Today in History—October 22: The George Washington of Texas

Sam Houston became the first democratically elected president of Texas on this day in 1836, but his relationship with that provisional government slash republic slash state slash whatever Texas was that week would turn out to be something of a series of “I told ya so’s.”

When Houston arrived in the Mexican province of Texas in December 1832, he’d already led quite an eventful life. As a teenager, he ran away from home and lived among the Cherokee, and he would eventually be fully adopted into the tribe. Houston joined the U.S. Army during the War of 1812, and he was seriously wounded at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend. His gallantry drew Andrew Jackson’s attention, and, for the next two decades, Jackson’s patronage and Houston’s ties to the Cherokee would shape much of his life.

Jackson dispatched Houston to Texas in 1832. Once there, he quickly established himself with the American settlers who were agitating for independence from Mexico. When the Texas Revolution broke out in 1835, he soon found himself leading the Texas armed forces.

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And so began a long tradition of Texans ignoring Sam Houston. He requested to “blow up the Alamo” because he believed that it was impossible to successfully defend—only to have his suggestion rejected by Texas Gov. Henry Smith. Everyone remembers how that turned out.

Houston rallied the Texans and defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836, effectively securing Texas independence. He was twice elected president of the new republic (and had the one-time capital named for him), but even then, people kept disregarding him.

Case in point: the Mier Expedition of 1842, a raid against Mexico carried out by political opponents of Houston against his orders. It ended with much of the force being captured and some of them executed.

But arguably the biggest “told ya so” came in 1861, when Houston, now governor of the U.S. state of Texas, argued against secession and refused to swear allegiance to the Confederacy. He was deposed—but ultimately proven right just four years later, when the Confederacy was defeated.