The Hidden History of Texas

This is Episode 48 – Slaves and Slavery in Texas Part 1 the early years -  I’m your host and guide Hank Wilson. And as always, brought to you by Ashby Navis and Tennyson Media Publishers, producers of  a comprehensive catalog of  audiobooks and high-quality games, productivity, and mental health apps. Visit AshbyNavis.com for more information.

In this episode I’m going to talk about something that might make some folks a tad uncomfortable and that’s because this will be the 1st of 2 parts where I’m going to talk about slaves and slavery in Texas.

Slaves and slavery is a historical  reality, not only in Texas but around the world. This program is focused on the history of Texas, so I won’t go into the world-wide history of slavery, or the fact that it still takes place around the world. I will also not discuss how the indigenous people who were on the continent before the Spanish bumped into it also made slaves out of their conquered enemies. That is for another episode that is in the planning stage that I’m working on about the history of the Americas before they became the Americas. No in this episode I will concentrate on the issue of the slaves and slavery of African people’s first by the Spanish, Portuguese, and English, and in the next episode I’ll discuss the issue as it took place under the Anglos who  took over Texas.

The first slaves brought into what the Spanish called New Spain, now Mexico were in fact Africans taken from their homelands and brought to the continent as part of the 1519 invasion led by Hernán Cortés. After Cortes opened the door, after 1580 there was a steady stream of African slaves that were brought over because Portugal gave Spain easy access to the Portuguese slave network. By 1640 more that 275,000 Africans had been taken from their homelands and sent to New Spain. Since the slaves were considered commodities once it became less profitable the importing almost completely came to an end.  By 1646, in a total population of over 1.7 million, New Spain’s African population, both native born and those born in New Spain, outnumbered Europeans 35,089 to 13,830. That’s enough about what happened in Mexico now let’s talk about Texas.

The first slave brought into Texas was Esteban, or Estevanico. He was one of four survivors of the failed Pánfilo de Narváez expedition to Florida, remember from earlier broadcasts, they were heading to Florida but took left instead of a right and ended up wrecking on the Texas coast in 1528. Estaban was the slave of Andrés Dorantes de Carranza, and was described by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, who kept track of what happened to the survivors’ as they traveled through Texas and the Southwest, as a “Black Arab from Azamor.” Azamor is a Moroccan town on the coast that had been captured by the Portuguese in 1513....

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Forts part 2

Mexican – Anglo Relations

Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. This is Episode 47 – Mexican Anglo Relations -  I’m your host and guide Hank Wilson. And as always, brought to you by Ashby Navis and Tennyson Media Publishers, producers of  a comprehensive catalog of  audiobooks and high-quality games, productivity, and mental health apps. Visit AshbyNavis.com for more information.

Relations between the Anglo settlers and Mexicans or Tejanos (Tejanos are those of Mexican or Spanish decent who were born in Texas, either when it was a province of Mexico or as a Republic) have almost always been strained. The Anglo settlers who immigrated into Texas were primarily from the South and as such they carried with them all of their innate prejudices. While some of the earliest settlers did learn to adapt to a Spanish way of life and to live in peace with their Mexican neighbors, many of the newcomers had no such desire.

One area of conflict concerned itself with the issue of slavery.  Mexico began to restrict slavery during the 1820s and finally completely outlawed it in 1829. However, the Mexican government exempted Texas from this law in order to appease Anglos. Initially that didn’t seem like very important because it is estimated that in 1825 there were only about 400 slaves in Texas. However, by 1835 and the real beginning of the battle for Texas independence it is believed that there were more than 5,000 slaves in the region.  

In 1836 after Texas won at the Battle of San Jacinto, and claimed to be an independent republic there was still trouble. Because there was no formal treaty solidifying Texas status as independent. Mexico refused to recognize Texas' independence and considered it a rebellious territory. The Mexican government believed that Santa Anna had no legal authority to sign the Treaties of Velasco while a prisoner, and that the Mexican government had no obligation to honor the agreements. Now  because of that, there was the very real fear that Mexico would invade and try to take Texas back. Then when in 1837, Mexico abolished slavery, this time without any exceptions, the Anglo residents of Texas began to fear that their slaves would start to side with Mexico in any type of dispute. And since many of the Anglos already distrusted the Mexican people in the state as the Texas Republic took shape, officials placed more and more obstacles before the non-Anglo population.

