Houston was obviously a cantankerous old goat who was inflexible when it came to principles and honor. I recall he beat a member of Congress who had defamed him somehow. The Congressman pulled a pistol but the gun misfired.Vol Texan wrote:
What a colorful character indeed. Yes, he was the first person elected as governor of two states (others served as governor of two, but not elected to both), but he also got run out of both (quotes below are from Wikipedia).
In April 1829, in part due to the embarrassment of his well known separation, Houston resigned as governor of Tennessee and went west with the Cherokee to exile in Arkansas Territory.Houston refused to recognize its legality, but the Texas legislature upheld the legitimacy of secession. The political forces that brought about Texas's secession were powerful enough to replace the state's Unionist governor. Houston chose not to resist, stating, "I love Texas too well to bring civil strife and bloodshed upon her. To avert this calamity, I shall make no endeavor to maintain my authority as Chief Executive of this State, except by the peaceful exercise of my functions ... " He was evicted from his office on March 16, 1861, for refusing to take an oath of loyalty to the Confederacy,
I have read biographies of almost all the principal figures of US history, and more besides. I just finished "Coolidge" after finishing a re-read of "Adams." Houston is one I would like to know a great deal more about and it simply isn't out there.... AFAIK.