Category Archives: Today in Texas History

Today in Texas History – May 2

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From the Annals of Broadcast Radio –  In 1922, WBAP-AM began broadcasting in North Texas.] The station shared time with Dallas stations WFAA and WRR. It was the first station in the U.S. to have an sound logo signal similar to the NBC chimes –  the WBAP cowbell.   WBAP had a rather unique dual frequency sharing arrangement with other stations until 1970, when it paid WFAA for the exclusive rights to 820 AM band.  WBAP began broadcasting country music and was for a time the broadcast home of the Texas Rangers.  The station changed to a news/talk format in 1993 and now features a full line-up of insipid right wing talk radio.  WBAP’s broadcasts can be heard in 114 counties in the day and has been heard in up to 38 states at night.

Today in Texas History – April 29

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From the Annals of the Dromedaries –   In 1856, 53 camels disembarked at the Port of  Indianola.  The camels were part of a 10-year U.S. Army transportation experiment initiated by then U.S. Secretary of War Jefferson Davis to deal with the harsh conditions in the arid southwest regions acquired in the Mexican-American War.  Secretary Davis and his military advisers believed that if camels could be used in Sahara Desert and arid regions that they might be answer for the arid semitropical regions of Texas and the desert southwest.  Accordingly, Congress passed “The Camel Appropriation Act” authorizing the purchase and transport of the beasts.  The US Navy was tasked with transporting the camels from the Middle East to Texas, while the US Army would take charge of the camels for the experiment.

After a harsh sea voyage in which the camels became violently seasick,  the animals were turned over to Major Henry C. Wayne who was pleased at the reaction the camels had to the lush vegetation afforded them on the Texas coast.  On June 6, 1856, Wayne gave the order to initiate the “Texas Camel Drive” from Indianola to San Antonio.    The camel caravan arrived in San Antonio within two weeks and Wayne reported to Washington that the utility and the cooperation of the camels was excellent.  Wayne was ordered to find a permanent camp for the camels and quarters for the personnel.

In July, Wayne left San Antonio and made his way to Fort Martin Scott near Fredericksburg.   From there Wayne scouted for a new camp site ultimately settling on a spot near Kerrville called Verde Creek close to the Guadalupe River.  On August 30, he named the site Camp Verde and the camels now had a permanent home. The camp was to be a US Cavalry post under the direction of  Lt. Colonel Robert E Lee who had just been to Fort Mason in 1856 with the primary task of protecting frontier settlers from raids by the Comanche, Kiowa and other tribes. However, Lee was also charged with protecting the camels.

Today in Texas History – April 28

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Southwest Texas Convention, Spring 2005

From the Annals of Sacred Music –  In 1900 the Southwest Texas Sacred Harp Singing Convention was organized at McMahan. Sacred harp music is a religious folk music that derives its name from Benjamin Franklin White’s The Sacred Harp (1844). It features a cappella singing of white spirituals written in shaped notes. The sacred harp is the human voice.   The tradition continues today with the annual Southwest Texas Convention at McMahan, held in the spring, and the East Texas Sacred Harp Singing Convention held in August in Henderson.  Other Sacred Heart events are also regularly held around the state.

Photo of Southwest Convention from http://www.texasfasola.org/.

Today in Texas History – April 27

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From the Annals of Heat –  In 1983, Nolan Ryan playing for the Houston Astros set a new major league record with after recording strike-out number 3509 against Brad Mills of the Montreal Expos.  Ryan broke a 55-year-old major league baseball record with the K.  Ryan would go on to strike out a total of 5714 batters in his remarkable career and record a MLB record seven no-hitters.   Less noted is the fact that he also is the all-time leader in bases on balls – but that is the price of longevity.  Ryan is the only player to have his number retired by three different ball clubs – the Angels, Astros and Rangers.  Among the stranger records he holds is his claim to have been the only pitcher in MLB history to have struck out seven pairs of fathers and sons.   He was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1999.  Sadly, he is depicted wearing a Texas Rangers cap on his hall of fame plaque.

Today in Texas History – April 26

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From the Annals of the Early “Bloggers” –  In 1874, the first of a series of twenty-three letters and poems authored by “Pidge” was published in the Austin Statesman.  The actual author was Thomas C. Robinson. Robinson had come to Austin in 1874 following a feud with a neighbor in his native Virginia.  He enlisted in the Texas Rangers and served under Leander H. McNelly during the Sutton-Taylor feud.  He was also involved the continuing conflicts with Juan N. Cortina’s raiders.  Robinson’s works describe Austin in the 1870s, but more importantly provide one of the few insights into what service was like in the Texas Rangers from observations in the field.  Unfortunately, Robinson returned to Virginia on leave to settle the feud with his former neighbor and was killed in a gunfight on April 4, 1876, shortly after the last “Pidge” letter was published.