For example, In the world of politics,  Anglo leaders excluded Tejanos from almost every type of meaningful political participation. For example, Juan Seguín, one of the most influential Tejano political leaders, an Alamo defender, and who played an important role in the development of the Republic, and who fought for and stood side by side with those opposing Mexico and Santa Ana, was forced to flee to Mexico after a white mob chased him out of San Antonio. 

When it came to education, well Texas wasn’t big on public schools as a way of insuring equality. In fact, from 1836 to 1900 private individuals, such as the Catholic Church, Protestant groups, and public officials all regarded schools as critical to preserving the social order. They saw them not only as ways to increase literacy, but also as vehicles to perpetuate existing class, sex, and ethnic roles. After Texas became a state, Mexican children often had no access to public schools. As the decades passed, that began to slowly change and  by the 1880s the children did increasingly have access to rural schools. By the 1890s Mexican working-class children in urban areas were admitted to city schools. In both cases access was limited to segregated classes in the elementary grades. No secondary or postsecondary facilities were available to them. Only the children of wealthy families attended colleges and universities. The decision to segregate elementary schools in Texas was due to racial prejudice, residential location,

Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. This is Episode 46 – Frontier Forts 1850 - 1856Frontier Forts 1850 - 1856 -  I’m your host and guide Hank Wilson. And as always, brought to you by Ashby Navis and Tennyson Media Publishers, producers of  a comprehensive catalog of  audiobooks and high-quality games, productivity, and mental health apps. Visit AshbyNavis.com for more information.

Following the death of Maj. Gen. George Mercer Brooke in 1851, his successor, Brevet Maj. Gen. Persifor F. Smith, added Forts Ewell and Merrill in South Texas. Pushing the military line further west, Smith authorized construction of Forts Clark, Terrett, Mason July 6, 1851, McKavett March 1852, Chadbourne, Phantom Hill November 14, 1851, and Belknap June 24, 1851. To help plug gaps in the northwest, Camp Cooper was erected in 1856. A double line of forts now protected Texas' southern and western frontiers. Let’s take a look at four of these forts, and I’m going to start with Fort Belknap.

Fort McKavett - Quarters

Fort Belknap was established at the site of what is now Newcastle in Young County Texas. Newcastle is located in what is known as North Central Texas and is very near the headwaters of the Brazos River. In June of 1851, Brigadier General William Belknap established the fort in the area because there was adequate water.

The fort was what is known as a four-company post, there were members of the 2nd  unit of the U.S. Dragoons, the 7th U.S. Infantry, the 2nd U.S. Calvary, and the 6th U.S. Calvary. Fort Belknap was the northern anchor of the central Texas chain of forts which had been established to protect the Texas frontier from the Red River to the Rio Grande. It had no defensive walls or works and the troops that inhabited it were used to pursue raiding bands from the various tribes that inhabited the area. At times, troops from the fort trailed into Kansas to do battle with their enemies. One of the results of the fort’s presence, was the creation  of a centralized hub of roads that made travel throughout the region easier, including the Butterfield Overland Mail route from St. Louis to San Francisco. At the start of the civil war, troops were moved and union troops finally returned in April of 1867. It was finally abandoned for good in September of 1867. In the 1970s the citizens restored and rebuilt some of the buildings and today it is open to visitors.  One other frontier fort that was opened in 1851and did not receive the same care and consideration from latter generations, was Fort Mason.

