Sam Houston Statue

Sam Houston Statue

At the area of Houston there are many places where you can see historical sites. One of them is in Hermann Park. Hermann Park is a well-known as a public park in the middle of the city, specifically located between Fannin Street and Cambridge Street. A lot of people come here to see many historical views. There in the entrance to Hermann Park is situated the Sam Houston statue.

The Sam Houston statue is a monument located in Hermann Park. This statue shows a man sitting atop of his horse, wearing military clothes and a long coat. He has a long beard and he is pointing with his right arm toward San Jacinto battlefield. This monument was constructed to serve as an honor to Sam Houston for all the things that he did in his life. One of the most important was the battle of San Jacinto in which he used his army to win the independence of Texas against to the Mexican General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. I think The Battle of San Jacinto is one of the most important thing that Sam Houston did because in the sculpture is showed Sam Houston and his horse as a picture of the San Jacinto battle. 

This statue is dedicated to Sam Houston because he is one of the most controversial figures in Texas history, he was also one of the most colorful.

 The Sam Houston statue was constructed in 1925. It is one of the most ionic pieces of Houston Civic art. It is a bronze sculpture designed by Enrico F. Cerracchio and J.W. Northrop, Jr. It was funded by the Women’s City Club. Also the granite arch that support Sam Houston and his horse was constructed by Frank Teich.1

After I saw the monument of him at Hermann Park I was very curious to learn more about him. Being at the monument, I could read the information about what is the meaning of the monument.  Specifically that statue is an honor by everything that Sam Houston does in his life.

Samuel Houston, well known as Sam Houston, was born at Timber Ridge Plantation on March 2, 1793 in Rockbridge County, Virginia. He was an American politician and solder.

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1. "Sam Houston Monument." Sam Houston Monument. Accessed August 05, 2016. http://www.houstontx.gov/parks/artinparks/samhoustonmonument.html.

 He left his house in 1809 and lived with the Cherokee for almost three years. With the Cherokees, he learned their language and customs.  In 1812 He came back to Maryville where he used to live before with his family, and founded the first private school in Tennessee, which was successful.2

        Then he served in U.S. Army between 1812 and 1818. In the war of 1812, United States had entered into a conflict with Great Britain, Sam heeded the call and enlisted in the infantry to fight in the War. He fight against with the Britain. On February, he assisted General Andrew Jackson in the training of troops. On December of that same year he was promoted to ensign to 3rd lieutenant}. Houston was considered a friend of Jackson; they were very close to each other. After the recuperation of his injures, he was named as an Agent of Indian affairs for Cherokees. Then, he left the army in 1818.3

 Houston studied law for some months. He practiced law by opening an office to legally practice law in Lebanon, Tennessee. In 1822 he was elected to the House of Representatives for Tennessee, where he became a staunch supporter of his friend and Democrat Andrew Jackson. Jackson was considered as a political protector of Houston, although he differed from him for his treatment of indigenous affairs. Houston was a member of Congress from 1823 to 1827. He was reelected in 1824. Then, he won as governor of Tennessee. He had a scandalous divorce and resigned as governor in disgrace. Later on, he spent some time with the Cherokees until he got married with a Cherokee woman called Tiana Rogers Gentry. Later, he opened a commercial business in Wigwam Neosho near Fort Gibson, of the Cherokee Nation. Apparently Houston had some problems with alcohol because he used to drink excessively. His alcoholism and neglect of his office and his wife caused several problems with his friend Andrew Jackson which would not be resolved for several years.4

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1. Bio.com. Accessed August 05, 2016. http://www.biography.com/people/sam-houston-9344806#early-years.
2. Ibid.
3.  Sam Houston Biography." - Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline. Accessed August 05, 2016. http://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/sam-houston-2795.php.

In 1829 Sam Houston was elected and served as governor of Tennessee.  Later on, in 1835 Sam Houston was being named Commander in Chief at the Nacogdoches by a committee of vigilance. Then in November of the same year Sam Houston was named a major general in the Texas Army by the Texas provisional government. Here he became a leader of the Texas revolution.5

After the Declaration of Independence that was March 2, 1836, Houston joined his army of volunteers in Gonzales, but he was forced to retreat against the forces of the Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, whose army killed all defenders of the Alamo mission. The battle of the Alamo was in March 6, a few days after government officials and representatives in the state accused Sam Houston of cowardice and also blamed the death of all defenders of the mission defeated.6

 The battle of the Alamo was “considered among the most dramatic and heroic in history, was the final assault of a standoff waged over a period of 13 days between about 188 American volunteers who had taken refuge within the walls of a compound known as the Alamo Mission located in San Antonio, Texas and the attacking Mexican Army which was comprised of 1,800-2,100 troops commanded by General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The battle, which lasted approximately 90 minutes, resulted in the capture of the Alamo by the Mexican Army, the death of every American defender, and the loss of about 500-600 Mexican soldiers killed and an undetermined number of others wounded.”7

Later on, General Santa Anna wanted to surprise Sam Houston and his army, so he started deeper into Texas. When he arrived next to the San Jacinto River in April 19, he ordered his force to go rest because the travel had already enough that day. When General Santa Anna ordered all his force to rest, all the soldiers decided to abandon their weapons and strategic

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1. "The Battle of San Jacinto." The Battle of San Jacinto. Accessed August 02, 2016. http://www.tamu.edu/faculty/ccbn/dewitt/batsanjacinto.htm.
2. "Sam Houston Memorial Museum." Sam Houston Memorial Museum. Accessed August 03, 2016. http://samhoustonmemorialmuseum.com/history/.
3. Hatch, Thom. Encyclopedia of the Alamo and the Texas Revolution. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 1999.

places to rest. On the other hand, while the Mexican were sleeping Sam Houston knew that it was the opportunity to take advantage but Sam Houston wasn’t sure it was a good idea to attack or not because he know that Mexican army was more powerful than his army because the Texan army had less solders that the Mexican one.The Mexicans continued sleeping all day that April 21, until some of the spies of Sam Houston warned him that the camp of the Mexicans did not have any activity.