R E S O L U T I O N 1-1 WHEREAS, The city of Brownsville is celebrating the 1-2 sesquicentennial of its founding in 1848, and the Texas House of 1-3 Representatives is especially proud to recognize the legendary city 1-4 on this august occasion; and 1-5 WHEREAS, Intricately woven into the history of the Lone Star 1-6 State, Brownsville is Texas' southernmost city and the Rio Grande 1-7 Valley's largest city; the area surrounding it dates from the 1-8 colonial days of Imperial Spain, covering periods of exploration, 1-9 wars, revolutions, and infamous banditry; and 1-10 WHEREAS, First to arrive at this remote area on the Texas 1-11 coast were the Spanish explorers who found hundreds of native 1-12 Americans known as Coahuiltecans living there; they were followed 1-13 by colonizers and staunch families who came to tame the arid 1-14 wilderness: Alonzo de Leon in 1689, Jose de Escandon in 1746, and 1-15 Jose Salvador de la Garza in 1782; and 1-16 WHEREAS, For more than 300 years, the city has figured 1-17 prominently in the development of our state and five national 1-18 banners have flown over its settlements--Spain, Mexico, the 1-19 Republic of Texas, the Confederate States of America, and the 1-20 United States; and 1-21 WHEREAS, With its rich military, commercial, transportation, 1-22 and agricultural legacies contributing to the development of Texas 1-23 and the United States, Brownsville has become a vital international 1-24 seaport, airport, and railroad interchange point on the Mexican 2-1 border; and 2-2 WHEREAS, Originally settled as part of Matamoros, Mexico, in 2-3 the latter half of the 18th century, Brownsville was first 2-4 chartered as a United States city in 1848; General Zachary Taylor 2-5 established Fort Texas (renamed Fort Brown after the death of its 2-6 gallant commander, Major Jacob Brown) in 1846 to confirm the Rio 2-7 Grande as the national boundary after the Republic of Texas became 2-8 a state; that incident resulted in the Mexican War, and the first 2-9 battles were fought here: Thornton's Skirmish, the Battle of Palo 2-10 Alto, and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma; here General Taylor 2-11 launched his invasion of Mexico, which was followed immediately by 2-12 the organization of the city of Brownsville by Charles Stillman; 2-13 several existing buildings of Fort Brown are now part of Texas 2-14 Southmost Junior College; and 2-15 WHEREAS, During the Civil War, Brownsville was the only port 2-16 available to the Confederacy to ship its cotton in exchange for war 2-17 supplies and it became the center of action for international 2-18 intrigue; stationed in Point Isabel and Brazos Santiago, the Union 2-19 Army forced the Confederates to evacuate the city in 1863, and the 2-20 stored cotton was burned to keep it from the Union Army, which 2-21 resulted in destroying Fort Brown and part of the city; and 2-22 WHEREAS, Brownsville was the capital of Texas from November 2-23 1863 to July 1864, when Brigadier General Andrew Jackson Hamilton, 2-24 appointed military governor of Texas by President Abraham Lincoln, 2-25 occupied the city with Union troops; Confederates retook the city 2-26 in 1864 and maintained control, rebuffing the Union forces in the 2-27 final battle of the Civil War at the Palmito Ranch under the 3-1 command of John S. "RIP" Ford; at this time, the war had been over 3-2 for several weeks; and 3-3 WHEREAS, The cattle industry developed on the Spanish land 3-4 grants here and spread throughout the west at the end of the Civil 3-5 War; Brownsville was the southern terminus of the Chisholm Trail; 3-6 during that same period, large irrigation projects were started 3-7 that were the beginning of the rich agricultural business in the 3-8 valley; and 3-9 WHEREAS, From the beginning, Brownsville was a key commercial 3-10 center for South Texas and Northern Mexico; transportation was 3-11 always crucial to its development, and the area was served by 3-12 sailing ships, covered wagons, steamboats, railroads, deep-sea 3-13 ports, and the earliest major international airport; and 3-14 WHEREAS, Commissioned officers and future generals were 3-15 stationed in the city: Robert E. Lee, Philip