1-1 1 1-2 SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 836 1-3 WHEREAS, The City of Brownsville is celebrating the 1-4 sesquicentennial of its founding in 1848, and the Texas Senate 1-5 is especially proud to recognize the legendary city on this august 1-6 occasion; and 1-7 WHEREAS, Intricately woven into the history of the Lone Star 1-8 State, Brownsville is Texas' southernmost city and the Rio Grande 1-9 Valley's largest city; the area surrounding it dates from the 1-10 colonial days of Imperial Spain, covering periods of exploration, 1-11 wars, revolutions, and infamous banditry; and 1-12 WHEREAS, First to arrive at this remote area on the Texas 1-13 coast were the Spanish explorers who found hundreds of native 1-14 American groups known as Coahuiltecans living there; they were 1-15 followed by colonizers and staunch families who came to tame the 1-16 arid wilderness: Alonzo de Leon in 1689, Jose de Escandon in 1-17 1746, and Jose Salvador de la Garza in 1782; and 1-18 WHEREAS, For over 300 years, the city has figured prominently 1-19 in the development of our state, and five national banners have 1-20 flown over its settlements--Spain, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, 1-21 the Confederate States of America, and the United States; and 1-22 WHEREAS, With its rich military, commercial, transportation, 1-23 and agricultural legacies contributing to the development of Texas 2-1 and the United States, Brownsville has become a vital international 2-2 seaport, airport, and railroad interchange point on the Mexican 2-3 border; and 2-4 WHEREAS, First settled as part of Matamoros, Mexico, in the 2-5 latter half of the 18th century, Brownsville was first chartered 2-6 as a United States city in 1848; General Zachary Taylor established 2-7 Fort Texas (renamed Fort Brown after the death of its gallant 2-8 commander, Major Jacob Brown) in 1846 to confirm the Rio Grande 2-9 as the national boundary after the Republic of Texas became a 2-10 state; that incident resulted in the Mexican War, and the first 2-11 battles were fought here: Thornton's Skirmish, the Battle of 2-12 Palo Alto, and the Battle of Resaca de la Palma; here General 2-13 Taylor launched his invasion of Mexico, which was followed 2-14 immediately by the organization of the City of Brownsville by 2-15 Charles Stillman; several existing buildings of Fort Brown are 2-16 now part of Texas Southmost Junior College; and 2-17 WHEREAS, During the Civil War, Brownsville was the only port 2-18 available to the Confederacy to ship its cotton in exchange for 2-19 war supplies and became the heart of action for international 2-20 intrigue; stationed in Point Isabel and Brazos Santiago, the Union 2-21 Army forced the Confederates to evacuate the city in 1863, and the 2-22 stored cotton was burned to keep it from the Union Army, which 2-23 resulted in destroying Fort Brown and part of the city; and 2-24 WHEREAS, Brownsville became the capital of Texas from November, 2-25 1863, to July, 1864, when Brigadier General Andrew Jackson Hamilton, 3-1 appointed military governor of Texas by President Abraham Lincoln, 3-2 occupied the city with Union troops; Confederates retook the city in 3-3 1864 and maintained control, rebuffing the Union forces in the final 3-4 battle of the Civil War at the Palmito Ranch under the command of 3-5 John S. "RIP" Ford; at this time, the war had been over for several 3-6 weeks; and 3-7 WHEREAS, The cattle industry developed on the Spanish land 3-8 grants and spread throughout the West at the end of the Civil War; 3-9 Brownsville was the southern terminus of the Chisholm Trail; 3-10 during the same period large irrigation projects were started 3-11 that were the beginning of the rich agricultural business in the 3-12 valley; and 3-13 WHEREAS, From the beginning, Brownsville was a key commercial 3-14 center for South Texas and Northern Mexico; transportation was 3-15 always crucial to its development, and the area was served by 3-16 sailing ships, covered wagons, steamboats, railroads, deep-sea 3-17 ports, and the earliest major international airport; and 3-18 WHEREAS, Commissioned officers and future generals were 3-19 stationed in the city: Robert E. Lee, Philip Sheridan, 3-20 Braxton Bragg, Don