Published: 03-03-09
Remembers past heroes and honors those who continue the fight for freedom and liberty
WASHINGTONU.S. Sen. John Cornyn R-Texas spoke today on the Senate floor in recognition of Texas Independence Day. Below are his remarks as prepared for delivery.
Mr. President I rise to honor Texas Independence Day.
On this date in 1836 delegates representing 59 Texas settlements declared their independence from Mexico and their determination to live in liberty.
The delegates who met in the small town of Washington-on-the-Brazos were a diverse group. Two delegates Jos Francisco Ruiz and Jos Antonio Navarro were native Mexicans. The rest were immigrants from other parts of Mexico the United States and Europe. Two-thirds of the delegates were less than forty years old.
Several of the delegates had political experience in the United States. Sam Houston had been governor of Tennessee. He Robert Potter and Samuel Carson had all served in Congress. Richard Ellis had participated in Alabamas constitutional convention and Martin Parmer had done the same in Missouri.
The delegates and the people they represented had a clear goal. They wanted to preserve the freedoms guaranteed to them under the Mexican Constitution but which had been lost under the dictatorship of President Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna.
The Texas delegates modeled their Declaration of Independence on the one signed in Philadelphia 60 years earlier. They expressed their just grievances their determination to protect their freedoms and their vision for a new nation: the Republic of Texas.
The Unanimous Declaration of Independence by the Delegates of the People of Texas was signed by those 59 delegates on March 2. Five copies were sent to the towns of Bexar Goliad Nacogdoches Brazoria and San Felipe. Because there was not a printing press in Washington-on-the-Brazos the printer at San Felipe was ordered to print 1000 copies in handbill form. The original copy was sent to the U.S. Department of State here in Washington where it would stay for six decades before being returned to the land where it was written.
Even as the delegates signed this historic document they knew their love of liberty might demand their ultimate sacrifice. At that moment less than 200 miles to the West Santa Annas army was laying siege to the Alamo. Just days earlier its young commander William Barret Travis sent out this letter. He wrote:
Fellow citizens and compatriots I am besieged by a thousand or more of the Mexicans under Santa Anna I have sustained a continual Bombardment and cannonade for 24 hours and have not lost a man The enemy has demanded a surrender at discretion otherwise the garrison are to be put to the sword if the fort is taken.
I have answered the demand with a cannon shot and our flag still waves proudly from the walls I shall never surrender or retreat.
Then I call on you in the name of Liberty of patriotism and everything dear to the American character to come to our aid with all dispatch The enemy is receiving reinforcements daily and will no doubt increase to three or four thousand in four or five days.
If this call is neglected I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor and that of his country Victory or Death!
Death came to the defenders of the Alamo. But victory came for the people of Texas.
On April 21 of that year Sam Houston and about 900 Texas soldiers defeated the larger Mexican army at the Battle of San Jacinto. The surprise attack was so successful that the battle lasted only 18 minutes and the next day Santa Anna himself was captured. By this victory Texans won the independence they had declared less than two months earlier.
Sam Houston went on to serve as President of the Republic of Texas and after statehood he served here in the United States Senate.
I am honored to hold the same seat in this body first held by Sam Houston. He served here for 13 years. He was a champion of Native Americans and raised his voice against secession and Civil War.
Today Texans honor the courage and sacrifice of those who won our independence and those who have followed in their footsteps in our own day.
In the past year alone I have presented a Bronze Star to a native of Harlingen who helped lead the breakout from the beachhead at Anzio during World War II. I presented a Purple Heart to a resident of Seguin who was severely wounded by mortar fire in Korea.
I have seen tears of sorrow and pride of those who have lost loved ones in Iraq. And I have honored young men and women who are even now completing their first year of study at our Nations service academies.
All these heroes and their families have paid the ultimate tribute to those who stood for freedom 173 years ago. In remembrance of all those who have risked their lives to keep Texas and these United States a land of liberty I close with the words of our state song:
God bless you Texas! And keep you brave and strong That you may grow in power and worth Throout the ages long."
