Houston in Tennessee
The Raven
"I prefer measuring deer tracks in the forest to tape and calico in a country store."
Houston's early years in Virginia were filled with fishing, hunting, and very little formal schooling. This lifestyle appealed to the free-spirited, independent child, who spent many hours reading classics from his father's library. One of his favorite classics that he studied later in childhood was the Iliad. This heroic tale may have fueled in the young Houston romantic notions of doing great deeds.
After Houston's father died and the family moved to Tennessee, Houston was asked to help establish the farm and work in the family store. Rebelling against his overbearing older brothers and the chores now required of him, the fifteen-year old ran away.
Houston joined a band of Cherokee Indians that lived across the Tennessee River on Hiwasee Island. The leader of the tribe, Chief Oolooteka, became Houston's adoptive father and bestowed on Houston the Cherokee name "Colonneh"—The Raven. The Cherokee lifestyle suited Houston's tastes and beliefs and he immersed himself in it—adopting the tribe's dress and speaking the tribe's language. Houston's appreciation and support of this Indian culture continued when he returned to the white world and throughout his life.
Sources:
Randolph B. Campbell, Sam Houston and the American Southwest, ed. Oscar Handlin (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).
The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June, 2003.
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, accessed June, 2003.
Teacher
One of Houston's most rewarding roles.
Houston spent much of his adolescence living with the Indians, learning many skills as well as incurring debts at the local trading posts. During visits to Maryville, he would purchase presents for the Indians, including powder, shot, needles, and blankets. In order to repay his debts, Houston decided to leave his beloved Cherokee life and return to Maryville to work.
With very little formal education, Houston set his sights on becoming a teacher. Houston hardly looked the part with his long hair and hunting shirts, and most of the locals scoffed at his idea, but Houston opened his school in the spring of 1812. He charged tuition of $8 per term, payable one-third in cash, one-third in corn, and one-third in varicolored calico, the material of his shirts.
His school was a success. In fact, he earned enough money in one six-month term to repay his debts. Years later, when discussing his role as a teacher, Houston remarked that he "experienced a higher feeling of dignity and self-satisfaction than from any office or honor which I have held since."
Sources:
Randolph B. Campbell, Sam Houston and the American Southwest, ed. Oscar Handlin (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, accessed June, 2003.
The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June, 2003.
Soldier
" I would much sooner honor the ranks than disgrace an appointment."
In 1813, after war broke out with Britain, Houston enlisted as a private in the army. Even though his father had been a Major in the Revolutionary War, Houston did not seek an officer's commission; he instead chose to work his way up through the ranks. Houston was soon promoted to Ensign of the infantry, and before the end of year, he was promoted to Third Lieutenant.
In 1814, Houston served under Andrew Jackson in the fight against the Creeks, allies of the British, at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. It was at this battle that Houston distinguished himself. He refused to stay out of the fight after being badly wounded, and he led an attack on the Creek's defenses, receiving another near-fatal wound before the battle was won. Houston's valiant behavior caught the attention of Andrew Jackson, who became instrumental in developing Houston's political career.
Sources:
Randolph B. Campbell, Sam Houston and the American Southwest, ed. Oscar Handlin (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, accessed June, 2003.
The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June, 2003.
Indian Subagent
Houston's first appointment proves difficult.
Houston's transition into politics was not without its hardships. Aware of Houston's relationship with the Cherokees, Andrew Jackson appointed him the Indian Subagent in 1817. In 1818, when the U.S. began enforcing a controversial treaty under which Indians ceded lands in Tennessee in exchange for new territory west of the Mississippi River, Houston was asked to oversee his foster family's removal from Tennessee. Houston carried out his heart-wrenching assignment, but he made sure that all items that were promised in the treaty, such as blankets, rifles, and rations, were supplied to the Indians.
In 1818, Houston faced another difficult situation when he was asked to accompany a delegation of Cherokees to Washington to meet President Monroe. Houston wore traditional Cherokee garb to the White House, which outraged John C. Calhoun, the Secretary of War. Calhoun not only gave Houston a serious reprimand, but also shortly thereafter accused Houston of being involved in slave trading. Houston quickly proved his innocence, but he soon resigned from his position as Indian Subagent. This series of events forever strained the relationship between Houston and Calhoun.
Sources:
Randolph B. Campbell, Sam Houston and the American Southwest, ed. Oscar Handlin (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).