Fort Mason was established in July of 1851 in Mason Texas. Mason is one of the most picturesque towns in perhaps the most picturesque regions of the  State. It’s about 60 miles from where I currently live and while the town itself is well worth a visit, the remains of the fort, not so much. There’s only one  building left and it’s very disappointing if you’re interested in Texas history. Fort Martin Scott in Fredericksburg or Fort Croghan in Burnet are both much more informative and easier to visit. Anyway, Fort Mason was established in 1851 atop a hill that offered the soldiers an expansive view of the land around. Maj. Hamilton W. Merrill and companies A and B of the Second Dragoons were the first solders to occupy the fort. There is no clear record of who the  post was named after, and it appears that it most likely was named either for Lt. George T. Mason, who was killed at Brownsville during the Mexican War, or for Gen. Richard Barnes Mason, who died only a year before the fort was established. The fort was occupied on and off until 1861 at which time it was taken over by secessionist forces of Texas. A couple of notable officers who served at Fort Mason when it was in Union hands was Robert E. Lee and John Bell Hood. After the civil war the union took  control of the fort and was finally abandoned in 1869.  One fort that was never officially a fort is known locally as  Phantom Hill which was established on November 14,

Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. This is Episode 45 – Texas Frontier Forts 1848-1849 -  I’m your host and guide Hank Wilson. And as always, brought to you by Ashby Navis and Tennyson Media Publishers, producers of  a comprehensive catalog of  audiobooks and high-quality games, productivity, and mental health apps. Visit AshbyNavis.com for more information.

After and actually during the War with Mexico, the United States began the process of establishing Army posts or forts in Texas. The first of these  Fort Polk and Fort Brown had been established during the war against Mexico, almost at the mouth of the Rio Grande and the Gulf of Mexico.  In 1849 Maj. Gen. George Mercer Brooke,  assumed command of the Military Department for Texas and  began working on ensuring that Mexico understood the United States was claiming authority along the southern border of Texas. To do so, he placed Ringgold Barracks, Fort McIntosh, and Fort Duncan along the Rio Grande.

After those forts were in place, he then moved to protect the western frontier. In order to accomplish that he established Fort Inge, Fort Lincoln, Fort Martin Scott, Fort Croghan, Fort Gates, Fort Graham, and Fort Worth. In this episode I want to look at 4 of those forts, Fort Martin Scott (December 1848), Fort Inge (March 13, 1849), Fort Croghan (March 16, 1849), and Fort Worth (June 6, 1849).

The first of those, Fort Martin Scott, my favorite of all the forts, because my great-great grandfather was actually stationed there and it’s how part of my family came into existence in Texas.

Located in the heart of the Texas Hill Country just outside of Fredericksburg Texas, is Fort Martin Scott. It was founded on December 5, 1848, when Captain Seth Eastman of the 1st U.S. Infantry, one of the 1st U.S. Army post on the western frontier and named  it  Camp Houston. This fort served as protection for the mostly German settlers in the area and also helped protect the Fredericksburg – San Antonio Road. Eastman stayed at the camp until February of 1849 when he was sent to establish what was to become Fort Inge.

Fort Martin Scott, then  Camp Houston,  started with 2 companies of infantry and one of dragoons. In 1847 Germans who had settled the area had entered into peace treaties with the Comanches; however, those treaties were in danger as more Anglo settlers moved into the region. The camp was formally renamed to Fort Martin Scott in December of 1849 in memory of Major Martin Scott who was killed in action at the battle of Molina del Rey in 1847.  Over time the influx of white settlers led to an increase of tension between the parties and in 1850 several tribes met near the San Saba River. At that time Indian agent John Rollins, with an escort provided by Captain Hamilton W. Merrill met with the tribes and drew up the Fort Martin Scott Treaty.

Due to people moving further west Fort Martin Scott began to lose its tactical value and finally in 1853 Colonel W.G. Freeman recommended the fort be closed and in December 1853, the 8th Military Department ordered that it be closed. The preserved fort can be visited and is now the property of the Fredericksburg Heritage Association.