Today in Texas History – April 25

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From the Annals of Diplomacy  –  In 1838, the United States and the Republic of Texas signed the Convention of Limits setting out the method for formalizing the disputed boundaries of the fledgling republic.  Both parties to the agreement were to appoint surveyors who were to determine a boundary from a point on the Sabine River to the Red River which would form the northeastern limit of Texas.  The agreement had the effect of establishing the Red River as the northern boundary and the U.S. recognized Texas claims to disputed territory along the Red River (then named Red River County which comprises the present day Bowie, Red River, Franklin, Titus, Morris, and Cass counties).

Today in Texas History – April 22

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From the Annals of the Police State –  In 1873, the Texas state legislature – once again in the hands of the then reactionary and racist Democratic Party –  repealed the law that had authorized the State Police.  The TSP had been formed during the administration of Governor Edmund J. Davis to combat crime during Reconstruction and the force worked primarily against racially based crimes.  Even worse for the unreconstructed Texans was the fact that the force included black police officers.  The TSP were replaced by the reformed Texas Rangers.  The state would not have another police force until the creation of the Texas Department of Public Safety in 1935.  The DPS would not have a black trooper until Adolph Thomas graduated from the DPS Academy in 1969.

Today in Texas History – April 21

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From the Annals of the Revolution  – In 1836, Texian forces under the command of Gen. Sam Houston defeated part of the Mexican Army encamped at San Jacinto under the command of Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.  Santa Anna overextended his troops by crossing the San Jacinto River without his full field artillery and isolating his unit from the larger commands of General Filosola and Urea.  Houston would likely not have attacked but for learning that Santa Anna had divided his army and only had about 1200 troops at San Jacinto.  It was as close to a chance at an even fight as Houston would ever have.  Convinced that the Texians would not attack even though they were less than a mile away, Santa Anna incredibly failed to take necessary precautions and the Mexicans were routed in a surprise attack that lasted only about 18 minutes.  Had Santa Anna attacked the Texians in battle formation, they likely would have been routed and the idea of an independent Texas would have been dead for years to come.  Santa Anna was captured after the battle.  Houston realized that his chances of defeating the rest of the Mexican Army were not good and that Santa Anna was his best bargaining chip.  He resisted calls to execute “El Presidente” and to save his life, Santa Anna ordered the remainder of the still overwhelming Mexican forces in Texas to return to Mexico.  If Urea and Filosola had refused to obey the order they likely would have been Mexican heroes for generations and Texas independence would have been problematic at best.  But the generals grudgingly complied and withdrew.

Today in Texas History – April 20

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From the Annals of the Singers – In 1924, Jules Lorenzo Cobb Bledsoe made his professional singing debut at Aeolian Hall in New York  under the sponsorship of impresario Sol Hurok. The  Waco-born African-American baritone was 27 at the time.  After graduating as valedictorian from  Central Texas Academy in Waco he earned a B.A. from Bishop College in Marshall.  He also attended Virginia Union College from 1918 to 1919, and studied medicine at Columbia University. Bledsoe’s first love, however, was music which he studied throughout his academic career.  Bledsoe sang with the Chicago Opera, and in New York, Amsterdam, Paris, Vienna and Brussels among others.  His best-known achievement, however, was his portrayal of Joe in Florenz Ziegfeld’s 1927 production of Jerome Kern’s Showboat. His interpretation of “Ol’ Man River” made the song an American classic. A highlight of his career was his performance in the title role for the European premiere, in Amsterdam, of Louis Gruenberg’s opera The Emperor Jones (1934). Bledsoe also wrote an opera, Bondage (1939), based on Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

Today in Texas History – April 19

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From the Annals of the Traveling Capital –  In 1837, Houston became the capital of Texas  two months before the community was actually incorporated as a city. The former Harrisburg had been founded by the Allen brothers only a year before and named after Gen. Sam Houston -hero of the Battle of San Jacinto. The capital remained on Buffalo Bayou until January of 1839 when Austin was approved as the new capital.

Photo of the building that served as the Capitol from mysanantonio.com.