James L. Haley, Sam Houston (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2002).
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, accessed June, 2003.
The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June, 2003.
Congressman
"Five years since I came to this place...I have made my stand!"
Like his mentor, Andrew Jackson, Houston pursued a career in law, which opened additional political opportunities for him. After reading law in the Nashville office of Judge James Trimble, Houston passed the bar and opened his own practice in Lebanon in 1818. The support and influence of Andrew Jackson during this period were instrumental in obtaining for Houston some of his early political offices, including Adjutant General of Tennessee, to which he was appointed in 1818, and Attorney General of the District of Nashville, to which he was elected in 1819.
In 1823, after a brief return to private law practice in Nashville, Houston was elected to the US House of Representatives from the ninth Tennessee district. In a letter to then Tennessee Governor Joseph McMinn, Houston marveled at the dramatic turn of events that had taken place in his life and that had led to his rapid rise in public office.
Houston remained acutely aware of the role that alliances with established political figures, most importantly Andrew Jackson, continued to play in his political rise. He worked vigorously on behalf of Jackson's 1824 campaign for the presidency and, even though Jackson lost, Houston expressed, in an early 1825 letter to a colleague in Washington, his "confident opinion" that Jackson would be the next President of the United States.
In 1825, Houston returned to Congress for a second and final term. He then ran for the highest office in Tennessee.
Sources:
Amelia W. Williams and Eugene C. Barker, eds., The Writings of Sam Houston, 1813-1863 (Austin, Tex.: Pemberton Press, 1970).
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, accessed June, 2003.
The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June, 2003.
Governor
On the brink of a national career, Houston resigns in disgrace.
At the age of thirty-four, Houston was elected Governor of Tennessee. As Jackson's protégé, he was poised for a national career in politics, and by some accounts, for a future run for the presidency. But a bizarre turn of events in his personal life would derail his seemingly imminent success.
In January of 1829, Houston married nineteen-year old Eliza Allen, the daughter of a politically powerful family in Tennessee. That same month, he announced his bid for reelection as Governor of Tennessee.
The marriage lasted a mere eleven weeks and the reason for its failure is still a mystery. Houston offered some explanation as to the couple's difficulties in a letter to Eliza's father. Two days after Houston wrote the letter, Eliza returned to her parent's home in Gallatin. According to the Allen family, Houston tried desperately to reconcile, but Eliza refused to return to Nashville with him.
In public, Houston would not discuss his wife or the separation. The sentiment of the people turned against him, and on April 16, 1829, Houston submitted his letter of resignation as the Governor of Tennessee. He left Nashville in disgrace.
Sources:
Randolph B. Campbell, Sam Houston and the American Southwest, ed. Oscar Handlin (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, accessed June, 2003.
The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June, 2003.
The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture, accessed June, 2003.
Big Drunk
The heir apparent to the presidency garners a new nickname.
After resigning as Governor of Tennessee, Houston left Nashville in the middle of the night, boarded a steamboat on the Cumberland River, and headed to Arkansas. In a letter to Andrew Jackson, Houston lamented his domestic misfortune. He informed Jackson that he had reunited with Chief Oolooteka and his Cherokee family and also offered his services to keep peace among the Indians.
During his three-year self-imposed exile, Houston became a Cherokee citizen, dressed in Indian clothing, and married Tiana Rogers, an Indian woman of mixed blood. He ran a trading post called Wigwam Neosho and drank so heavily that he earned the nickname "Big Drunk."
Houston also became involved in Indian affairs, gaining respect among the Cherokee, Osage, and Creek tribes, and often acting as peacemaker and tribal emissary. Houston made trips to Tennessee, Washington, and New York, advancing Indian causes and gradually re-entering the white world.
In 1832, Houston generated controversy in the white world once again, when, on a trip to Washington, he assaulted William Stanbery, a US Representative from Ohio, apparently in a dispute over an Indian issue. Houston received a reprimanded from the House of Representatives for the assault and also found himself back in the world of national politics. Soon thereafter, with the support and encouragement of his mentor, President Jackson, Houston was off to Texas to make more history.
Sources:
Randolph B. Campbell, Sam Houston and the American Southwest, ed. Oscar Handlin (New York: Harper Collins, 1993).
The Sam Houston Memorial Museum, accessed June, 2003.
The Handbook of Texas Online, accessed June, 2003.