Next to come into existence was Fort Inge, located on the east bank of the Leona River south of Uvalde. The area’s primary natural  identifier is a 140 foot volcanic plug of phonolite basalt. Some archeologists believe the area has been occupied by one group or another since around 6,000 BC. Several ranches also existed in the region during both the Spanish colonial and the Mexican periods of Texas.

On March 13,  1849, Captain Seth Eastman along with some 56 soldiers of the 1st United States Infantry established a base camp on the Leona. In December of that year, the post was renamed Fort Inge in honor of Lt. Zebulon Inge, a West Point graduate who served in the U.S. Second Dragoons and had been killed during the Battle of Resaca de la Palma.

War With Mexico

Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. This is Episode 44 – War With Mexico -  As always, brought to you by Ashby Navis and Tennyson Media Publishers, producers of  high quality games, productivity, mental health apps, and  a comprehensive catalog of  audiobooks. Visit AshbyNavis.com for more information.

The 1846-1848 conflict known in the United States as the Mexican-American War was called the U.S. Invasion by Mexico. It was fueled by the expansionist views of President James Polk and was an example of his belief in the ‘Manifest Destiny’. He firmly believed that the United States was destined by God to own all the land from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

After he became President and oversaw the annexation of Texas into the union as a State, he realized that since Mexico controlled everything west of Texas, it  was standing in his way. Initially he  tried to have Mexico agree to several small issues. After the Battle of San Jacinto, even though Texas and the United States claimed Texas was independent the fact was that Mexico had never officially signed a peace treaty. Polk wanted Mexico to recognize that the boundary between the United States and Mexico was the Rio Grande. He also wanted Mexico to sell Northern California to the United States. He did his best to pressure Mexico into accepting these terms, but he failed because nobody in Mexico would agree to giving up any territory to the United States and that especially included Texas.

Polk was not a person to take no for an answer, and he grew increasingly frustrated by Mexico. On January 13, 1846, he ordered the army that was under the control of Gen. Zachary Taylor's, which was in Corpus Christi, to move to the Rio Grande. Needless to say, the Mexican government took this to be an act of war. The Mexicans responded by crossing the Rio Grande on April 25 at Matamoros and  ambushed an American patrol.

Much like President Johnson would do later with the Gulf of Tonkin incident to justify further involvement in Vietnam, on May 13th, Polk used this to convince Congress to declare war on Mexico. He claimed that this was because "American blood had been shed upon American soil."  On May 8 and 9, even before the official declaration of war Taylor's army defeated a force of 3,700 Mexican soldiers under Gen. Mariano Arista in the Battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma

Initially the American forces tried to use the time-honored plan of blockading Mexican coastal cities and also occupying the Mexican states that bordered Texas. These plans were based on a very unrealistic belief that this would somehow coerce Mexico into giving up territory. In September General Taylor, accompanied by a significant number of volunteers that included many Texans, seized Monterrey. He then declared that General Arista had agreed to an armistice. Taylor succeeded in large part due to the role that  Col. John Coffee Hays's Texas Mounted Rifles played during the attack on the city.

 Polk, however, was not satisfied with the armistice and he denounced it, forcing Taylor to drive further south to Saltillo and then east to Victoria. Meanwhile Gen. John E. Wool lead more troops from San Antonio with the initial intention of threatening Chihuahua, instead he turned and ended up joining Taylor’s forces. Not content with just Texas and Mexico, President Polk sent Gen. Stephen W. Kearny from Fort Leavenworth with instructions to seize New Mexico.

Finally in July, as Taylor's forces were gathering, the navy sent its Pacificsquadron under Commodore John D. Sloat to occupy Monterey and San  Francisco, California. From that post they joined a force of Anglo settlers who  at the urging of the explorer John C. Frémont had established their own government. Although an August incursion into southern California failed, the area was eventually secured by a joint army-navy expedition under Kearny and Commodore Robert F. Stockton in January 1847.

Meanwhile,

This is Episode 43 – Texas finally becomes a state -  I’m you host and guide Hank Wilson.

