From the Annals of South Texas –  In 1917, John Connally was born in Floresville.  Like so many other prominent politicos, Connally’s start in politics began with LBJ – who persuaded him to serve as a key aide. Connally had close ties with Johnson before his navy days and maintained them until LBJ’s death in 1973.  As an attorney, Connally secured two key clients – Sid Richardson and Perry Bass.  Connally likely made his fortune when he was appointed as co-executor of Richardson’s estate.  Connally served a short term as Secretary of the Navy under John F. Kennedy (at LBJ’s insistence).  He left that post in December of 1961 to run for Governor of Texas.  He was elected in 1962 and again in 1964 and 1966.  During his first race he made a point of criticizing his opponent Jack Cox for having switched from the Democratic Party to the GOP.  His time as Governor was likely the highpoint of Connally’s career.  Of course, he is most famous for having been wounded during the assassination of JFK while riding in the same car as the President.  Still a Democrat, he was picked by Richard Nixon to serve as Secretary of the Treasury.  Connally allegedly insisted that Nixon also appoint George H.W. Bush to some position – a move that likely saved Bush’s career.   Connally switched parties in 1973 and in 1979 declared himself to be a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.  After spending $11 million during the campaign, Connally secured the support of only a single delegate.  Connally’s remaining years were devoted to business with his partner Ben Barnes.  The Barnes-Connally firm collapsed in bankruptcy and scandal amid the S&L crisis.

From the Annals of Segregation –  In 1946, Heman Sweatt accompanied by NAACP representatives met with University of Texas President Theo Painter to present his request for admission to the University of Texas School of Law.   Sweatt met all of the qualification for admission to the school – except for one minor detail – he was Black.  The Texas Constitution, Art. VII, Section 7 provided that “Separate schools shall be provided for the white and colored children, and impartial provision shall be made for both.”  The first part of the constitutional requirement was a fact – the second part was a joke.  His request was denied leading a long court battle.  Sweatt claimed that the Texas Constitution violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment.  He sought mandamus to order Painter to enroll him.  The case was continued to allow the State to establish “The School of Law of the Texas State University for Negroes” in an old house north of the Capitol.  Based on the now discredited “separate but equal” doctrine, the state court denied Sweatt relief.  The case ended up in the U.S. Supreme Court  which held that the equal protection clause required that Sweatt be admitted into UT Law School.  The case did not completely invalidate the separate but equal doctrine but it was a major step in the right direction.

From the Annals of the Revolution – In 1836, Col. William B. Travis issued a call for help on behalf of the Texian defenders of the Alamo.  The troops in the crumbling mission turned fort included regular Texas Army soldiers and a variety of volunteers with Davy Crockett being the most famous.

Travis was in command of troops in the recently captured city of San Antonio de Bexar.  His military capability has been much debated.  His troops were surprised by the arrival of the leading forces of the army of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana on February 23 even though they had been marching from Mexico for over a month. Travis and his troops took shelter in the Alamo, where they were joined by a volunteer force led by Col. James Bowie.

The mission was quickly surrounded by Santa Ana’s 5,000 troops.  When Santa Ana called for Travis and his men to surrender, they answered with a bold shot from one of the Alamo’s cannon.  Furious, Santa Ana began a 13 day siege. Travis recognized his predicament and sent out several messages via couriers asking for reinforcements. Addressing one of the pleas to “The People of Texas and All Americans in the World,” Travis stated that the Alamo was surrounded by more than a thousand Mexican troops and that it had sustained 24 hours of bombardment without loss of life.  He proclaimed “I shall never retreat or surrender” and signed off with the now-famous “Victory or Death” knowing that it almost certainly would be death.  Only 32 valiant men from the nearby town of Gonzales responded to Travis’ call for help slipping through a gap in the Mexican lines that Santa Ana had purposefully left open hoping to lure more Texians to an almost certain tragic fate.