1-1     By:  Green (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister)             H.C.R. No. 179
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 14, 1999;
 1-3     April 15, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Administration; April 30, 1999, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 4, Nays 0; April 30, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, Gonzales has long been known as the "Lexington of
 1-8     Texas" by virtue of the prominent place the town holds in the
 1-9     history of the Texas War for Independence, and it is appropriate
1-10     that the State of Texas recognize this unique facet of our shared
1-11     heritage as Texans and Americans; and
1-12           WHEREAS, Similarities between the two battles are striking;
1-13     in 1775, American colonists were chafing under the rule of the
1-14     distant British monarchy; fearing rebellion, the British army
1-15     marched into the village of Lexington, Massachusetts, on April 19,
1-16     1775, with the intention of confiscating the settlers' arms and
1-17     ammunition; the settlers resisted, and within minutes, the first
1-18     shots of the American Revolution had been fired; and
1-19           WHEREAS, Some 60 years later, Texans were growing resentful
1-20     of a Mexican colonial government that seemed unsympathetic to their
1-21     needs and concerns, and again the spirit of revolution was in the
1-22     air; when Mexican authorities demanded the return of a small cannon
1-23     that had been deployed to Gonzales for the protection of its
1-24     citizens, the townspeople refused, and 100 Mexican soldiers were
1-25     dispatched to Gonzales to retrieve the cannon and quash the
1-26     apparent insurrection; and
1-27           WHEREAS, An initial force of only 18 men set out to delay the
1-28     cavalrymen by removing the only river ferry that provided access to
1-29     the settlement; the Mexican soldiers were forced to look for
1-30     another crossing, and within a few days, on October 2, 1835, they
1-31     were met by a force of some 50 armed Texans under the command of
1-32     Colonel J. H. Moore and Lieutenant Colonel J. W. E. Wallace; at the
1-33     forefront of the group was the cannon, and over the cannon flew a
1-34     stark black and white flag featuring the immortal words, "Come and
1-35     Take It!"; and
1-36           WHEREAS, After one shot was fired from the small but powerful
1-37     cannon, the Mexican Army retreated, and the people of Texas
1-38     officially embarked on the path that would lead to independence and
1-39     later statehood; and
1-40           WHEREAS, The significance of these two battles lies in the
1-41     determination of the people who were willing to risk their lives
1-42     for the noble cause of freedom, and it is indeed fitting that we
1-43     today pay homage to both of these watershed moments in history;
1-44     now, therefore, be it
1-45           RESOLVED, That the 76th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-46     hereby declare Gonzales to be the "Lexington of Texas" in
1-47     recognition of the town's vital role in the Texas Revolution.
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