Texas Independence Day

Whereas, It is eminently desirable that the people of our beloved State should realize more fully the blessings of liberty gained by our heroes in defense of the Alamo and in the immortal struggle at San Jacinto; and

Whereas, There is now no adequate legal recognition of March 2. Texas Independence Day, the Governor of Texas be requested to issue his proclamation each year before March 2d; that that day be hereafter designated “Texas Flag Day”

The above was adopted by the Texas House of Representatives in 1915 in commemoration of Texas’ declaring its freedom from Mexico on March 2, 1836. Four days after Texas’ Declaration of Independence, on March 6, 1836 after a 13 day siege, the Alamo and its band of 200 or so defenders fell to Mexican dictator Santa Ana and his army of more than 2000 men. The ratio of deaths was at least two to one; two Mexicans to every one Texian.

The men who fought and died at the Alamo helped turn the tide of the war and infuse a spirit of unity into the soldiers of the new Republic of Texas. A month after the fall of the Alamo, Sam Houston and his army defeated Santa Ana in a battle that lasted 18 minutes. Three weeks later Santa Ana signed the peace treaty. Texas became an independent nation that lasted until 1845 when it became the 28th state of the United States; the Lone Star State and the largest state in the “lower 48.”

The Author was born in Texas