DUANE
Duane's take
Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'll do my best to do it justice. Now, 1860 was not a quiet year in Texas. The election of Abraham Lincoln sent a tremor through the South, and Texas was no exception.
Unrest settled in like a summer storm that won't quite break — and in county after county, people were asking the same hard question: what does Texas do now? Governor Sam Houston had an answer. His answer was: nothing.
Or at least, not yet. Despite petitions landing on his desk, editorials filling the papers, and political pressure coming from every direction, Houston flat refused to call a special legislative session to take up the question of where Texas stood. Sam Houston was a man who'd seen a thing or two, and he wasn't about to be rushed.
But there were men in Texas who felt the clock was running, and they weren't inclined to wait on the governor. On December third, 1860, a group of secession leaders took matters into their own hands. They called on the people to elect delegates — delegates to a convention that would meet in Austin on January 28th, 1861.
And the counties answered. One hundred and seventy-seven delegates came together, and the convention met in the capitol across two sessions — January 28th through February 4th, and then again March 2nd through March 25th. In between those sessions, a Committee on Public Safety, carrying broad powers, acted on the convention's behalf.
That committee didn't sleep. When the vote came on the Ordinance of Secession, it wasn't close. One hundred and sixty-six delegates voted yes.
Seven voted no. One hundred sixty-six to seven. Then the convention did something that set Texas apart even in this grim moment — they put it to the people directly, calling for a statewide election.
Texas would be the first state in the Confederacy to give its voters a direct voice on secession. The people spoke. One hundred and eight of the state's one hundred and twenty-two counties favored secession.
The final tally: 46,129 in favor, 14,697 against. The convention then voted to join the Confederacy, send delegates to its congress, prepare for war, and raise troops to protect the frontier. And then came the moment that history tends to remember.
Governor Sam Houston — the same man who'd stonewalled every petition, weathered every editorial, held the line against every wave of pressure — refused once more. This time, he refused to take the oath of loyalty to the Confederacy. He would not take it.
So the convention replaced him. The Lieutenant Governor, Edward Clark, stepped into the office. Sam Houston had survived San Jacinto, survived the republic, survived the state.
But he could not survive 1861 on his own terms. And in a way, that single refusal says more about the man — and about what Texas was walking into — than all the votes and ordinances combined.
What the marker says
The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 caused unrest and drastic action all over the South and in many Texas counties. Despite petitions, editorials and political pressure, Gov. Sam Houston refused to call a special legislative session to consider the position Texas should take. On Dec. 3, 1860, a group of secession leaders took matters into their own hands and called on the people to elect delegates to a convention to meet in Austin on Jan. 28, 1861. Counties sent 177 delegates, and the convention met in the capitol from Jan 28 to Feb. 4 and March 2 to March 25. A Committee on Public Safety, with broad powers, acted for the convention between sessions. By vote of 166 to 7, the convention adopted the Ordinance of Secession and called for a statewide election--the first state in the Confederacy to let voters have a direct voice. 108 of the 122 counties favored secession by a vote of 46,129 to 14,697. The convention voted to join the Confederacy, send delegates to its congress, gear for war and raise troops to protect the frontier. When Gov. Sam Houston refused to take the oath supporting the Confederacy, the convention replaced him with the Lieutenant Governor, Edward Clark. (1965)