JALLEN wrote:Let me wish my fellow Texans a very splendid day of rejoicing and remembrance.
It's also Sam Houston's birthday, born March 2, 1793. Houston must have been a remarkable man, the only man to serve as elected Governor of two states, Tennessee and Texas, President of a Republic, The Republic of Texas, a long time U. S. Senator from Texas, and of course, he won the only battle he ever fought as a General.
For all his accomplishments, he has the distinction to have the city I was born in named after him. Nobody else can make that claim.
As you can tell from my username, both Tennessee and Texas are dear to my heart. I enjoy Texas, and have a great life here with my family, but I still bleed Tennessee Orange!
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,