[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 8088]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


                           TUESDAYS IN TEXAS:
                          ``BIG FOOT'' WALLACE

                                  _____
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 7, 2016

  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, the year was 1840 when one of the most 
faithful Texans joined the Texas Rangers and began a decades-long 
service to the great state of Texas. William A.A. Wallace, more often 
known as ``Big Foot'' Wallace, was born in Virginia in 1817. He moved 
to Texas in 1837 after hearing that a brother and a cousin were killed 
by the Mexican Army during the Texas Revolution. Not long after, he 
would join the Texas Rangers and spent the better part of his life 
defending Texas.
  Though there are many legends about the emergence of his nickname, 
Wallace contended that the nickname derived from an incident with a 
Comanche. During the time he lived in Austin before he joined the Texas 
Rangers, a Comanche with large feet stole property in the area and was 
tracked by Wallace. When the Comanche raided the kitchen of a man in 
town, the man followed the Comanche's tracks to Wallace's house and 
thus accused Wallace of the raid. But a quick thinking Wallace pointed 
out that the tracks were much larger than his. It was this case of 
mistaken identity that led Wallace to assume the name ``Big Foot.''
  Wallace is a descendant of the Scottish legend William Wallace, 
immortalized in the film Braveheart, who led a rebellion against King 
Edward I of England during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Like his 
ancestor who fought courageously and for a cause he wholeheartedly 
believed in, ``Big Foot'' Wallace spent decades fighting faithfully for 
a cause he believed in, the defense of Texas. As a side note, Mr. 
Speaker, I too have a connection to William Wallace. My family are 
descendants of the Weems Clan (Wemyss) of Scotland. The Wemysses fought 
on the side of Robert Bruce and Wallace during the Scottish war of 
Independence. When the war was over and their side lost, the English 
crown confiscated much of their inherited land. The Weems Castle still 
sits on the coast of Scotland.
  In 1840, Wallace joined the Texas Rangers and subsequently fought 
various skirmishes with Texas Indians and Mexicans. Two years later 
when fighting an invading Mexican Army during the Somervell and Mier 
expeditions, Wallace was among 150 men captured by Mexican forces. 
During this time in a Mexican prison 1 in 10 men was to be executed. 
Their fate was determined by drawing either a white or black bean from 
a jar. Those who drew the black bean were executed. Luckily, Wallace 
drew a white bean and was spared, and eventually released. The 
executions would later become known to all those who study Texas 
history as the ``Black Bean Episode''.
  His time in the Mexican prison must have furthered his resolve 
because he once again volunteered to serve with the Texas Rangers and 
during the Mexican War he served in a company of Mounted Volunteers in 
the United States Army. Following the Mexican War and through the Civil 
War, this Loyal Texan once again served with the Texas Rangers fighting 
to protect the Texas frontier from bandits, Indians, deserters and 
Union soldiers.
  As a testament to his loyal service to Texas, Wallace was given a 
tract of land in Frio County, in South Texas, where he lived until his 
death in 1899. He was ultimately buried at the Texas State Cemetery at 
the feet of Stephen F. Austin. He has become a folk legend for those in 
Texas and beyond. The words at his final resting place say it all, 
``Here lies he who spent his manhood defending the homes of Texas. 
Brave, honest, and faithful.''
  And that's just the way it is.

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