Third activity: Sam Houston Statue in Huntsville, TX

Samuel Houston was considered one of the most colorful figures of 19th-century America especially in Texas history. He was born in Lexington, Va, on Mar 2, 1793 but raised by her widowed mother in Tennessee. As a youth, he spent much time with Cherokee Indians and developed close ties with them. Houston joind the army and faught in war of 1812 under Andrew Jackson to fight the British and in the Creek wars of 1813-1814 where he was wounded by a creek's arrow. He served as a private and later rose to a rank of Lieutenant. He later resigned from the military and began his study of Law in 1818. He was elected attorney general for Nashville and appointed adjutant general of Tennessee. He served two terms in Congress (1823-27) and in 1827 was elected governor of Tennessee.


Houston moved to Texas sometime in 1832. He was chosen as the nacogdoches' delegate to the 1833 convention. He was appointed General of the military district east of the Trinity in 1835 and lead the army to gain theTexas independence from Mexico in 1836. He later moved to Huntsville, TX with his wife Margaret where he retired and died in 1863 at his rented home "The Steam Boat". He said he choses Huntsville as his retirement homestead because the hills here reminded him of the place where he grew up in Tennessee. Houston served as a governor of two states, president of the Republic of Texas, U.S. senator, and military hero.




This is the giant statue of General Sam Houston. Standing at 67 ft tall plus 10ft base. The statue is named " A Tribute to Courage". Artist David Adickes started the project in early 1992 and completed in early October and was dedicated on October 22, 1994. This 25-ton steel-and-concrete colossus is comprised of 10-foot sections, each containing five layers of concrete reinforced with steel straps and the outside layer includes a fiberglass mesh.  (Oh that's me on the red shirt. Yea, I look like an ant in front of this giant statue)

 

There is no particular rules posted in this place but the artist supposedly placed this head here so people will not be tempted to climb on the giant statue to take a close up photos with Sam Houston. Scribbling your name behind the head and climbing is allowed here.





That symbol with an upside down V  and a G in the middle is a free mason symbol since Houston is a master mason at one time.



This is a close up of the plaque placed on the statue



This is a portrait of him inside the gift shop




This is supposedly General Sam Houston's original rifle