There is a major misconception among people today  about exactly what Texas and Texans wanted when they rebelled against Mexico. Some of today’s Texas citizens believe the reason was the settlers wanted to be an independent country. That’s not true, while wanting to be free of Mexico, the vast majority of those who were living in Texas at the time wanted to be a part of the United States. That was a major source of conflict among the early politicians, and that’s why there was not a major push for statehood until the mid-1840s.

In 1844 Texas held its final presidential race. The citizens elected Secretary of State Anson Jones. Due to his backing by Sam Houston, Jones easily won the election. He was inaugurated on December 9, and his administration’s policies included economy recovery, trying to establish peaceful relations with the Indians, and a policy of nonaggression against Mexico. Perhaps most importantly, he began to tackle the idea and process of having Texas annexed by the United State. He, more than anyone else is known as the "Architect of Annexation."

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The thing he and those who were in favor of annexation knew was important was timing. He wasted no time in beginning his effort and he instructed Isaac Van Zandt, Texan who was the official chargé d'affaires to the United States, to not negotiate any treaty until they could be assured the United States Senate would ratify it. Almost simultaneously President John Tyler reopened negotiations on annexation and Mexico began expressing interest in becoming an ally of Texas. Meanwhile, Mexico told the United States that she would declare war if the United States approved annexation. Two events, both of which were embarrassing to Texans,  would help spur American interest in annexing Texas.

In 1841, then Texas president Lamar, as part of his dream to have Texas expand all the way to the Pacific Ocean authorized what is known as the Santa Fe expedition. This was one of those grand adventures that was doomed from the start. The group got lost, they were attacked by almost every tribe along the route, and when they actually reached New Mexico they were met with armed resistance. The entire expedition surrendered without firing a shot, were imprisoned in Mexico City, and eventually released in 1842.

Also in 1842, Mexico invaded Texas.

A force of 700 lead by Gen. Rafael Vásquez entered Texas and seized San Antonio. They only stayed for two days before travelling back over the Rio Grande and returning to Mexico, but their presence in Texas caused many Anglos to become very nervous. Since Sam Houston had taken office from Lamar, in March of 1842, he instructed the Texas representative to Washington, James Reily, to begin to explore the possibility of annexation. The federal government was receptive because the British had indicated they wanted to help mediate the Texas-Mexico issues. Of course, this would have provided England with an opening to establish their influence in Texas affairs. Meanwhile President Tyler, a Whig who adhered to the traditional Southern support of slavery, was a proponent of annexation and by October discussions that would lead to the eventual annexation of Texas by treaty had begun.

The treaty was completed on April 12, 1844, and signed by Secretary of State John C. Calhoun, Isaac Van Zandt, and Van Zandt's assistant, J. Pinckney Henderson.

Texas was an issued during the U.S. presidential election of 1844. Democrat James K. Polk, of Tennessee, ran under the slogan "the Re-Annexation of Texas and the Re-Occupation of Oregon.," He was trying to capitalize on the growing belief among Americans that it was their destiny to control the entire continent. He won by a very significant amount. Since Polk would not take office until March of 1845,

Episode 42 – Texas becomes a Nation – well sort of and not a very successful one.

As soon as the provisional government heard about the victory at San Jacinto, government officials headed to the battlefield. Once there they began negotiating with Santa Anna to end the war. May 14 at Velasco, Santa Anna signed two treaties, one for public consumption and the other one was signed and kept secret.

The public treaty officially ended hostilities with Mexico and restored settlers private property. Prisoners on both sides were to be released, and the Mexican forces would move south of the Rio Grande. All very popular with everyone.

The secret treaty, which would have caused an uproar if the details were made public agreed that Santa Anna would be taken to Veracruz and released. In return, he agreed to have the Mexican government approve the two treaties and to negotiate a permanent treaty. That treaty was to acknowledge that Texas was to be independent of Mexico. It was to also recognize the national boundary as the Rio Grande. Even though the two treaties had been signed, things were not exactly peaceful. In fact, military activity continued along the Gulf Coast.

