From the Annals of the Tejanos –  In 1832, San Antonio presented the Bexar Remonstrance to the legislature of Coahuila and Texas. The document was a list of grievances and was signed by José Ángel Navarro, alcalde of San Antonio. Among other things, it sought repeal of the ban on immigration from the United States contained in the Law of April 6, 1830.  It also sought tot make Texas a separate state from Coahuila.  We all know what happened next.

From the Annals of Comancheria – In 1883, Ranald Slidell Mackenzie, a renowned U.S. Army cavalry officer, was diagnosed as suffering from “paralysis of the insane.” Mackenzie was a native New Yorker but gained fame during the Civil War and later in Texas.  He was first in the 1862 class at West Point and immediately began active service in the Union cavalry during the Civil War.  By the end of the war he was a Brevet Major General.  His best known service after the war was a commander of the Fourth United States Cavalry stationed primarily at Fort Griffin near Albany, Texas.  Alone among commanders of the day, Mackenzie formulated a plan for dealing with the Comanches and their allies.  He was the first to take the fight effectively to the Comanche stomping grounds of the Llano Estacado.  He is best known for his victory against the Comanches at Palo Duro Canyon and for the extralegal Remolino raid into Mexico in pursuit of Kickapoo raiders. Mackenzie’s plans to marry and to retire near Boerne, Texas, in 1883 never materialized as he was plagued by increasing mental problems which resulted in commitment to a New York asylum in 1884. He died on Staten Island in 1889.

From the Annals of Country Folklore  –  In 1951, the “John Henry Faulk” show was first broadcast on  WCBS.  Faulk was from Austin and considered to be a master story-teller.  The show featured Faulk’s humor as well as music and some listener participation.  The show lasted for six years when it was discontinued largely because of the Cold War and McCarthyite blacklisting of the 1950s.  Because of his political views, Faulk was branded a Communist by AWARE, Inc.  a company that allegedly investigated the political attitudes of entertainers.  The ridiculous charge resulted in a spineless CBS removing Faulk from the airwaves.  Faulk sued AWARE in 1957 and ultimately recovered $3.5 million which was the largest libel judgment in history to that date.  Faulk’s book, Fear on Trial, described his battle against AWARE.  Austin TV and Radio personality Cactus Pryor was a major Faulk supporter during his blacklist troubles.  Pres. Lyndon B. Johnson resisted pressure to remove Pryor from his position because of his support for Faulk.   Faulk later appeared on Hee Haw.  He died in Austin in 1990.

Photo from http://www.tejasstorytelling.com

From the Annals of the Marx Brothers  –  In 1826, Benjamin Edwards and about 30 men arrived in the then Mexican village of Nacogdoches and boldly proclaimed himself as the ruler of the new Republic of Fredonia.  Edwards was the brother of Empresario Haden Edwards who had received a grant near Nacogdoches and had settled 50 families in the area.  While his brother was away in the U.S. raising money for the colony, Edwards apparently became concerned that they were about to lose their land and foolishly decided to declare independence from Mexico.  Edwards believed that many of the American settlers would support his attempt to break away from Mexico.  Accompanied by his men, Edwards seized a stone fort in Nacogdoches and declared independence for the new “Republic of Fredonia” which he claimed extended from from the Sabine River to the Rio Grande River.  The new nation would be governed under the principles of “Independence, Liberty, and Justice.”

Mexico moved quickly to suppress the rebellion forcing Edwards to negotiate an agreement with the Cherokee nation offering to share Texas in exchange for military aid.  But Edwards failed to gain much support from the local Anglo and Mexican residents of Nacogdoches. Consequently, Edwards’ ill-conceived and poorly executed revolution quickly fell apart as soon as the Mexican militia approached Nacogdoches.  He fled back to the U.S. and his brief moment in history was gone.