Carlos Buell, Edmund Kirby-Smith, 3-21 James Longstreet, John B. Magruder, George Gordon Meade, 3-22 John Pemberton, John F. Reynolds, George H. Thomas, Joseph Hooker, 3-23 Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson, George B. McClellan, Irvin McDowell, 3-24 John Pope, John Sedgwick, Hamilton Bee, John Pershing, and others; 3-25 future presidents of three nations lived there: Zachary Taylor, 4-1 Ulysses S. Grant, Jefferson Davis, Porfirio Diaz, Manuel Gonzalez, 4-2 and Mariano Arista; and men who would one day be governors: 4-3 A. J. Hamilton, Lew Wallace, Edmund J. Davis, and 4-4 Juan Nepomuceno Cortina; and 4-5 WHEREAS, Here revolutions were planned and 4-6 supplied--revolutions that altered the future not only of the 4-7 United States and Mexico, but Europe as well; forty-niners passed 4-8 on their way to the California gold rush, some remaining to help 4-9 build the city; and 4-10 WHEREAS, Men of vision came to find fame and fortune: 4-11 businessmen turned ranchers--Richard King, Mifflin Kenedy, 4-12 Francisco Yturria, John Young, John McAllen, and Adolphus Glaevecke; 4-13 pioneers who became farmers, merchants, builders of ports and 4-14 railroads, and persons of special talents--Charles Stillman, 4-15 Louis Brulay, Manuel Alonso, Simon Celaya, Jose San Roman, 4-16 Manuel Trevino, J. H. Fernandez, Albert, Peter, Nicholas and 4-17 Joseph Champion, A. P. Barreda, Adrian Ortiz, J. L. Putegnat, 4-18 Samuel and Jeremiah Galvan, Jacob Mussina, S. A. Belden, 4-19 Frank S. North, Humphrey E. Woodhouse, Juan S. Cross, 4-20 Victoriano Fernandez, Joseph Webb, Thomas Carson, Patrick Shannon, 4-21 Henry Miller, Andres Pacheco, Henry M. Field, William Neale, 4-22 S. W. Brooks, Stephen Powers, John S. "RIP" Ford, J. T. Canales, 4-23 Morris Edelstein, James Well, and many others; and 4-24 WHEREAS, Women capable of carving civilization from the cactus 4-25 and chaparral came also: Maria Josefa Cavazos, Una Rutland Neale, 5-1 Henrietta Morse Chamberlain King, Theresa Clark Clearwater, 5-2 Nora Kelly, and Salome Balli; and 5-3 WHEREAS, Men and women of the cloth came to bring the Word 5-4 of God into a wild frontier town: Father Jean Maurice Verdet, 5-5 Father Pierre Karalum, Reverend Hiram Chamberlain, Melinda Rankin, 5-6 Father Pierre Parisot, and the sisters of the Incarnate Word and 5-7 Blessed Sacrament, Saint Clare, Saint Angel, Saint Ephrem, and 5-8 Saint Dominic, to establish the first parochial school; and 5-9 WHEREAS, The future surgeon general of the United States, 5-10 William Crawford Gorgas, came to work and conquer yellow 5-11 fever, providing the key to the building of the Panama Canal; 5-12 Lieutenant Abner Doubleday, who helped give us baseball, served 5-13 there twice; during the birth of air transportation, Amelia 5-14 Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, Les Mauldin, Claire Chennault, 5-15 Ira Eaker, William "Billy" Mitchell, Juan Trippe, Howard Hughes, 5-16 Eddie Rickenbacker, Tom Braniff, and others; until World War II, 5-17 the airport at Brownsville was the busiest international airport 5-18 in the United States; and 5-19 WHEREAS, The names of countless men and women, who are a part 5-20 of Brownsville's unique history and who gave of their own talents, 5-21 will forever leave their mark on the city's illustrious past; 5-22 Brownsville's sesquicentennial celebration will honor these 5-23 individuals and their contributions not only to Texas, but also 5-24 to the nation; now, therefore, be it 5-25 RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 6-1 75th Legislature, hereby extend its deepest appreciation to 6-2 the citizenry of Brownsville and extend best wishes for a most 6-3 glorious sesquicentennial celebration in 1998; and, be it further 6-4 RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for this 6-5 notable event as a token of the highest regard of the Texas Senate 6-6 for the City of Brownsville and its people. 6-7 Lucio 6-8 ______________________________________ 6-9 President of the Senate 6-10 I hereby certify that the above 6-11 Resolution was adopted by the Senate 6-12 on May 23, 1997. 6-13 ______________________________________ 6-14 Secretary of the Senate 6-15 ______________________________________ 6-16 Member, Texas Senate