On June 2 Maj. Isaac W. Burton, who was in charge of a company of twenty mounted rangers, noticed the vessel Watchman at anchor in Copano Bay. He grew suspicious and had his men capture it. Once they boarded it they discovered that it carried supplies intended for the Mexican army. On the seventeenth of June, Burton then seized two more vessels, the Comanche and the Fannie Butler. They were also carrying supplies for the Mexican army which had a value of $25,000.  Meanwhile the Mexican Congress renounced Santa Anna, refused to honor his treaties, and demanded that the war with Texas continue.

Once word of the Mexican government’s actions reached Texas, people began to demand that Santa Anna be put to death. Santa Anna, his secretary Ramón Martínez Caro, and Col. Juan N. Almonte had already been put aboard the Invincible to be returned to Veracruz, but the ship had not yet set sail. Gen. Thomas Jefferson Green, a recent arrival from the United States demanded that President Burnet remove the Mexicans from the vessel and put them into confinement.

 Which he agreed to temporarily do. Santa Anna was not executed, instead he was sent to Washington D. C. where he met with President Andrew Jackson. Jackson did send him back to Mexico where Santa Anna discovered he had been deposed as President. 

Meanwhile back in Texas, Thomas Jefferson Rusk who had been a general during the battle of San Jacinto and was appointed to the position of Secretary of War, asked President Burnet to relieve him of his command. To succeed Rusk on June 25 Burnet appointed Mirabeau B. Lamar to the post of secretary of war.  BUT word arrived that Gen. José de Urrea was moving Mexican army troops towards Goliad, (remember the Goliad Massacre, which took place during the revolt? Texans were still very angry over the slaughter that took place) Rusk changed his mind about retiring. But since Lamar was now officially the Secretary of War, Burnet was hesitant to do so. At that point Thomas Jefferson Green and Felix Huston, who had come into Texas with a contingent of  volunteers from Mississippi, began to agitate against Lamar. This caused the soldiers to turn against Lamar and Rusk returned to command.

Urrea failed to show up at Goliad so Rusk once again vacated his command and the army chose Huston to replace him. More unrest continued in the ranks of the Army as many of the officers openly defied the government. They even threatened to impose a military dictatorship.

Internal squabbles were not the only problems the government faced. On May 19th, a force of Comanche and Caddo Indians attacked Fort Parker, in what is known as the Fort Parker Massacre, and captured two women and three children. One of those children was a nine-year-old girl by the name of Cynthia Parker.

Los Diablos Tejanos - The Texas Rangers

Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. this is Episode 41 – Los Diablos Tejanos - The Texas Rangers

The Rangers actually came into existence in 1823, when Stephen F. Austin hired ten experienced frontiersmen, that he wanted to send on an expedition to punish a band of Indians. However, it took another 12 years, in 1835, for Texas lawmakers to create the Texas Rangers actually officially. The initial group consisted of fifty-six men that were broken into three companies. Each company was lead by a captain and two lieutenants, and who an immediate superior who held the rank of major. The major was subject to the commander-in-chief of the regular army and was responsible for recruiting, rule enforcement, and discipline. The officers each were promised the same pay as United States dragoons and privates- a total of $1.25 a day.  Out of that pay, they had to supply their own mounts, and all other equipment including arms, and food rations. They were on call and had to be ready to ride, equipped "with a good and sufficient horse...[and] with one hundred rounds of powder and ball."

In the beginning the Rangers did not do well. During the Texas Revolution they served occasionally as either scouts or couriers, plus any other task the government wanted them to do.

On March 6, 1836, the Alamo fell and with it came the runaway scrape. I’ve talked about it in earlier episodes, but this was when the Rangers were really called into action. They were tasked with retrieving cattle, helping refugees get past trails covered with mud and streams swollen with rain. They also performed a scorched earth policy and to keep the Mexican army from benefitting from what was left, they destroyed produce or equipment they found.

