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Sam Houston was born on March 2, 1793 to a middle class family in Virginia. He was not close to his parents, partially because Houston, Sr.’s duties as a regional brigade inspector with the militia often kept him away from home. His lengthy absences meant that the plantation, and apparently his relationship with his son Sam, increasingly suffered from neglect. Never referring to himself as Sam Houston, Jr., he seemed to view Andrew Jackson and Cherokee Chief John Jolly as surrogate fathers. Despite an extremely low tolerance for formal education, he quickly developed a love of reading, so he would be able to employ an astonishing knowledge of the classics. When Houston, Sr. died in 1807 his mother led the family and five slaves to move to Tennessee.

Unsuited for both farming and clerking, Houston ran off to live with the Cherokee when he was sixteen, a bold decision given the prevalent racism of the time. The Cherokee had already absorbed numerous whites and he became known as the Raven. Debts to numerous general stores drove him to open a school in 1812, which succeeded mainly because there were no almost no other schools in the area.    

Once his debts were repaid, Houston enrolled in an academy in order to learn the mathematics necessary to obtain a commission in the army, but he proved to be a better teacher than student, so he enlisted as a private in March 1813. However, his size and limited education ensured that he was made first a drill sergeant and then ensign in a small Tennessee regiment that was sent to join Jackson’s campaign against the Creek Indians during the War of 1812. Badly wounded by an arrow during the final battle at Horseshoe Bend on March 26, 1814, he still managed to stumble forward to lead a charge against the last holdouts where he received two more wounds. Since Houston was not expected to survive the night, the surgeon only removed one musket ball, and he carried the second ball in his shoulder for several more months. Given the rudimentary medical treatment available at the time, it is surprising that he lived, although the arrow wound never fully healed, which may explain his frequent drinking binges.

Jackson had observed his brave charge and had him promoted to 2nd Lieutenant. With the war over, most of the army was demobilized but he had been appointed head of the Southern Division of the army and Houston was assigned to his staff in New Orleans, where he became part of the Jackson’s political machine, which was intended to leverage his military fame into a political career.  

Aware of Houston’s close relationship with the Cherokee Indians, Jackson arranged for him to be made sub-agent for the Eastern Cherokees in the hope that he could persuade them to accept a treaty where they exchanged over a million acres of land for territory west of the Mississippi. The senior chiefs were starting to have second thoughts about the treaty because it had been signed by junior chiefs, who had been drunk at the time. Believing that the ever-advancing white man could not be stopped, he convinced the Cherokee to accept the treaty. Unfortunately, when Houston appeared at Washington to argue for honoring the treaty he found himself charged with trading slaves and selling whiskey to Indians, which was revenge for evicting traders who illegally sold alcohol to the Cherokee. He was cleared but felt obliged to resign in March 1818.

Political co nnections ensured that his career was far from over. His relationship with Jackson and Tennessee Governor Joseph McMinn won him appointment as adjutant general of the state militia in early 1819 and election as solicitor general of Davidson County, including Nashville, later that year even though he had only passed the bar in late 1818. He also became major-general of Tennessee’s Southern Militia Division in 1821, which was quite a rise given that seven years ago he had been a private. After less than a year he returned to private practice, driven partly by the need to pay his bar tab, which was undoubtedly quite massive, since the first thirty years of the 19th century was the period of the greatest consumption of alcohol in American history and Houston was considered a heavy drinker.

A year later, Jackson was pushing him to run for Congress as part of his plan to place his supporters where they could help him become president. The 1823 election saw Jackson become a senator and Houston enter congress, where he voted the same way as Jackson, while continuing his habit of combining heavy drinking with politicking. Among his many connections, he befriended future presidents James Polk (a fellow member of Jackson’s political machine) and James Buchanan. Jackson lost the 1824 presidential election to John Quincy Adams but Houston loved politics and easily won re-election to Congress in 1826. Slanderous allegations against the post master general of Tennessee led to him winning his first duel. Jackson himself had guided his practice before the duel, but Houston was shocked by the experience and refused scores of challenges afterwards.