Sheridan, Braxton 3-16 Bragg, Don Carlos Buell, Edmund Kirby-Smith, James Longstreet, John 3-17 B. Magruder, George Gordon Meade, John Pemberton, John F. Reynolds, 3-18 George H. Thomas, Joseph Hooker, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, George 3-19 B. McClellan, Irvin McDowell, John Pope, John Sedgwick, Hamilton 3-20 Bee, John Pershing, and others; future presidents of three nations 3-21 lived there: Zachary Taylor, Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, 3-22 Porfirio Diaz, Manuel Gonzalez, and Mariano Arista; and men who 3-23 would one day be governors: A. J. Hamilton, Lew Wallace, Edmund J. 3-24 Davis, and Juan Nepomuceno Cortina; and 3-25 WHEREAS, Here revolutions were planned and 3-26 supplied--revolutions that altered the future not only of the 3-27 United States and Mexico, but Europe as well; 49ers passed on their 4-1 way to the California gold rush, some remaining to help build the 4-2 city; and 4-3 WHEREAS, Men of vision came to find fame and fortune: 4-4 businessmen turned ranchers--Richard King, Mifflin Kenedy, 4-5 Francisco Yturria, John Young, John McAllen, Adolphus Glaevecke; 4-6 pioneers who became farmers, merchants, builders of ports and 4-7 railroads, and persons of special talents--Charles Stillman, Louis 4-8 Brulay, Manuel Alonso, Simon Celaya, Jose San Roman, Manuel 4-9 Trevino, J. H. Fernandez, Albert, Peter, Nicholas, and Joseph 4-10 Champion, A. P. Barreda, Adrian Ortiz, J. L. Putegnat, Samuel and 4-11 Jeremiah Galvan, Jacob Mussina, S. A. Belden, Frank S. North, 4-12 Humphrey E. Woodhouse, Juan S. Cross, Victoriano Fernandez, Joseph 4-13 Webb, Thomas Carson, Patrick Shannon, Henry Miller, Andres Pacheco, 4-14 Henry M. Field, William Neale, S. W. Brooks, Stephen Powers, John 4-15 S. "RIP" Ford, J. T. Canales, Morris Edelstein, James Wells, and 4-16 many others; and 4-17 WHEREAS, Women capable of carving civilization from the 4-18 cactus and chaparral came also: Maria Josefa Cavazos, Una Rutland 4-19 Neale, Henrietta Morse Chamberlain King, Theresa Clark Clearwater, 4-20 Nora Kelly, and Salome Balli; and 4-21 WHEREAS, Men and women of the cloth came to bring the word of 4-22 God into a wild frontier town: Father Jean Maurice Verdet, Father 4-23 Pierre Karalum, Reverend Hiram Chamberlain, Melinda Rankin, and 4-24 Father Pierre Parisot, and the sisters of the Incarnate Word and 4-25 Blessed Sacrament, Saint Clare, Saint Angel, Saint Ephrem, and 4-26 Saint Dominic established the first parochial school; and 4-27 WHEREAS, The future surgeon general of the United States, 5-1 William Crawford Gorgas, came to work and conquer yellow fever, 5-2 providing the key to the building of the Panama Canal; Lieutenant 5-3 Abner Doubleday, who helped give us baseball, served there twice; 5-4 during the birth of air transportation, Amelia Earhart, Charles 5-5 Lindbergh, Les Mauldin, Claire Chennault, Ira Eaker, William 5-6 "Billy" Mitchell, Juan Trippe, Howard Hughes, Eddie Rickenbacker, 5-7 Tom Braniff, and others; until World War II, the airport at 5-8 Brownsville was the busiest international airport in the United 5-9 States; and 5-10 WHEREAS, The names of countless men and women who are a part 5-11 of Brownsville's unique history and who gave of their own talents 5-12 will forever leave their mark on the city's illustrious past; 5-13 Brownsville's sesquicentennial celebration will honor these 5-14 individuals and their contributions not only to Texas, but also to 5-15 the nation; now, therefore, be it 5-16 RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas 5-17 Legislature hereby extend its deepest appreciation to the citizenry 5-18 of Brownsville and extend best wishes to them for a most glorious 5-19 sesquicentennial celebration in 1998; and, be it further 5-20 RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be 5-21 prepared to commemorate this notable event as a token of highest 5-22 regard by the Texas House of Representatives for the city of 5-23 Brownsville and its people. Oliveira _______________________________ Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 1027 was adopted by the House on May 30, 1997, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House