Sam Houston Part 2

In 1812 Sam Houston married 18 year old Eliza Allen, the daughter of delight in Nashville society.  Unfortunately the union was not a delight - three months after the wedding Eliza deserted Sam and took refuge in her father's house.  The public turned on Houston and demanded he explain himself.  He chose to resign the governorship and said "This is a painful affair. I do not recognize the right of the public to interfere."  The public didn't agree, burning Houston in effigy as a coward.  On April 28, he boarded the steamer Red River and returned to the land of the Cherokees.

Deep in Cherokee wilderness, Houston opened a trading post called Wigwam Neosho and took a girl named Tiana as his Indian bride,  He became an alcoholic, but not for long.  Shortly after, he became the spokesman for all the tribes between the Missouri and the Great Plains.  He traveled to Washington to seek justice for the Indians with his good friend Andrew Jackson.

In 1832 Sam crossed the Red River into Texas to become their leader because he said they needed someone "brave enough for any trial, wise enough for any emergency, and cool enough for any crisis."

After leading Texas to independence in 1836 Houston became the president of the Republic of Texas and served in the Texas House of Representatives.  He took time out to marry Margaret Lea of Alabama in 1840 and had eight children with her.  Sam went on to serve as president for another term, a US Senator, and governor of the state of Texas.

When the South seceded in 1861, Houston refused to take the Confederate oath and was dismissed from office.  He retired to his farm in Huntsville, Alabama, always critical of the Confederate stand.  He died of pneumonia in July of 1863.

It has been said that Sam Houston was a commanding, gallant man who possessed courtly manners and a magnetism approaching that of General Andrew Jackson.  Sam would have appreciated that.

Next time...Texas's Early Years
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Today in Pioneer History: On October 10, 1845, the United States Naval Academy opens in Annapolis, Maryland, with 50 midshipmen students and seven professors