While these duties were important, the reality is, that during the actual battle of San Jacinto they were relegated to nothing more than escort duty. After independence, their status didn’t really change because President Sam Houston had a well-known friendship with the Indians and the Rangers had been used to raid and attack the various tribes.

When Mirabeau B. Lamar succeeded Houston as president of the republic in 1838 he put into place completely different frontier policies. Part of  his changes was to convince congress to give him more Rangers. He was able to grow the force to eight companies of mounted volunteers and also keep a standing company of fifty-six Rangers. A month after that he was able to build an additional 5 companies in both Central and South Texas. These proved to be instrumental over the next three years as they waged all-out war against the Indians. They participated in multiple pitched battles, including, the July 1839 Cherokee War in East Texas, the 1840 Council House Fight at San Antonio against the Comanches,  and again in 1840 a fight against 1,000 Comanche warriors at the battle of Plum Creek.

If the purpose of the Lamar administration was to eliminate or at least drastically reduce the power of the tribes of Texas, he was successful. Lamar favored the actual expulsion of all native peoples from Texas and was able to force many of the tribes to relocate and give up their historic land. When Sam Houston was reelected to the presidency in 1841, he changed his opinion on the Rangers and believed they were the least expensive and the most efficient way to protect frontier settlers.

In 1842 Captain John Coffee Hays lead a group of  150 Rangers that played an instrumental role in helping to repel a Mexican invasion. Over the next three years, they also worked to defend the settlers against attacks by various tribes.  Hays was responsible for creating several Ranger traditions and esprit de corps and focused on bringing in men who were skilled in frontier warfare.

In 1845 Texas was annexed by the United States and in 1846 war broke out with Mexico. This was when the Rangers became known for their fighting skills on a worldwide basis.

Episode 40 - The Cherokee - the "Principal People" Conclusion

Welcome to Episode 40 of the Hidden History of Texas, this episode concludes my discussion of the Cherokee. Before I get started, just a quick reminder that I have 3 audiobooks based on this series. You can find information about them at my  website https://arctx.org. On the menu, under Digital Products -> Audiobooks. Check them out, thanks,

Now back to the Cherokee. Ever since Europeans had landed on the continent, the Cherokee had done their best to coexist. Unfortunately, their desire to live in peace on their ancestral lands conflicted with the new settlers desire to own that same land. As a result, they were forced off their land and as I mentioned in the last episode they arrived in what is now East Texas where they lived in relative peace for a few years. They did their best to maintain neutrality when conflict started between the Anglo Texans and the Mexican Government.

After Texas achieved independence in 1836, Texas Republic President Sam Houston was a strong advocate for peace with all Texas tribes. He spent many hours working to keep the Cherokees as allies as he tried to negotiate treaties with the Apache, Comanche, and the Kiowa. This even included the Cherokees agreeing in 1836 to send a company of 25 rangers to help patrol the land west of their settlements. In 1837 Cherokee leader Duwali agreed to be the republic's emissary to the Comanches. However, in 1838 relations began to fall apart after a raid on settlers in East Texas was blamed on a combined Cherokee and Mexican force. As he was getting ready to leave office, Houston once again tried to keep the peace between Texans and the Cherokees. He established a boundary that could have served as a boundary separating the groups. This line upset the Anglos who wanted the land and who believed the Cherokees were actually allies of the Mexicans.

Mirabeau B. Lamar who took Houston’s place as Republic President was an ardent foe of the Cherokees and wanted them completely out of Texas. He initiated his campaign of elimination by sending troops to the Neches Saline (a small community in East Texas). When Chief Duwali had his people block the Texans and in response Lamar told the chief that the Cherokee would be relocated beyond the red river. His words to the chief were, "peaceably if they would; forcibly if they must."

Lamar then put together a commission who were told they could compensate the Cherokees if they left their land.  The Cherokees said no, and the result was what is known as the Cherokee War. The war, although it was really more of a pitched battle took place in the summer of 1839. That was when Chief Duwali led several hundred of his warriors in a fight that took place near present day Tyler Texas. The result was a disaster for the Cherokee as more than a 100 warriors including the chief were killed. The Texans then drove the remaining Cherokees across the Red River into what was then labeled Indian Territory. Not all Cherokee were exiled to the territory, some stayed and lived as fugitives in Texas and still others moved into Mexico. There were some Cherokee who conducted raids and fought for their lands, but they had little to no success.

