O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4

Celebrating 75 Years of Preserving and Revisualizing the History of Texas

J oin supporters at the 2014 A

Special Evening with Texas

History as the San Jacinto

Museum of History remembers

the opening

of the

museum 75

years ago,

honors the

Dow

Chemical

Company’s

support of

the Jesse H. Jones Theatre for

Texas Studies and the San

Jacinto Day Festival and Battle

Reenactment in recent years,

and looks ahead to the

museum’s future.

The evening will offer the

first glimpse of some of the

museum’s newest acquisitions,

as noted below, and will feature

the vocal talents of the San

Jacinto College Central Chorale,

along with a salute to veterans,

an excellent dinner, and the

presentation of the San Jacinto

Star award. Guests will hear an

update on the museum’s plans

for the property acquired last

year.

The annual dinner will take

place on November 6 at the

monument; for patronage

information and reservations,

contact Carolyn Campbell at

ccampbell@sanjacinto-

museum.org.

Special Evening Celebrates Museum’s Past, Present, and Future

Gifts Enhance Museum’s Collections

T his summer, the

museum has been very

fortunate to acquire a

wide range of new artifacts from

generous Texas donors. One of

these items is a Harper’s Ferry

1819 model musket that is said

to have been used by a Texian

solider at the Battle of San

Jacinto. The Model 1819 Rifle,

donated by David Read from

Garland, Texas, to the museum,

was the first breech loading

military arm produced in large

quantities and adopted as a

regulation weapon by the U.S.

military. It was also the first

firearm successfully made with

completely interchangeable

parts. This particular Model

1819 Rifle is a Second

Production Type made from

1826 to 1838. A trained shooter

could fire between two and

three rounds from the gun at

ranges up to 200 yards,

depending on conditions.

Two other recent

acquisitions, a complete uniform

worn by Henry Rossen in the

U.S. Naval Armed Guard in

World War II and a series of

five watercolor illustrations by

noted Texas artist Bruce

Marshall, are also of note. The

uniform includes summer and

winter versions, sweater, long

underwear, hats, duffel bag, and

even leg warmers and fingerless

gloves. The U.S. Navy Armed

Guard was a service branch of

the United States Navy that was

responsible for defending U.S.

and Allied merchant ships from

attack by enemy aircraft,

submarines and surface ships

during World War II.

The paintings were executed

to illustrate Marshall’s 1999

book, Uniforms of the Republic of

Texas: and the Men That Wore

Them, 1836-1846 and are titled

“Republic of Texas Cavalry,”

“Colonel Juan Morales,” “Lt.

Colonel William Travis,”

“Moses Austin Bryan” and

T he fog rolling in after

one of our frequent

summer storms, a

pack of feral hogs tracking

across the battlefield, misty

rainbows and some of the most

beautiful sunsets that can be

imagined are a small sampling

of the fantastic images that

have been captured by the San

Jacinto Monument Cam that is

mounted 540’ in the air,

directly beneath the 220-ton

“Lone Star of Texas” perched

atop the monument. Thanks

to BrandExtract, Union Pacific

Railroad, Enstep Technology

Solutions and the Texas Parks

and Wildlife Department who

provided funding and services

for the installation of the

camera. Visit http://www.

earthcam.com/usa/texas/

laporte/?cam=sanjacinto to see

for yourself.

View Over Battlefield

Continued on page 3, see GIFTS

Two-color printing does not do justice to this scene from the San Jacinto Cam as ships pass the Reflection Pool at sunset.

SAN JACINTO NEWS OCTOBER 2014

T o d a y ’ s H e r o e s o f S a n J a c i n t o

N e w a n d R e n e w i n g M e m b e r s

Texas Forever Lifetime Members

Ms. Joan Lyons Mr. George Peckham

Monument Society

Mr. Edward H. Andrews

Museum Circle Lt. Gov. and Mrs. David Dewhurst

Mr. and Mrs. R. Gideon Hixon Mr. and Mrs. Thomas R. Kelsey

Independence Society Mrs. Cletus Brown

Mr. and Mrs. Townes G. Pressler

Family Freedom Society Mr. Jack Edward Boteler

Mr. and Mrs. L. Clay Fisher Mrs. J. W. Hershey

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Jones Mr. Gerard D. Kendall

Mr. Tom Marsh Ms. Danette Merryfield

Mr. and Mrs. Ralph B. Thomas Mr. Hong Tran

Ms. Lucy White Turoff

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C o r p o r a t e M e m b e r s

L e t t e r f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t

Dear Supporter,

While an organization moves forward to accomplish its stated mission, specific

projects must be completed along the path to reaching the organization’s goals. As

with any non-profit organization, the San Jacinto Museum needs to fund its special

projects while continuing to provide regular services to the community; fulfilling the

financial obligations in our annual budget while taking on new opportunities is

sometimes challenging.

