Kitty Mellen Hoeck 11 February 2020

Testimony, National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission, 11 February 2020. Kitty Mellen Hoeck. Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Elisabet Ney Chapter DC, VA, and MD. Chapter Historian. The Republic of Texas Legation to the United States

Good afternoon and thank-you National Capital Memorial Advisory Commission for providing a forum for the Daughters of the Republic of Texas to share with you why we believe that support of H.R. 3349 The Republic of Texas Legation Memorial Act is warranted. Chairman May and members of the Commission thank you for your interest in the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, Elisabet Ney Chapter DC, VA, and MD project. One of our chapter goals is placing a memorial in Washington, D.C. where the Republic of Texas diplomatic ministers worked on behalf of the Texas citizens. These diplomats were tasked with getting financial assistance, managing diplomatic relations with Mexico, and ultimately annexation from the United States.

Between 1836 and 1845 the Republic of Texas sent diplomats to London, Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Washington, D.C. The legation sites in Paris and London have been marked with historical plaques for many years but not Washington, D.C. We would like a similar memorial at or near one of the listed sites for the Republic of Texas Legation to the United States so that the legacy of the legation, and its importance to our nation, can be remembered here on American soil as well as in Europe.

Background

The history of the Republic of Texas and their Legation to the United States represents a pivotal time in American history. Through the newly established 1824 Mexican government’s invitation and encouragement, American colonists settled in the sparsely populated northern region of Mexico.

In 1833, Santa Anna was elected president of Mexico. After suspending the Mexican Constitution of 1824, tensions and disillusions with Santa Anna’s brutal policies led  Mexican states, Zacatecas, Coahuila, Yucatan, and Texas to openly revolt against his rule.

On March 2, 1836, at Washington-on-the-Brazos, a group of Texans declared independence from Mexico, while at the same time, Santa Anna, and his army of over 2500 soldiers laid siege to the Alamo for 13 days and its 187 Texans. Santa Anna declared all who took up arms as pirates and rebels deserving of execution.

Texans and Americans angered by the massacre made “Remember the Alamo” their inspirational battle cry. On March 27, 1836, after the Texans lost the Battle of Coleto, 425 to 445 Texan prisoners of war were rounded up, shot, and their bodies burned adding another rallying cry of “Remember Goliad.” The Texas revolution was not over, there would be one more decisive battle.

On April 21, 1836, Sam Houston’s ragtag army surprised Santa Anna at San Jacinto. Santa Anna and his army were caught off guard, were routed as the Texans attacked crying out “Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad.” Santa Anna was captured, his army surrendered, and a peace negotiated in the ensuing days.

Establishment of Diplomacy

To establish legitimacy as an independent nation, the Republic of Texas needed recognition by other sovereign nations. The new Republic’s needs included financial assistance as their treasury was nearly empty and protection from subsequent invasion by Mexico. The Republic’s goal was annexation by the United States.  Other business of the Republic of Texas Legation included negotiating treaties of amity, commerce, and navigation, negotiating boundaries as well as securing loans.

To satisfy these needs, the new government established diplomatic relations with France, England, the Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States through their new diplomatic corp. With little financial support from Texas these diplomats were not able to establish formal embassies. The term legation was used to describe the Texas diplomatic ministers. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines a legation as: “1: the sending forth of a legate 2: a body of deputies sent on a mission specifically: a diplomatic mission in a foreign country headed by a minister 3: the official residence and office of a diplomatic minister in a foreign country”. In other words, wherever the minister worked on behalf the Texas Republic became the official Republic of Texas Legation. The ministers in Washington, D.C. worked out of boarding houses where they lived, as did senators, congressmen and others who came to Washington work temporarily.