Despite expectations of an easy victory, the Jackson machine barely got Houston elected governor of Tennessee in 1827. However, his fortunes continued to rise. His mentor finally became president a year later and he married eighteen year old Eliza Allen, eldest daughter of a powerful family, in early 1829. He then campaigned for re-election as governor even though there had been an unwritten promise that he would only serve one term and then let the previous governor return to office, since he had only resigned after his third term because the state constitution forbade four consecutive terms. However, Houston’s life was turned upside down when Eliza left him after three months, and the huge scandal forced him to resign as governor, depriving Jackson of a powerful ally and a potential heir. The exact reason is still hotly debated among Houston biographers, but several explanations have been proposed, including his heavy drinking, his partially healed war wound and his discovery that she actually loved another man but had been forced by her family to end the relationship.

Houston ended up living with the Cherokee 100 miles north of the Red River border with Texas, where he saw firsthand the tragedy of their forced migration. After becoming a full member of the Cherokee Nation in October 1829, his protests about how the Cherokee agent cheated the Indians made him many enemies in Washington. At the same time, he helped calm down angry young warriors and wrote letters to Washington on behalf of other tribes such as the Osage and Choctaw. After nine months of self-imposed exile, Houston returned to Washington, where he talked so much about plans to invade Texas that Jackson had to reassure Mexico. In May 1830, Houston married Diana Rogers, a fur trader’s daughter, and opened his own trading post, although he would have been more successful if he did not drink so much of his stock. In fact, he drank so much that they started to call him “Big Drunk” and he began to lose his standing among the Cherokee.

When he accompanied a Cherokee delegation to Washington in 1832, Congressman William Stanbery of Ohio brought up old accusations of corruption, and Houston responded by giving him a savage, public beating. He received a mild reprimand after a month-long trial but gained priceless national exposure.    

Like so many other Americans whose lives had entered a downwards phase Houston went to Texas in the fall, after giving his wife the trading post and their two slaves. Technically, he was a negotiator with the Comanche, but he was really investigating the situation for Jackson. He did visit the frontier to parley with the Comanche but his final report was so vague that it was dismissed. Although he had only been in Texas for less than a year, he was elected to the 1833 Convention that prepared the petition that Stephen Austin was sent to deliver to Mexico City. He also wrote a confidential report to Jackson recommending the annexation of Texas, saying that Mexico was too weak to hold on to it. Houston then busied himself amassing dozens of free land grants and he also found an open-minded priest who converted him in exchange for a suitable donation. It was not long before he started telling people of his plans to arrange the American annexation of Texas and then use it as a springboard to become governor, senator and finally president. His constant boasting was not appreciated by Jackson, who shared his desire to take Texas but did not want everyone to know. Houston became a Mexican citizen on April 21, 1835 and most of his legal practice consisted of serving as a character witness for Americans applying for Mexican citizenship.

When the Texan revolution became official, Houston was made commander-in-chief of the rebel army while Austin was the overall commander. The surprising speed with which Mexican troops were forced out of Texas made the rebel leaders over-confident, so they handed out independent commands that ignored the chain of command. Houston feared that a lack of unity threatened to defeat the rebellion but was powerless to prevent it. Despite the news that Santa Anna was approaching with an army, Houston went to the Cherokees where he won their neutrality in exchange for a huge grant of land. When he returned to take part in the independence convention that started on March 1, he learned that as expected the independent commands were being crushed one by one. Although he was drunk throughout the convention, he was officially made Commander-in-Chief of the Armies of the Republic of Texas on March 4, 1836.

Shortly after he took command, he learned of the fall of the Alamo and then the capture and execution of Goliad’s garrison, so he began a retreat that lasted a month. He finally decided to fight at San Jacinto when he learned through a captured Mexican courier that Santa Anna was alone with only part of his army. Although outnumbered, the Texans attacked the enemy camp when the Mexicans were asleep and it was a slaughter but it would not have been decisive except that Santa Anna was captured, which ended the war. A victory like San Jacinto usually makes one a hero but partisan politics ensured that Houston’s role remained tainted by controversy for years.  

Austin and Henry Smith both announced that they would run for president but they were too evenly matched to unite the republic, so Houston allowed himself to be nominated and won 80% of the vote despite his refusal to campaign. He quickly made Austin Secretary of State and Smith Secretary of the Treasury, while he focused on gaining admission to the United States. Jackson naturally wanted to annex Texas but much of Congress opposed admitting another slave state. He only recognized Texas on his last day as president, but anti-abolitionists in Congress led by John Quincy Adams held up any treaties with Texas.  

