By:  Price                                           H.C.R. No. 117
       73R8713 SDU-D
                                 CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
    1-1        WHEREAS, Through valor and sacrifice, the heroes of the Texas
    1-2  Revolution won Texas' independence from Mexico and established it
    1-3  as a sovereign republic; and
    1-4        WHEREAS, When Texians revolted in 1835, many slaves and free
    1-5  blacks joined the cause, providing invaluable service and
    1-6  participating actively in every engagement of the struggle; and
    1-7        WHEREAS, Samuel McCulloch, Jr., a free black who had
    1-8  emigrated from South Carolina, was the only member of George
    1-9  Collingsworth's force to be wounded in the assault on Goliad on
   1-10  October 9, 1835, and thus has the distinction of being the first
   1-11  Texian whose blood was shed in the revolution; and
   1-12        WHEREAS, William Goyens of Nacogdoches, one of the first free
   1-13  blacks in Texas, accompanied Sam Houston as an envoy to the
   1-14  Cherokee and associated tribes in 1835 and served as his
   1-15  interpreter and confidant; and
   1-16        WHEREAS, Greenberry Logan, who had emigrated to Texas from
   1-17  Missouri in 1831, fought under James W. Fannin in the battle for
   1-18  Concepcion on October 28, 1835, and was permanently disabled by a
   1-19  wound he received in the assault on San Antonio on December 5,
   1-20  1835; and
   1-21        WHEREAS, Hendrick Arnold, Jr., who had come to Texas in 1826,
   1-22  distinguished himself as a scout for Ben Milam's division when the
   1-23  Texians captured San Antonio and was a member of Deaf Smith's
   1-24  company at the Battle of San Jacinto; and
    2-1        WHEREAS, Also among the Texians who captured San Antonio in
    2-2  December 1835 was the slave Thomas Stephens, who later took part in
    2-3  the Somerville Campaign of 1842; and
    2-4        WHEREAS, The slaves Joe, John, and Sam were among the
    2-5  defenders of the Alamo; John died in the fighting, while Joe and
    2-6  Sam were spared by General Santa Anna, who allowed Joe to accompany
    2-7  Suzanna Dickinson and her family to Gonzales, where he told Sam
    2-8  Houston of the battle; and
    2-9        WHEREAS, Other slaves who contributed significantly to the
   2-10  Texian cause were Cary McKinney, who served as a messenger, Peter
   2-11  Martin, who carried provisions and supplies to the army, James
   2-12  Robinson, an indentured servant who refused a pass to leave Texas
   2-13  and joined the army with his master, and Mack Smith, who fought at
   2-14  San Jacinto; and
   2-15        WHEREAS, Peter Allen, a free black who had left his family in
   2-16  Pennsylvania to fight in the Texas Revolution, was captured with
   2-17  the rest of James W. Fannin's men at Goliad and was martyred with
   2-18  them outside the walls of Goliad on March 27, 1836; and
   2-19        WHEREAS, A family of free blacks in Beaumont particularly
   2-20  distinguished itself during the revolution through the gallant
   2-21  service rendered by enlistees Luke, Tapler, and William Ashworth
   2-22  and the generous contributions of money and supplies made by
   2-23  William and Abner Ashworth; and
   2-24        WHEREAS, Other free black Texians who answered the call to
   2-25  arms included James Richardson, who was 60 years old when he joined
   2-26  the Velasco garrison, Robert Thompson, who was not accepted for
   2-27  service in the Texas Army but donated his valuable mare and a rifle
    3-1  to the cause, and an individual remembered only as Dick, who saw
    3-2  duty as a drummer at San Jacinto and went on to serve in the United
    3-3  States Army at Monterrey and Buena Vista during the Mexican War;
    3-4  and
    3-5        WHEREAS, Although these black Texians fought for Texas'
    3-6  freedom, they were denied a share of the fruits of freedom, either
    3-7  because they were slaves or because, after the war, black freedmen
    3-8  were evicted by act of the Texas Congress from the very nation for
    3-9  which they had fought; and
   3-10        WHEREAS, Their contributions have gone unsung for so long
   3-11  that entire generations have lived in Texas and studied Texas
   3-12  history without learning of the part played by these brave and
   3-13  tragic individuals; and
   3-14        WHEREAS, It is indeed appropriate that the State of Texas
   3-15  recognize and pay tribute to the black heroes of the Texas
   3-16  Revolution for their extraordinary service; now, therefore, be it
   3-17        RESOLVED, That the 73rd Legislature of the State of Texas
   3-18  hereby honor and memorialize the vital role played by the black
   3-19  heroes of the Texas Revolution and hold up their example for the
   3-20  inspiration of present and future generations of this state.