Taking on new projects is always an exciting process, often strenuous, and

sometimes even arduous, and there is never a dull moment. But something very

important happens along the way; we meet other interesting and dedicated people,

who are working to improve their communities. And sometimes those leaders will

see a commonality of interest and partner with you for community betterment.

A recent example of this would be the decision by the city of La Porte, Texas, led

by their City Council and Mayor Louis R. Rigby, to fund the beginning of a vital

archeology project on the 13 acres of land adjoining the San Jacinto Battlefield

which the San Jacinto Museum purchased late last year. Thus far archeologists

have located an early dwelling or homestead, found U. S. Army cartridges which

may have been used in an early reenactment of the Battle of San Jacinto at the

beginning of the 20th century, and are carefully examining a small area for other

possible archeological finds. In addition, they have located a large flat area of the

property that would be appropriate on which to build a San Jacinto Museum annex

and visitor center. With better facilities on site, more tourists will visit this region.

Established in 1892, the City of La Porte has long been associated with the San

Jacinto Monument. As a Works Progress Administration project requiring that all

labor come from cities and towns within a radius of twenty miles, there is no doubt

that citizens of La Porte worked on the construction of the Monument.

Certainly the generous financial support given by the City of La Porte

demonstrates their appreciation of the importance of history and they in turn deserve

our recognition and gratitude.

Your support through special gifts, grants, attendance at fundraising events like

the Special Evening with Texas History, and renewed membership allows the San

Jacinto Museum to continue our exhibit and educational activities, while taking on

special projects that will improve and expand our opportunities to engage the

community with Texas history.

Larry Spasic,

President, San Jacinto Museum of History

San Jacinto Corporate Society B & D Contractors

October 1-31, 2014 Museum artifacts are part of the online exhibit Remembering Through Archives, part of the Gulf Coast Reads

simultaneous reading of Stephen Harrigan’s Remembering Ben Clayton. http://www.gulfcoastreads.org

November 6, 2014 A Special Evening with Texas History, honoring the contributions of the Dow Chemical Company.

February 7, 2015 Annual Member Lunch, at the Lancaster Hotel, 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. Program and hotel tour by Miki Norton.

March 14, 2015 4th Annual Texas Independence Fun Run/Walk; 10K, 5K, and 1K kid’s components, registration begins November 1,

2013, online at http://www.active.com

April 18, 2015 San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Reenactment.

April 21, 2015 Commemorative Ceremony of the Battle of San Jacinto; San Jacinto Dinner.

Upcoming Events

Workers install new speakers, wiring, and acoustic fabric panels in the Jesse H. Jones Theatre for Texas Studies.

SAN JACINTO NEWS OCTOBER 2014

A s part of the celebration of the 75 year history of the San

Jacinto Museum, a series of exhibits take a look at the

museum’s past. In the lobby through the beginning of

November is a review of the collecting history of the museum

through some of the artifacts that have been donated over the

years, and the people who gave them to the museum. For the

holiday season, this exhibit will change: “In the season of giving,

we will display some of the wonderful artifacts that have recently

been given to the museum,” said curator Elizabeth Appleby.

Other exhibits look more closely at the opening of the museum.

A freestanding display uses photographs from the dedication and

opening to take visitors back to April, 1939, while two online

exhibits give viewers who are not able to visit in person a look at

the event, and at the culture of the 1930s, at http://sanjacinto-

museum.smugmug.com. The I10 rest stop exhibit near Winnie will

also change to reflect the 75 years of the museum in late October.

“Colonel Sidney Sherman.” These

colorful images of soldiers involved in the Texas Revolution are

valuable not only for their artistic quality, but for the well-

researched uniform ensembles worn by the figures in the works.

Several new gifts have been received by the Albert and Ethel

Herzstein Library, including materials from the San Jacinto Inn

from the family of Gladys Poe, who was a manager and one of the

former owners of the popular restaurant located next to the San

Jacinto Battleground, and a photograph collection showing the

World War I military service of Pvt. Herman August Bergman.

3

Dow Chemical Company Joe and Maudeen Eccles Foundation

Lyondell Chemical Company Monument Inn

Office Systems of Texas Radoff Family Foundation

Sellmark

T h a n k Y o u t o R e c e n t D o n o r s

GIFTS continued from page 1

Lobby, Online Exhibits Look at Museum’s 75 Year History

O ne of the unsolved questions about the aftermath of the

Battle of San Jacinto is the question of who was present

at the time of the capture of Antonio López de Santa

Anna on April 22, 1836. The answer is perplexing, as contemporary

accounts are inconsistent when listing the names of the captors.