The constitution barred Houston from a second term, so Mirabeau Lamar was elected president in September 1837. While in Alabama, trying to sell land to Nancy Lea, Houston fell in love with her twenty year old daughter and they were married in May 1840, after she persuaded him to stop drinking. However, he proved unable to give up politics and he soon began planning his presidential campaign. Houston won back the presidency by an overwhelming majority in 1841 but he may have quickly regretted it since Texas was broke and sporadic Mexican raids had become serious expeditions. He knew that the government could not afford to pay for a war but his stance was extremely unpopular.

Balancing an extremely delicate tightrope between war with Mexico and preserving Texas’ independence, Houston’s primary motivation was to gain time, so he ignored howls of protest from Texan newspapers and declared a unilateral armistice with Mexico on June 15. Meanwhile, he was simultaneously negotiating an annexation treaty with the American government and spreading rumors that Texas would benefit more from a closer relationship with England than with America, who had already rejected Texas. This strategy was clearly effective since Houston soon received a steady stream of letters from Jackson, who was especially concerned that a firm connection with Texas would enable Britain to hold on to Oregon.

An official armistice was finally signed with Mexico on February 18, 1844 but Houston’s efforts began to bear fruit when an annexation treaty was signed between the US and Texas on April 12, which infuriated Santa Anna. John Calhoun, Tyler’s Secretary of State, urgently wanted to annex Texas in order to increase the number of slave states and his blatant motivation ensured that the Senate rejected annexation in June. However, a wave of Anglophobia was sweeping the US and Polk was elected President by promising to annex Texas, rather than allow it to become part of the British sphere of influence. In fact, Martin Van Buren’s opposition to annexing Texas enabled Polk to win the 1844 Democratic candidacy. The Senate voted by a slim margin on February 28, 1845 to annex Texas and when the Texas Congress voted on June 28 to accept Annexation, the British were surprised to learn that Houston had been leading them on.

Texas officially became part of the US on February 16, 1846 and Houston won election as senator (Democrat) five days later to his wife’s dismay. Despite being a freshman senator, he was made chairman of the Military Affairs Committee. When Mexico declared war on America Houston refused an offer of a military command, although he might have been holding out for overall command. With only a two year term, he had to start campaigning right away and he was also hoping to prepare for a presidential run. The war was relatively brief and America annexed California at a price of 1,721 US dead and $100 million. The annexed land became the states California, Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Houston had not fought in the war and the parties clearly preferred famous generals as candidates, so he knew he had no chance in the 1848 election.

As the gap between Northerners and Southerners grew, Houston tried to keep the Union together even though he was a slaveowner, so he and Calhoun, the Southerners’ champion, made frequent speeches denouncing each other. He was a strong and vocal supporter of the 1850 Compromise, which did not win him any love in the South but he did become popular in the North.

Despite being viewed as a potential presidential candidate, Houston made little effort to attract supporters, so the 1852 Democratic convention nominated Franklin Pierce and William King. Pierce had been a dark horse but Houston’s support was a key factor in him winning the nomination and then the election. Although nominally a Democrat, Houston had little faith in either Pierce or his cabinet and his distrust of the two major parties made the Know-Nothings even more attractive.

While everyone else in the government was fixated on the slavery aspect of the new territories of Kansas and Nebraska, Houston felt that not only did the new territories violate the Missouri Compromise but that the Indians would be badly treated. This opposition basically ended his connection with the Democratic Party and won him renewed criticism in the South. He openly predicted civil war and the violence that erupted along the Kansas-Missouri border proved that he was right.

Despite his refusal to push for states’ rights, he debated the famous abolitionist William Lloyd Garrison in Boston in November 1854, arguing that immediate emancipation would be a huge economic and social disaster in the South. He has been attacked by later historians for not condemning slavery but he believed that it would die out on its own in time and feared that it threatened to destroy the Union. Houston had slaves and saw nothing wrong with it since he had grown up that way, although he did ensure that they received a basic education and were allowed to keep any money they made working on their own.

