Bill Text: TX SR445 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Enrolled

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Bill Title: Commemorating San Jacinto Day.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2023-04-20 - Reported enrolled [SR445 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SR445-Enrolled.html

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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 445
WHEREAS, Each year on April 21, people throughout the Lone
Star State commemorate San Jacinto Day in honor of the decisive
battlefield victory that brought about the independence of the
Republic of Texas; and
WHEREAS, On that date in the year 1836, the Texan forces
led by General Sam Houston faced a crucial moment in their
revolutionary struggle against the rule of Mexican dictator
Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna; over the course of the previous six
weeks, Texan forces had been defeated at both the Alamo and
Goliad, and General Houston's army had retreated steadily to the
east; meanwhile, the Mexican troops commanded by General Santa
Anna were determined to follow up their earlier victories by
seizing the seaports along the Texas coast; by mid-April, the two
armies were within a few miles of one another in the bayou country
near the San Jacinto River; General Houston decided that the time
for attack had arrived; and
WHEREAS, Moving into position on the afternoon of April 21,
the Texans formed their battle lines, and with cries of "Remember
the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!," they surged toward the
Mexican encampment; when the guns went quiet less than 20 minutes
later, the Mexican army had been routed, with more than 600 of its
troops killed and more than 700 taken prisoner; only nine Texans
were killed or mortally wounded in the fighting; and
WHEREAS, The following day, General Santa Anna was
captured and, after meeting with General Houston, agreed to order
all Mexican troops to leave Texas; later, he agreed to the
Treaties of Velasco, which recognized the independence of Texas;
with these steps, Mexican rule in Texas effectively came to an
end, and the Republic of Texas was established; and
WHEREAS, Individuals from a range of backgrounds
contributed to this epic battlefield victory; among them were a
company of Tejano troops who served bravely under the command of
the prominent revolutionary leader Juan Nepomuceno Seguin and
are representative of the many Hispanics who took up arms in the
independence movement; another Latino member of the Texan army
was Lorenzo de Zavala Jr., the son of the republic's vice
president; as an aide to Sam Houston, he acted as a translator in
the general's negotiations with Santa Anna; and
WHEREAS, Soldiers young and old were part of the fight for
the Texans; there were teenagers such as 15-year-old William P.
Zuber, 16-year-olds Thomas O'Conner and Cornelius DeVore, and
19-year-olds Alfonso Steele and Elijah Votaw; on the other end of
the spectrum were James Curtis Sr., and John S. Menifee, both 57
years old, and Asa Mitchell, the oldest person in the battle at
age 60; in addition, General Houston's forces contained troops
who had earlier taken part in the fighting at Goliad as well as
individuals who had been present at the Alamo but had been
ordered to leave the fort before its fall to carry out various
missions; after surviving those engagements, they were able to
assist in vanquishing the enemy force that had killed so many of
their fellow Texans; and
WHEREAS, Demonstrating the courage and determination that
are so much a part of the Texas character, the valiant members of
Sam Houston's army charged across a grassy battlefield in April
of 1836, intent on securing liberty and avenging their fallen
comrades; their steps set in motion a series of events that have
made the State of Texas into the prosperous land that we enjoy
today, and the momentous events of that day indeed deserve to be
remembered and celebrated; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 88th
Legislature, hereby commemorate San Jacinto Day in the year 2023.
Middleton
Alvarado Hancock Nichols
Bettencourt Hinojosa Parker
Birdwell Huffman Paxton
Blanco Hughes Perry
Campbell Johnson Schwertner
Creighton King Sparks
Eckhardt Kolkhorst Springer
Flores LaMantia West
Gutierrez Menéndez Whitmire
Hall Miles Zaffirini
Patrick, President of the Senate
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on April 20, 2023.
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Secretary of the Senate
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Member, Texas Senate