2007 San Jacinto Symposium

The date for the 2007 Battle of San Jacinto Symposium has been set for Saturday, April 14, 2007. This will be the seventh annual San Jacinto Symposium. Each year the symposium brings in some of the country's top Texas historians to discuss all aspects of the Texas Revolution and the Battle of San Jacinto where Texas won its independence from Mexico on April 21, 1836.

The seventh San Jacinto symposium promises to be a contentious affair with speakers facing off on various factions inside the Texas Revolution including Indians, land speculation and slavery, the Texas Rangers, and women. Speakers will include Dr. Gary Clayton Anderson, Dr. Paula M. Marks, Dr. Fred L. McGhee, and authors Stephen L. Moore and C. David Pomeroy, Jr. Dr. James A. Crisp returns as moderator.

The $45.00 registration fee covers the symposium, lunch and parking. The San Jacinto Symposium will be held at the Hilton Hotel and Conference Center at the University of Houston in Houston, Texas from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. for more information, write:

2007 Battle of San Jacinto Symposium
P.O. Box 940536
Houston, Texas 77094-7536

Phone: (281) 496-1488

Web: www.friendsofsanjacinto.org

Photograph: San Jacinto Monument at night. STARS OVER TEXAS © Paulwolf Dreamstime.com

Confederate Headstones To Be Dedicated - Houston

On Saturday, October 28, 2006, the Albert Sidney Johnston Camp #67 of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and the Washington Cemetery Historic Trust will dedicate 12 new Confederate headstones in memory of Confederate veterans buried in Washington Cemetery in Houston, Texas.

The public is invited to the dedication ceremony which will begin at 10:00 a.m. at the Washington Cemetery located at 2911 Washington Avenue, Houston, Texas. A reception will follow at the Trinity Lutheran Church located at 800 Houston Avenue.

Confederate headstones in memory of the following Confederate veterans will be dedicated:

George Watson Crowder
Basil Crow Cushman
Joshua Hamilton Ham
Henry Hartmann
Charles Gilbert Heyne
Thomas Franklin Kerr
John Kreis
George Foster Pattillo
Joseph Poskey
John Schiller
E.B.H. Schneider
Robert Voigt

Photograph: Courtesy of K. K. Searle. Confederate headstone of John Martin Palmer, Evergreen Cemetery, Houston, Texas.

Stephen F. Austin's Birthday Celebrations

At least two celebrations of the birth of Stephen F. Austin will be held in southern Brazoria County on Friday, November 3, 2006. One will be held at the site of Austin’s death near West Columbia at 1 p.m. that is sponsored by the Daughters of the Republic of Texas. This was the home site of George McKinstry where Stephen F. Austin died on December 27, 1836. This is an annual event which features school children of the County to perpetuate the memory of this heroic Texan. The program will include pledges to the United States and Texas flags and the singing of the National Anthem led by a troop of Boy Scouts from West Columbia and music from a select band of students from the Columbia High School Band. The Barrow Elementary School choir "The Singing Eagles" will perform patriotic tunes. There will be a flag ceremony and the placing of a wreath at the flag pole. The Brazoria Militia will fire a gun salute and there will be demonstrations by "Texas Women and a Few Good Men." Tom Green, Pearland, will feature some of the many flags from early Texas.

The site of the celebration is located just off of Highway 36 just a few hundred yards north of the West Columbia WalMart. The road is marked by a special sign that notes a special Stephen F. Austin site. The actual site is about three-quarters of a mile down this road. There is adequate parking at the site of the celebration. For further information contact Mrs. C. R. Faulkner, District IX Representative of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas at 979-265-9525.

The second celebration will be at the giant David Adickes’ Stephen F. Austin Statue located on Highway 288 just south of the intersection with Texas Highway 35 in Angleton. This is the second annual Stephen F. Austin Birthday Party, Silent Auction, Raffle and BBQ Cook-off. The party will kick-off at 11:00 a.m. with the BBQ awards at 5:30 p.m. followed by the raffle drawing at 6:00 p.m. A donation of $25 is requested to help defray the cost of the Stephen F. Austin statue. For more information please call 979-239-8718 or visit the website at http://www.stephenfaustin.org.

Photograph: STATUE - STEPHEN F. AUSTIN © Wfc73 Dreamstime.com