Even though the Know-Nothings’ refusal to take a stand on slavery clearly limited their potential Houston officially joined them in 1855 but oddly enough, he did not seek the party’s nomination, so Millard Fillmore became its candidate. Houston clearly wanted the nomination, he just did not want to have to woo the party leadership to get it, which was also the root of his problem with the Democratic party as well. A moderate naturally found it increasingly difficult to campaign in the increasingly charged political atmosphere, but Houston made matters worse by trying to avoid campaigning by saying that he would serve if elected and letting his friends submit his name on the ballot. He did not seem to realize that America was much larger than Texas, where it was possible to connect with the people directly.

Ignoring the opposition of the Democratic machine, Houston decided to run for governor in 1856. Although he was still a powerful stump speaker and he traveled all over the state, his underfunded campaign essentially consisted of him making speeches, so he lost the election by a considerable margin. The Texas legislature punished him by refusing to let him run again when his current senate term ended, but his characteristic endurance was displayed when he returned to Texas in 1859 to make another run for governor. One of his main campaign planks was staying in the Union and he won office by a decent margin, partially because the previous governor had proved inadequate.

Although he rarely saw his wife, she proved to be extremely fertile and they had eight children together, although he was never there for their births or for much of the rest of the time for that matter. She clearly had a powerful influence on him since Houston had become a genuine teetotaler by 1851 and years of patient work paid off when he was baptized in November 19, 1854.

Once back in office, he started making moves with fellow filibusters to create an incident in Mexico. He hoped that expansion into Mexico would defuse growing tension in the US and prevent the drift towards civil war. Houston was not a subtle man, so the government was aware of this, and did little to encourage him. An agreement with the Knights of the Golden Circle to invade Mexico led to large numbers of armed men entering Texas. Unfortunately, Colonel Robert Lee, commander of the Texas frontier, refused to play ball and pointed out that the border was calm, preventing the conspirators from using an excuse to enter Mexico.

He began to seriously consider another run for the presidency and he attracted a fair number of moderate supporters, who were hoping to avoid civil war. While none of the major parties was interested in him, numerous newspapers supported his candidacy and large rallies were organized across the country that called for him to run as the people’s candidate. However, once again, Houston declined to campaign, preferring to be drafted by the “people”. He was knocked out in the second ballot of the Constitutional Party’s convention, although he quite likely would have won the nomination if he had actually attended. The 1860 campaign became a four way race but by early August he had accepted that he could not adapt to the changing political times and had publicly given up any attempt to become president. Instead, he focused his efforts on keeping Texas out of the coming war by declaring independence, so Houston began to flirt with those who were conspiring with British financiers to seize part of Mexico.  

Although it was a bad time to be a Unionist in Texas, Houston stayed strong and worked hard to oppose the secessionist movement but Lincoln’s weak victory destroyed his efforts and made civil war inevitable. Aside from Texas, the state legislatures of the Southern states had easily passed the motion to succeed, and Houston continued to push for Texas to declare independence rather than secede. To be honest, his idea was a little unrealistic because aside from the fact that most Texans supported the South, the Federal government would not just sit idly by and watch Texas secede. The matter was settled when 166 voted for and 8 against secession during the Secession Convention on January 28. The February 23 referendum gave a result of 46,129 against 14,697 for secession although turnout was low.   

When the Texas Convention forced all state officials to swear allegiance to the Confederacy, Houston was one of the few to refuse and he was immediately replaced by the Lieutenant Governor. Lincoln’s offer of command of all of the Union forces in Texas was rejected because he felt he was too old and his position too weak.  

His son Sam became an officer with a Texan company that fought for the South and was badly wounded at Shiloh and captured, although he was released on parole. The heavy Texan casualties during the battles of Shiloh and Antietam led to Unionist uprisings in 1862 and 1863 but Houston had left Texas by then and was not involved.

Houston passed away on July 26, 1863 and he did not leave his family much money nor did he free any of his twelve slaves in his will.

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Related Movies:

Heroes of the Alamo (1937)
Directed by Harry L. Fraser, starring Earle Hodgins and Bruce Warren
When Mexican dictator Santa Anna forbids further American emigration into Mexico, the colonists in Texas eventually decide to revolt after they learn that Santa Anna refuses to negotiate. At first, the Mexican troops are easily defeated but when Santa Anna brings an army of 5,000 men the colonists prepare to defend the Alamo to the last man.   

Man of Conquest (1939)
Directed by George Nichols, Jr, starring Richard Dix and Gail Patrick
It tells the story of Sam Houston's life, including his friendship with the Cherokee, his political career (guided by his mentor Andrew Jackson), his participation in the Texas Revolution and the annexation of the republic by the United States.

