. We have no plans to retake this territory, Mr. Speaker. I 
just thought I would mention it. Anyway, that was the Republic of 
Texas. And Texas was an independent country for 9 years. Some say we 
should have stayed an independent country. I don't know about that.
  Texas wanted to join the Union. Finally, after several votes, Texas 
got into the Union. After one Louisiana Senator switched his vote, 
Texas joined the Union and became part of the United States. Because of 
the fact that Texas was a republic, Texas can divide into five States. 
I don't see that happening, not like California, who is thinking about 
it. I don't think that is going to happen in Texas. Texas flies the 
Texas flag even with the American flag because Texas was a republic.
  I think Texans still have that independent spirit that our ancestors 
had. Things are different in Texas. It is a whole different country, 
and the reason is because our history is different. The reason, Mr. 
Speaker, is because the people of Texas of all races, backgrounds, and 
religions still have that independent spirit about freedom, remembering 
our ancestors who gave their lives and gave their property so that we 
could have freedom and independence, and Texas could be an independent 
country even for 9 years.

[[Page 3951]]

  That is why historically I think that we appreciate those people who 
want independence. We appreciate people who want liberty. Right now, it 
is those folks in Ukraine trying to keep out some dictator--I call him 
a dictator--President Putin of Russia.
  So, Mr. Speaker, we celebrate today and honor today, March 6, because 
it is one of those three important days: March 2, Texas' independence; 
March 6, 1836, the Alamo failed, we remember those people; and then 
April 21, 1836, is when Texas actually got independent and started its 
quest into being an independent entity.
  In closing, I would like to read the lyrics of a song that Marty 
Robbins wrote a long time ago. Mr. Speaker, you are old enough to maybe 
even have heard of this song, but Marty Robbins wrote it in honor of 
the people at the Alamo. It goes like this. It says:

     In the southern part of Texas in the town of San Antone,
     There's a fortress all in ruin and the weeds have overgrown.
     You may look in vain for crosses and you'll never see a one,
     But sometime between the setting and the rising of the sun,
     You can hear a ghostly bugle as men go marching by;
     You can hear them as they answer to that roll call in the 
           sky:
     Colonel Travis, Davy Crockett, and 180 more;
     Captain Dickinson, Jim Bowie, stand present and accounted 
           for.
     Back in 1836, Sam Houston said to Travis: ``Get some 
           volunteers and go fortify the Alamo.''
     Well, the men came from Texas and from old Tennessee and a 
           lot of other places.
     They joined up with Travis just to fight for the right to be 
           free.
     Indian scouts with squirrel guns, men with muzzle loaders,
     Stood together heel and toe to defend the Alamo.
     ``You may never see your loved ones,'' Travis told them that 
           day.
     ``Those who want to can leave now, those who fight to the 
           death, let 'em stay.''
     So in the sand he drew a line with his army sabre,
     Out of 185, not a soldier crossed the line.
     With his banners a-dancin' in the dawn's golden light,
     Santa Anna came prancin' on a horse that was black as the 
           night.
     He sent an officer to tell Travis to surrender.
     Travis answered with a shell and a rousin' yell.
     Santa Anna turned scarlet: play Deguello, he roared.
     ``I will show them no quarter, every one will be put to our 
           sword.''
     185 holding back 5,000.
     Five days, 6 days, 8 days, 10; Travis kept holding again and 
           again.
     Then Travis sent for replacements for his wounded and lame,
     But the troops that were comin', never came, never came, 
           never came.
     So twice Santa Anna charged and then blew recall.
     But on that fatal third time, Santa Anna breached the wall 
           and he killed them one and all.
     Now the bugles are silent and there is rust on each sword,
     And the small band of soldiers lie asleep in the arms of the 
           Lord.
     In the southern part of Texas, near the town of San Antone,
     Like a statue on his pinto rides a cowboy all alone.
     He sees the cattle grazin' where a century before,
     Santa Anna's guns were blazin' and the cannons used to roar.
     His eyes turn a little misty, and his heart begins to glow,
     And he takes his hat off slowly to those men of the Alamo,
     To the 13 days of glory at the siege of Alamo.

  And, Mr. Speaker, that's just the way it is.
  I yield back the balance of my time.

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