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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Hendrick Arnold, a noted early Texas scout and |
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guide, earned a lasting place of honor for his significant service |
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to the cause of Texas independence; and |
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WHEREAS, Born to Daniel and Martha Ann Holly Arnold in |
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Kentucky in 1806, Hendrick Arnold moved to Texas with his family in |
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the mid-1820s; Daniel Arnold settled on the Brazos River, in |
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Stephen F. Austin's first colony, and later located his headright |
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on the site of present-day Navasota; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1831, Hendrick Arnold married Maria Ignacia |
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Saucedo, the stepdaughter of Erastus "Deaf" Smith, and settled in |
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San Antonio; in October 1835, he was engaged in manufacturing |
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lumber on the Medina River, near present-day Bandera, for sale in |
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San Antonio; when he received word there that Stephen F. Austin and |
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an army of Texas volunteers were marching on San Antonio to confront |
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General Martin Perfecto de Cos, who had just arrived with a force of |
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several hundred soldiers to reassert the authority of the Mexican |
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government, he assembled his men and set out to join the Texas |
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troops; and |
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WHEREAS, During the ensuing siege of Bexar, the first |
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significant campaign of the Texas Revolution, Hendrick Arnold and |
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his father-in-law served as scouts and guides for the Texas army; on |
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October 28, they took part in the Battle of Concepcion, in which the |
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Texans successfully repelled an attack from Mexican forces sent out |
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from San Antonio; a week later, on December 3, the Texans chose to |
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postpone an attack on the Mexican troops in San Antonio because Mr. |
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Arnold was away at the time, and several officers refused to advance |
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without him; after his return, an attack on the town was set for |
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December 5, and Hendrick Arnold guided one of the two divisions that |
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entered Bexar and that ultimately compelled the Mexican forces |
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there to surrender on December 9; in the official report following |
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the battle, the commanding Texas officer singled out Mr. Arnold for |
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particular praise; and |
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WHEREAS, Anticipating a Mexican invasion in response to the |
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defeat inflicted on General Cos, Hendrick Arnold moved his family |
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to safety at his father's home on the Brazos and then returned to |
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San Antonio; while General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna laid siege to |
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the Texas troops in the Alamo, Mr. Arnold, who remained outside the |
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fort, helped to sustain those within by supplying them with corn and |
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beef; afterward, he served as a spy for General Sam Houston, a role |
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he continued to perform through the Battle of San Jacinto; and |
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WHEREAS, In March 1842, when Rafael Vasquez and some 700 |
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Mexican troops occupied San Antonio for several days, Mr. Arnold |
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served as a scout for an opposing force of Texas Rangers led by John |
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C. Hays; and |
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WHEREAS, Following the revolution, Mr. Arnold received land |
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in Bandera County in compensation for his military service, but he |
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seems not to have ever settled there; by 1843, he and his family |
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were living in a Mexican settlement at Castroville, where he made |
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cypress shingles for sale in San Antonio; his business interests in |
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San Antonio apparently also included at one time a wool-washing |
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mill, which he built near Mission San Juan in about 1836; in |
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addition, he negotiated to buy half an interest in another mill near |
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the same mission before his death from cholera on November 9, 1849; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Arnold had three children, Mary Ann, Margaret, |
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and Napolean, with his first wife, who died in 1839; he remarried |
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and also had several children with his second wife, Martina |
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Fuentes; in 1893, his daughter Mary Ann Adams and her daughter, |
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Sarah D. Adams, were among the first to join the Daughters of the |
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Republic of Texas; and |
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WHEREAS, Hendrick Arnold was laid to rest in the Arnold |
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Cemetery, located on the Straus-Medina Ranch in Bexar County; in |
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1936, in conjunction with the Texas Centennial, a grave marker |
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noting his service in the Siege of Bexar was erected in his honor; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Held in high esteem by the men with whom he served, |
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Hendrick Arnold is indeed deserving of recognition in 2011, the |
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175th anniversary of Texas independence, for the vital role he |
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played in that watershed event; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Hendrick Arnold for |
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his notable service in behalf of Texas liberty and for his |
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contributions to the development of the republic and the Lone Star |
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State. |