Lone Star (1952)
Directed by Vincent Sherman, starring Clark Gable and Ava Gardner
A cattle baron is sent by former president Andrew Jackson to investigate rumors that Sam Houston is getting cold feet about the United States annexing the new Republic of Texas.

The Man from the Alamo (1953)
Directed by Budd Boetticher, starring Glenn Ford and Julie Adams
During the siege of the Alamo, one man is selected to protect the defenders’ families from bandits but arrives too late. As the only survivor, he is branded a coward, especially after he pretends to join a gang of outlaws while leading a wagon train, and must deal with being ostracized.

The Last Command (1955)
Directed by Frank Lloyd, starring Sterling Hayden and Arthur Hunnicutt
Disillusioned with the Mexican dictatorship, Jim Bowie joins the rebellion and takes command of the troops at the Alamo, where he is joined by volunteers led by Davy Crockett. Although hopelessly outnumbered by Santa Anna’s army, the men vow to fight to the death.

The First Texan (1956)
Directed by Byron Haskin, starring Joel McCrea and Felicia Farr
Lawyer Sam Houston arrives in Texas looking for a fresh start but is ordered by President Andrew Jackson to join a group of men conspiring to make Texas independent of Mexico, although Jackson’s goal is for independent Texas to join the United States.

The Alamo (1960)
Directed by John Wayne, starring John Wayne and Richard Widmark
As Santa Anna’s army advances deep into Texas to crush the young republic, General Sam Houston sends a small force under Colonel Travis to hold the Alamo long enough for him to organize a proper army. Joined by volunteers led by Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, the men face hopeless odds but refuse to surrender. (please click here to read the review)

The Alamo (2004)
Directed by John Lee Hancock, starring Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thorton
As Santa Anna’s army advances deep into Texas to crush the young republic, General Sam Houston sends a small force under Colonel Travis to hold the Alamo long enough for him to organize a proper army. Joined by volunteers led by Jim Bowie and Davy Crockett, the men find themselves facing hopeless odds but refuse to surrender. Lacking enough troops, Houston refuses to relieve the Alamo and leads the Mexican army deeper into Texas where he wins a huge victory at San Jacinto. (please click here to read the review)

Further Reading:

Sam Houston: The Life and Times of the Liberator of Texas-An Authentic American Hero-John Hoyt Williams, New York: Touchstone, 1993.

One of several biographies that appeared in 1993 to commemorate the bicentennial of Houston’s birth, it is a good, solid examination of a fascinating politician, who was literally a giant of his time because he operated during the era of non-entities between Jackson and Lincoln. Despite his lengthy career as a politician, Houston is incredibly hard to pin down because he refused to ever commit himself, while his never-ending participation in one conspiracy or another where he had to allude to his goals for obvious reasons of safety makes him a particularly difficult subject for a biography. However, Williams makes a valiant effort and largely succeeds in separating the man from the myth. It seems that everyone who writes about Texas can not resist the lure of florid language and Williams is no exception, tossing around phrases like “red and white warriors died in windrows”.  

Sam Houston-James L. Haley, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2004.

Haley provides an insightful analysis of the public perception of a man so grandiose that future biographers felt duty-bound to describe him in terms such as “giant” or “titan”. His brief discussion of the more notable biographies is quite interesting although it covers only the surface, since there have been a total of sixty so far. Haley benefits from access to materials that have only recently been released or discovered. He is especially interested in how Houston actually survived the many ups and downs of his life, caused by or fueling the almost lifelong alcoholism depending on your view, to carve out such a successful political career that was marked by endurance most of all. Houston’s relationship with Indians receives more attention than many readers might like because it is relatively new information, so to satisfy his publisher he reduced the space devoted to material already covered by other biographers, which means those chapters are less effective. Haley is a very cautious biographer who spends a lot of time examining the conclusions made by other biographies and showing that there is insufficient evidence to support many of those conclusions. Although he has included 53 illustrations, he inexplicably neglected to provide a single map. In the end, Haley seems unwilling to consider that Houston may not have been entirely perfect, so he sugarcoats many of Houston’s flaws, saying that his most famous character flaws such as his opium addiction were either invented or blown out of proportion by his enemies.

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