Sam Houston And The American Southwest
Sam Houston and the American Southwest
By phillipsr / Oct 2014
Sam Houston was born at Timber Ridge, Rockbridge County, in the Shenandoah Valley. Sam was born on March 2, 1793, to the parentage of Major Sam Houston and Elizabeth Paxton Houston. Sam had eight siblings and he was the fifth child to be born to his parents. Due to financial issues, Major Houston sold what was left of Timber Ridge, took care of his unsettled debts, and purchased land in Tennessee to make a fresh start. However, when Sam was in his early teen years, his father became ill and passed away before the move took place. Sam’s mother took her children and moved to a farm in Tennessee in 1807. Sam ran away from home to live with the Cherokee tribe because farming made him sad. Sam picked up their language very fast and felt that living with them was very gratifying as well as comforting for him. The Cherokees gave Sam the Indian name, “Colonneh” which in translation means “The Raven”.
After a being with the Indians for only a couple of years, Sam went home to his mother in 1810 for a short stay. In 1812, Houston returned to the tribe, became a teacher and started a school near Maryville. A year later, Sam joined the United States Army at the age of twenty years old and trained in Knoxville. Houston was quickly promoted from sergeant to third lieutenant because he caught on to the drills fast and he was friendly. Sam was injured in his leg and right shoulder during the Creek War in 1814. During his recovery, he went to Lexington, Virginia and stayed there until 1815. In 1816, he was ordered to see army physicians in New York because his condition wasn’t improving even after surgery. The courage of Houston at Horseshoe Bend did not go unnoticed by Andrew Jackson. In 1817, General Jackson promoted Houston to the rank of first lieutenant and the two became good friends. It was 1818 when Sam left the army and went Nashville to pursue the study of law with a family friend, Judge James Trimble. It
By phillipsr / Oct 2014
Sam Houston was born at Timber Ridge, Rockbridge County, in the Shenandoah Valley. Sam was born on March 2, 1793, to the parentage of Major Sam Houston and Elizabeth Paxton Houston. Sam had eight siblings and he was the fifth child to be born to his parents. Due to financial issues, Major Houston sold what was left of Timber Ridge, took care of his unsettled debts, and purchased land in Tennessee to make a fresh start. However, when Sam was in his early teen years, his father became ill and passed away before the move took place. Sam’s mother took her children and moved to a farm in Tennessee in 1807. Sam ran away from home to live with the Cherokee tribe because farming made him sad. Sam picked up their language very fast and felt that living with them was very gratifying as well as comforting for him. The Cherokees gave Sam the Indian name, “Colonneh” which in translation means “The Raven”.
After a being with the Indians for only a couple of years, Sam went home to his mother in 1810 for a short stay. In 1812, Houston returned to the tribe, became a teacher and started a school near Maryville. A year later, Sam joined the United States Army at the age of twenty years old and trained in Knoxville. Houston was quickly promoted from sergeant to third lieutenant because he caught on to the drills fast and he was friendly. Sam was injured in his leg and right shoulder during the Creek War in 1814. During his recovery, he went to Lexington, Virginia and stayed there until 1815. In 1816, he was ordered to see army physicians in New York because his condition wasn’t improving even after surgery. The courage of Houston at Horseshoe Bend did not go unnoticed by Andrew Jackson. In 1817, General Jackson promoted Houston to the rank of first lieutenant and the two became good friends. It was 1818 when Sam left the army and went Nashville to pursue the study of law with a family friend, Judge James Trimble. It