Leaving Texas to come to work in Washington City was a hardship for the Texas diplomats. Often the ministers had to fund their operations themselves and wait to be reimbursed. Charges D’Affaires Isaac Van Zandt’s trip from Texas to Washington required the use of “a carryall (buggy) drawn by a good team of horses,” “steamboat, stagecoach, sleigh and train.” One Texas diplomat, James Reily, writes to another Texas diplomat, Isaac Van Zandt, “Are you still at Mad Anne Bowen’s, Alias Starvation Hall?” Van Zandt writes to Reilly, “The Government (Texas) starves all its ministers.” and “I view their conduct inexcusable in not paying their foreign ministers promptly.” When Van Zandt’s family arrived in Washington sometime later, they stayed in Alexandria, Virginia a few months. In KM Van Zandt’s autobiography (Isaac Van Zandt’s son) he writes, “I expect my father wanted to rub some of the country off of us before taking us into Washington.”

The annexation of Texas was a major cause of the US-Mexican War in 1846. The war ended in 1848 with the signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in which the US acquired all or part of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, California, Colorado, Nevada, and Wyoming for $15 million. In total, with the annexation of Texas and the acquisition of the land in the Southwest, the US added over 900,000 square miles of territory. The United States now stretched from the one side of the North American continent to the other.

Diplomatic Sites of the Republic of Texas Legation

Our chapter, with the assistance of Professor of History Dr. Kenneth Stevens of Texas Christian University, has located several sites where the Republic’s ministers boarded. William Wharton, Branch Archer, and Stephan F. Austin traveled to Washington in 1836 to secure aid from the United States. William Wharton became the Republic’s first official diplomatic minister. Through his work the Republic of Texas gained diplomatic recognition from the United States opening the door to later annexation and statehood all while operating from various boarding houses.

Our committee and Dr. Stevens’ research list the following focal points for Texas legation diplomatic affairs operations:

  1. Mrs. Page’s boardinghouse opposite Centre Market which today is a site near the National Navy Memorial.
  2. Mrs. Pittman’s boardinghouse on the west side of 3rdStreet West between Pennsylvania Avenue and C Street North, near the center of the block which today is between a section of Constitution Avenue and C Street North, Today this is The William B. Bryant Annex to the E. Barrett Prettyman US Courthouse.
  3. Gadsby’s Hotel, also known as the National Hotel, at Pennsylvania Avenue and 6thStreet NW. Today this is the building formerly known as the Newseum.
  4. Mr. Lawrence’s boardinghouse was near Gadsby’s Hotel. Today this is the Canadian Embassy.
  5. Mrs. Bowen’s boardinghouse west side 6thStreet west, between D and E Streets north, near D Street was the listing in the 1843 City Directory for the Texas Charges D’Affaires. Today this is the Patrick Henry Building.
  6. A site at Pennsylvania Avenue NW, one square west of the War Department is today where there is a huge commercial building.
  7. A house on F Street between 13th and 14th Streets. (next door to John Quincy Adams). Today this site is another large commercial building.
  8. Mr. Underwood’s house was at New Jersey Avenue and Capitol Hill. Today this site appears to be the Cannon House Office Building.

Precedents for Commemorative Works

Since the enactment of the 1986 Commemorative Works Act there have been thirty-five commemorative works authorized by Congress in the Capitol area. We noticed four memorials are for people, places or tragedies occurring outside the United States. Also, as a precedent, in 1974 the National Park Service placed a plaque honoring a diplomatic site at Ashburton House, 1525 H Street, NW, Washington D.C. As an independent and sovereign nation for nearly ten years, the Republic of Texas sent eight diplomatic ministers to the US during the ten-year history of the Republic of Texas and we need a memorial to commemorate this part of our history in the area where they served, our Nation’s capital.

Proposal

With plaques already venerating Texas diplomats in Paris and London we feel a memorial honoring the men of the Republic of Texas Legation in Washington DC is richly warranted. Therefore, the Daughters of the Republic of Texas would like to place a similar memorial within the Pennsylvania Avenue National Historic Site or nearby to memorialize the Republic of Texas Legation at one of the above listed sites. This proposal is a bipartisan issue costing the citizens of the United States $0.00 with memorial funding provided by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. Please consider assisting us in honoring these men by supporting HR 3349, The Republic of Texas Legation Memorial Act.

“Remember the Alamo” is emblazoned in American history and commemorating the Republic reminds us of the proud heritage and rich history, not only of Texans, but of what it means to be American. Let us commemorate this part of American history.