DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells it like this, and I'll do my best to honor every word of it. Now, most men who sold everything they owned, rounded up fifty-two strangers, and sailed off toward a revolution would at least have the decency to pause and wonder if that was wise. Sidney Sherman apparently did not pause long.
Born in Marlboro, Massachusetts, to Micah and Susanna Dennison Sherman — her maiden name was Frost — Sidney Sherman came into the world in 1805. He lived in Boston, New York City, and Cincinnati before finally planting himself in Newport, Kentucky. And Newport agreed with him.
He built business interests there. He married Catherine Isabel Cox in 1835. The two of them would go on to have eight children together.
But something happened in Cincinnati in November of that same year, 1835, that changed the entire direction of Sidney Sherman's life. A meeting. A meeting in support of the Texas Revolution.
Whatever was said in that room, Sherman walked out of it a changed man. He sold his business interests. He recruited men — fifty-two of them — and he equipped them himself.
They called themselves the Kentucky Rifles, or the Newport Rifles, depending on who was doing the calling. Now before they left Newport, somebody — and the marker does not tell us who — brought along a flag. Not just any flag.
This one depicted Lady Liberty herself, sword in hand, with a ribbon that read: Liberty or Death. They loaded that flag, those fifty-two men, and themselves onto the steamship Augusta, and they sailed for Texas. The troops joined the Texian army at Gonzales on March 6, 1836.
And then came April 21. San Jacinto. Colonel Sherman commanded the Second Regiment that day — the left wing — and he opened the attack which led to victory over the Mexican army.
He was often credited afterward with the rallying cry that would echo through Texas memory: Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad! After the battle, Sherman turned around and went back to Kentucky.
He had more soldiers to recruit, and he had a family to bring to Texas. They settled near San Jacinto Bay, and later moved through Harrisburg, Richmond, and Galveston, putting down roots across the young republic. Sherman did not slow down once the shooting stopped.
He was elected Harris County's Representative to the Seventh Congress of the Republic of Texas. He served as major general of the militia in the 1840s. And in the 1850s, he was operating a sawmill and a hotel and — here's the one that quietly changed everything — he organized the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway Company.
The first railroad in the state of Texas. Sidney Sherman died in Galveston and is buried there at Lakeview Cemetery. The state of Texas erected a statue in Galveston for the 1936 Texas Centennial.
And the Texas Legislature, across the years, designated two places in his name — the city of Sherman, seat of Grayson County, established 1846, and Sherman County out in the panhandle, established 1876. As for that Liberty or Death flag that flew at San Jacinto? It made it to Austin.
It hangs today in the Capitol building of the state that Sherman helped to create and develop. A man who sold everything on the strength of one meeting, carried a flag that said Liberty or Death across the Gulf, opened the attack at San Jacinto, and then came home to build the first railroad — that flag ended up in exactly the right place.
What the marker says
Born in Marlboro, Mass., to Micah and Susanna Dennison (Frost) Sherman, Sidney Sherman (1805-1873) lived in Boston, New York City, and Cincinnati before settling in Newport, KY. There he married Catherine Isabel Cox (1815-1865) in 1835; the couple had eight children. After a Cincinnati meeting in Nov. 1835 supporting the Texas Revolution, Sherman sold his business interests and recruited and equipped 52 men, known as the Kentucky Rifles (or Newport Rifles). They sailed on the steamship Augusta, carrying from Newport a flag depicting Lady Liberty with a sword and a ribbon reading "Liberty or Death." The troops joined the Texian army at Gonzales on March 6, 1836, and fought in the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, where Col. Sherman commanded the Second Regiment, leading the left wing and opening the attack which led to victory over the Mexican army. He was often credited with the rallying cry "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!" Sherman returned to Kentucky to recruit more soldiers and to bring his family to Texas. They lived near San Jacinto Bay and later at Harrisburg, Richmond and Galveston. He was elected as Harris County's Representative to the Seventh Congress of the Republic of Texas and served as major general of the militia in the 1840s. He was also an entrepreneur, operating a sawmill and a hotel and organizing the Buffalo Bayou, Brazos and Colorado Railway Co., first railroad in the state, in the 1850s. Sherman died in Galveston and is buried there at Lakeview Cemetery. The Texas Legislature designated the city of Sherman, seat of Grayson County (1846), and Sherman County in the panhandle (1876) to be named for this prominent Texan. The state of Texas also erected a statue in Galveston for the 1936 Texas Centennial. The "Liberty or Death" flag flown at San Jacinto is now in Austin, displayed at the Capitol building of the state which Sherman helped to create and develop.