Felix Huston
Encyclopedia
Felix Huston was a lawyer
, soldier
and the first commanding general of the Army of the Republic of Texas
.
Huston was born in Kentucky
. He was a slave trader
, planter and Whig
politician and attorney in Natchez, Mississippi
. Receiving news of the Texas Revolution
, he raised and equipped troops (often at his own expense) and money throughout Mississippi
and Kentucky.
He left Natchez on May 5, 1836, with 500 to 700 volunteers to join the Texian
army, but arrived well after the Battle of San Jacinto
in which Mexican
President
General Santa Anna ceded defeat and, in effect, granted Texas her independence.
On June 25, Texas President David G. Burnet
appointed Major General Mirabeau B. Lamar
as secretary of war, to succeed the resigning Thomas J. Rusk. Texas received word that Mexico had rejected the Treaty of Velasco and had sent General José de Urrea
to attack Goliad, Rusk immediately rescinded his resignation. Huston and Thomas Jefferson Green teamed up to get the army to oppose Lamar, and Rusk resumed command. However, the Mexican attack failed to materialize, and Rusk retired. The Texan army picked Huston to replace him. Discontent continued and army officers openly defied the government and threatened to impose a military dictatorship.
On December 20, 1836, Sam Houston
commissioned Huston as a brigadier general
in the 2,000-man army and temporary commander-in-chief. His men referred to him as "Old Long Shanks" or "Old Leather Breeches", and Huston attracted adventurers and men of little discipline to his "Camp Independence" in Jackson County. He feared San Antonio could not be defended in the event of another Mexican invasion, and ordered the town and the nearby Alamo
to be burned.
However, Juan Seguín
intervened, and the town and historic mission were spared from destruction. Later in the year, Sam Houston appointed Albert Sidney Johnston
as the senior brigadier general and permanent commander of the Texan army. Huston felt slighted, and challenged Johnston to a duel
on February 5, 1837, wounding him in the right hip.
In November 1839, Huston was elected as major general
of the militia
, defeating James C. Neill
and other candidates. He developed an aggressive scheme to capture Matamoros, Tamaulipas
, in 1840, believing that Texas should expand its borders southward beyond the Rio Grande River. However, his desires were thwarted by moderates.
In August, war chief Little Buffalo Hump and 500 Comanche Indians
attacked Victoria, Texas
, and other nearby towns, stealing horses and livestock and killing dozens of white settlers. Huston led 200 Texans and Chief Placido
and his Tonkawa
scouts against the raiders at Plum Creek near Lockhart
on the evening of August 11, killing 80 Comanches while only losing one man.
In May 1837, President Sam Houston furlough
ed much of the Texas army, leaving Huston a general without troops to command. Shortly thereafter, Huston left Texas and co-founded a law firm in New Orleans.
In 1844, he supported a movement to annex the republic to the United States
. However, by the late 1850s, Huston had become an ardent secessionist. In 1851, he spoke at a rally in New Orleans supporting Cuba
n independence from Spain
.
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
and the first commanding general of the Army of the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
.
Huston was born in Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
. He was a slave trader
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, planter and Whig
Whig Party (United States)
The Whig Party was a political party of the United States during the era of Jacksonian democracy. Considered integral to the Second Party System and operating from the early 1830s to the mid-1850s, the party was formed in opposition to the policies of President Andrew Jackson and his Democratic...
politician and attorney in Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
. Receiving news of the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
, he raised and equipped troops (often at his own expense) and money throughout Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and Kentucky.
He left Natchez on May 5, 1836, with 500 to 700 volunteers to join the Texian
Texian
Texian is an archaic, mostly defunct 19th century demonym which defined a settler of current-day Texas, one of the southern states of the United States of America which borders the country of Mexico...
army, but arrived well after the Battle of San Jacinto
Battle of San Jacinto
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen...
in which Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
President
President of Mexico
The President of the United Mexican States is the head of state and government of Mexico. Under the Constitution, the president is also the Supreme Commander of the Mexican armed forces...
General Santa Anna ceded defeat and, in effect, granted Texas her independence.
On June 25, Texas President David G. Burnet
David G. Burnet
David Gouverneur Burnet was an early politician within the Republic of Texas, serving as interim President of Texas , second Vice President of the Republic of Texas , and Secretary of State for the new state of Texas after it was annexed to the United States of America.Burnet was born in Newark,...
appointed Major General Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was a Texas politician, diplomat and soldier who was a leading Texas political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was the second President of the Republic of Texas, after David G. Burnet and Sam Houston.-Early years:Lamar grew up at Fairfield, his father's...
as secretary of war, to succeed the resigning Thomas J. Rusk. Texas received word that Mexico had rejected the Treaty of Velasco and had sent General José de Urrea
José de Urrea
José de Urrea was a noted general for Mexico. He fought under General Antonio López de Santa Anna during the Texas Revolution. Urrea's forces were never defeated in battle during the Texas Revolution...
to attack Goliad, Rusk immediately rescinded his resignation. Huston and Thomas Jefferson Green teamed up to get the army to oppose Lamar, and Rusk resumed command. However, the Mexican attack failed to materialize, and Rusk retired. The Texan army picked Huston to replace him. Discontent continued and army officers openly defied the government and threatened to impose a military dictatorship.