In 1841 Sam Houston was elected to another term as president and he instituted a policy that he thought would help end future hostilities between the tribes and the settlers. This policy gave two  treaties with the Cherokees who remained in Texas in 1843 and 1844.

After the Cherokees who had been moved north of the Red River they were able to reunite with the much larger group of Cherokee who had been settled in the northeastern corner of the territory. In 1846, the Cherokee signed an agreement with the U.S. that specified that all the Cherokee, those from Texas and those who were already in the Territory had equal rights to the  lands of the Cherokee nation.

This union lasted until the Civil War.

Welcome to the Hidden History of Texas. this is Episode 39 – The Cherokee – The  "Principal People”

Forced out of their ancestral homes in what is now the American Southeast by pressure from Anglo Europeans, the Cherokee, or as they call themselves the Ani-Yunwiya, or the principal people, came  to settle in what is now East Texas.

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Their ancestral lands included a large percentage of the southern Appalachian highlands, which included segments  of Virginia, Tennessee, North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. They were an agricultural people and the similarities between their Iroquoian language and tribal  migration legends tend to indicate that the tribe originated further to the north of their traditional settled homeland.

It was approximately 1540 when Europeans first encountered the Cherokees, that was when Hernando De Soto’s party traveled through their lands. After that 1st and brief encounter it would be more than a hundred years before they had any additional significant interactions with Europeans. It was in the 1670s that prolonged contact between the Cherokees’ and the Europeans took place. The Cherokees  quickly adapted many of the basic and fundamental material elements of European culture to their own society. This tendency in turn led the Anglo Europeans  to call them, the "Five Civilized Tribes."

In response to their, what was a successful attempt to adapt to their Anglo-European neighbors, they established a constitutional government with a senate, a house of representatives, and an elected chief. In 1821, Sequoyah, AKA George Gist or George Guess, took the tribe’s spoken words and created a written language. The Cherokee placed a high value on education and in many instances-maintained schools for their children.

While it is true that the Cherokees did derive some advantages from interaction with Europeans, those advantages were far outweighed by the negative effects of that contact. Due to the European desire for territory and empire building, the Cherokee were often decimated by wars, epidemics due to the new diseases introduced by the Europeans, and food shortages. Put together these all caused the population to decline, the area of their territory reduced, and a general weakening of their  group identity.

In an attempt to maintain their culture, between the years 1790 and 1820, many Cherokees voluntarily migrated west of the Mississippi River. These peoples selttled in what is now Missouri, Arkansas, and Texas. Eventually those who had tried to remain on their ancestral land in the Southeast were ultimately forced to move west due to the implementation of  the 1830 United States Indian removal policy. Between the years 1838 and 1839, 16,000 to 18,000 Cherokees were forcibly marched to their new home in northeastern Indian Territory. An estimated 4,000 individuals died on the march, which we now know as the Trail of Tears.

It was in 1807  when Cherokees were first reported in Texas, that took place when a small band, probably from one of the Arkansas settlements, established a village on the banks of the Red River. In the summer of that year, a delegation of Cherokees, Pascagoulas, Chickasaws, and Shawnees sought permission from Spanish officials in Nacogdoches, to permanently settle members of their tribes in that province. Hoping to use the group as a buffer against further expansion by the Americans, the Spanish authorities approved the request.

For the next few years a small number of Cherokees drifted in and out of Texas. Between 1812 and 1819, the population of Arkansas began to increase and once again the Cherokees were forced to migrate and more of them migrated into Southern Arkansas. But by 1820,  they could no longer avoid American competition for the land. At the same time Anglo-Americans had established seven settlements in the valley of the Red River, and the Cherokees decided to move even further south.