The earliest written first-person account is James Sylvester’s

letter published in the Telegraph and Texas Register on August 2, 1836:

“When we arrived at Vince’s, I proposed to take down the Buffalo

Bayou, when four others immediately joined me. …Our party

consisted of Messrs. Miles, Vermillion, Thompson and Mason.”

You can see a copy of this paper on the Portal to Texas History.

Although Sylvester does not mention Joel Robison (sometimes

listed as Robinson) or Sion R. Bostick, they are both recognized as

having been part of the party involved in the capture. A letter from

Joel W. Robison was published in the 1859 Texas Almanac., stating

“The party I was with consisted of six, all privates, so far as I know.

Their names are as follows: Miles, Sylvester, Thompson, Vermillion,

another whose name I do not recollect, and myself.” Reminiscences

of Sion R. Bostick” were printed in the Quarterly of the Texas State

Historical Association, Vol. 5 no. 2 (Oct. 1901), and include “Capt.

Moseley Baker told me on the morning of the 22nd to scout around

on the prairie and see if I could find any escaping Mexicans. I went

and fell in with two other scouts, one of whom was named Joel

Robinson, and the other Henry Sylvester. … All three of us who

had captured him were angry at ourselves for not killing him out on

the prairie…” There is not a known account of the capture of

Santa Anna by either Charles or George Mason, Alfred Miles, or

Joseph Vermillion, or by anyone named Thompson or Thomson.

Although some of the accounts of Texian soldiers who were

present when Santa Anna was brought into the Texian camp state

how many Texians brought the Mexican general in, they do not list

who those men were. Edward Miles was present in the camp then,

but his correspondence with Francis W. Johnson in 1879, in the

Rosenberg Library, about that event shows Edward was not one of

the capturing party.

It is not clear which Thompson was one of the capturers. A

recent correspondent with the Herzstein Library provided a copy of

a June 30, 1836, muster roll of J. G. W. Pierson’s company from the

Thomas Jefferson Green Papers, University of North Carolina,

which includes marginalia by the name of J. P. Thomson that he

was one of the captors of Santa Anna. The Battle Roll includes the

names of James B. Thompson and Charles P. Thompson, but there

is no J. P. Thompson or Thomson recognized as having been on

the battlefield at San Jacinto.

So the question of who exactly captured Santa Anna will have to

remain unanswered, pending further archival revelations.

Who Captured Santa Anna?

San Jacinto Museum of History

Association

One Monument Circle La Porte, TX 77571-9585

San Jacinto

Museum of History

Board of Trustees 2014

Robert B. Hixon, Chair

Sadie Gwin Blackburn

Nancy T. Burch

Tom M. Davis, Jr.

Dr. J. Frank de la Teja

Verlinde Hill Doubleday

James B. Earthman, III

Dorothy Knox Howe Houghton

Frank G. Jones

Ann H. Kelsey

Michael N. Lamb

Townes G. Pressler, Jr.

David C. Randall

Arthur A. Seeligson

Hon. Mark White

CONTACT INFORMATION:

San Jacinto Museum

of History Association

One Monument Circle

La Porte (Houston), TX 77571-9585

Phone: 281/479-2421

Fax: 281/479-2428

E-mail: sjm@sanjacinto-museum.org

Web: www.sanjacinto-museum.org

The San Jacinto Museum of History

Association was chartered in 1938 to preserve

and revisualize the early history of Texas.

© 2014 San Jacinto Museum of History

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SAN JACINTO NEWS OCTOBER 2014

Museum Contributes to Texas Artisan Database

M useum staff are excited to announce that a

significant portion of the museum’s artifact and

archival collections will be included in the

William J. Hill Texas Artisans and Artists Archive that is

being created and maintained by the Bayou Bend Collection

and Gardens and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. This

freely-searchable online archive documents the “lives, work,

and products of

Texas artisans and

artists through

1900.” The

Archive plans to

include census

records, city

directory entries,

newspaper articles,

artifacts and other primary source materials of the 19th

century, as well as later research and publications about Texas

artisans and artists. The initial project included materials

from Bayou Bend and The Heritage Society at Sam Houston

Park, but the plan is to eventually include items from

collections across Texas. Staff members from San Jacinto are

already working with the archive’s organizers to upload

hundreds of items from our collections to the database. You

can visit the database at http://texasartisans.mfah.org/cdm/

to check on the progress of this exciting project.

Card photograph of San Jacinto veteran Madison G. Whitaker, taken by Galveston photographer P. H. Rose. San Jacinto aficionados may recognize Rose as the creator of the 1879 composite photograph of San Jacinto veterans; this photo of Whitaker was used for the composite.