On December 20, 1836, Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
commissioned Huston as a brigadier general
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
in the 2,000-man army and temporary commander-in-chief. His men referred to him as "Old Long Shanks" or "Old Leather Breeches", and Huston attracted adventurers and men of little discipline to his "Camp Independence" in Jackson County. He feared San Antonio could not be defended in the event of another Mexican invasion, and ordered the town and the nearby Alamo
Alamo Mission in San Antonio
The Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas....
to be burned.
However, Juan Seguín
Juan Seguín
Juan Nepomuceno Seguín was a 19th-century Texas Senator, Mayor, Judge, and Justice of the Peace and a prominent participant in the Texas Revolution.-Early life and family:...
intervened, and the town and historic mission were spared from destruction. Later in the year, Sam Houston appointed Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston
Albert Sidney Johnston served as a general in three different armies: the Texas Army, the United States Army, and the Confederate States Army...
as the senior brigadier general and permanent commander of the Texan army. Huston felt slighted, and challenged Johnston to a duel
Duel
A duel is an arranged engagement in combat between two individuals, with matched weapons in accordance with agreed-upon rules.Duels in this form were chiefly practised in Early Modern Europe, with precedents in the medieval code of chivalry, and continued into the modern period especially among...
on February 5, 1837, wounding him in the right hip.
In November 1839, Huston was elected as major general
Major general (United States)
In the United States Army, United States Marine Corps, and United States Air Force, major general is a two-star general-officer rank, with the pay grade of O-8. Major general ranks above brigadier general and below lieutenant general...
of the militia
Militia
The term militia is commonly used today to refer to a military force composed of ordinary citizens to provide defense, emergency law enforcement, or paramilitary service, in times of emergency without being paid a regular salary or committed to a fixed term of service. It is a polyseme with...
, defeating James C. Neill
James C. Neill
↔James Clinton Neill was a 19th-century American soldier and politician, most noted for his role in the Texas Revolution and the early defense of the Alamo. He was born in North Carolina.-Early life and career:...
and other candidates. He developed an aggressive scheme to capture Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Matamoros, Tamaulipas
Matamoros, officially known as Heroica Matamoros, is a city in the northeastern part of Tamaulipas, in the country of Mexico. It is located on the southern bank of the Rio Grande, directly across the border from Brownsville, Texas, in the United States. Matamoros is the second largest and second...
, in 1840, believing that Texas should expand its borders southward beyond the Rio Grande River. However, his desires were thwarted by moderates.
In August, war chief Little Buffalo Hump and 500 Comanche Indians
Comanche
The Comanche are a Native American ethnic group whose historic range consisted of present-day eastern New Mexico, southern Colorado, northeastern Arizona, southern Kansas, all of Oklahoma, and most of northwest Texas. Historically, the Comanches were hunter-gatherers, with a typical Plains Indian...
attacked Victoria, Texas
Victoria, Texas
Victoria is a city in and the seat of Victoria County, Texas, United States. The population was 60,603 at the 2000 census. The three counties of the Victoria Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 111,163 at the 2000 census,...
, and other nearby towns, stealing horses and livestock and killing dozens of white settlers. Huston led 200 Texans and Chief Placido
Chief Placido
Plácido was major Native American Chief of the Tonkawa Indians in Texas during the Spanish and Mexican rule, the Republic of Texas era, and with Texas as part of the United States.-Early years in Texas:...
and his Tonkawa
Tonkawa
The Tickanwa•tic Tribe , better known as the Tonkawa , are a Native American people indigenous to present-day Oklahoma and Texas. They once spoke the now-extinct Tonkawa language believed to have been a language isolate not related to any other indigenous tongues...
scouts against the raiders at Plum Creek near Lockhart
Lockhart, Texas
-External links:* *...
on the evening of August 11, killing 80 Comanches while only losing one man.
In May 1837, President Sam Houston furlough
Furlough
In the United States a furlough is a temporary unpaid leave of some employees due to special needs of a company, which may be due to economic conditions at the specific employer or in the economy as a whole...
ed much of the Texas army, leaving Huston a general without troops to command. Shortly thereafter, Huston left Texas and co-founded a law firm in New Orleans.
In 1844, he supported a movement to annex the republic to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. However, by the late 1850s, Huston had become an ardent secessionist. In 1851, he spoke at a rally in New Orleans supporting Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n independence from Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
External links
- Handbook of Texas Online, article on Felix Huston.