Remembering the Republic: Texas Independence Day celebration set

Come and celebrate it!

The Cherokee Volunteers historic group is inviting all to help observe Texas Independence Day this year with a ceremony at 10 a.m., Monday, March 2, on the northwest corner of the Cherokee County Courthouse square in downtown Rusk at the Veterans memorial. The ceremony should last about 30 minutes.

“We’re going to have guest speakers on 1836 era of Texas history; a roll call of Texas Revolution veterans from our area who fought at the Alamo and San Jacinto; and a musket volley by the Cherokee Volunteers in honor of our Texas heroes for their service and sacrifice for our great state of Texas,” Cherokee Volunteer member Ken McClure said. “Bring your family and kids. Hope to see y’all there!”

The Cherokee Volunteers are a local group that formed in 2012 to promote and preserve Texas history and heritage, specifically from the Texas Independence Revolution era of the 1830s and 1840s.

“Members have ancestors that either fought for Texas’ independence or were citizens of the Republic of Texas or both,” McClure said. “Our main objective is to honor and pay tribute to the service and sacrifice of the brave pioneers that settled Texas and fought for her independence.”

Joseph Milton Nance explains how Texas came about declaring its independence from Mexico, as published on the Texas Military Department’s website.

“In the fall of 1835 many Texans, both Anglo-American colonists and Tejanos, concluded that liberalism and republicanism in Mexico, as reflected in its Constitution of 1824, were dead,” Nance shared. “The dictatorship of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, supported by rich landowners, had seized control of the governments and subverted the constitution. As dissension and discord mounted in Texas, both on the military front and at the seat of the provisional government of the Consultation at San Felipe, the colonists agreed that another popular assembly was needed to chart a course of action.

“On Dec. 10, 1835, the General Council of the provisional government issued a call for an election on Feb. 1, 1836, to choose 44 delegates to assemble on March 1 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. These delegates represented the 17 Texas municipalities and the small settlement at Pecan Point on the Red River.

“The idea of independence from Mexico was growing. The Consultation sent Branch T. Archer, William H. Wharton and Stephen F. Austin to the U.S. to solicit men, money, supplies, and sympathy for the Texas cause.

“At New Orleans, in early January of 1836, the agents found enthusiastic support, but advised that aid would not be forthcoming so long as Texans squabbled over whether to sustain the Mexican constitution.

“The convention held at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836, was quite different from the Consultation. 41 delegates were present at the opening session, and 59 individuals attended the convention at some time.

“Two delegates (José Francisco Ruiz and José Antonio Navarro of Bexar) were native Texans, and one (Lorenzo de Zavala) had been born in Mexico. Only 10 of the delegates had been in Texas by 1836.

“A majority were from other places-primarily from the U.S., but also from Europe. Several had broad political experience. Samuel P. Carson of Pecan Point and Robert Potter of Nacogdoches had served, respectively, in the North Carolina legislature and in the U.S. House of Representatives. Richard Ellis, representing the Red River district and president of the convention, and Martin Parmer of San Augustine, had participated in constitutional conventions in Alabama (1819) and Missouri (1821), respectively.

“Sam Houston, a former U.S. congressman and governor of Tennessee, was a close friend of then-U.S. President Andrew Jackson.

“Houston was chosen commander in chief of the revolutionary army and left the convention early to take charge of the forces gathering at Gonzales.

“He had control of all troops in the field-militia, volunteers, and regular army enlistees. The convention delegates knew they must declare independence-or submit to Mexican authority. If they chose independence they had to draft a constitution for a new nation, establish a strong provisional government, and prepare to combat the Mexican armies invading Texas.

“On March 1, George C. Childress presented a resolution calling for independence. At its adoption, the chairman of the convention appointed Childress to head a committee of five to draft a declaration of independence.

“When the committee met that evening, Childress drew from his pocket a statement he had brought from Tennessee that followed the outline and main features of the U.S. Declaration of Independence.

“The next day, March 2, the delegates unanimously adopted Childress’s suggestion for independence. Ultimately 58 members signed the document.

“Thus was born the Republic of Texas.”