(10) Commissioned as a Captain by Stephen F. Austin during the Texas
rebellion after the Battle of Gonzales in 1835. At Gonzales, the
Texans had said “Come and Take It.” Santa Anna didn’t take it. Hey,
didn’t they name a college after Stephen F. Austin?
(9) Seguin
was at the Alamo alongside William Travis, and was asked to carry
Travis’s “To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World”
letter of defiance through enemy lines. Seguin likely headed north to
avoid Mexican regulars, traveling by the future campus of Trinity
University in San Antonio. The letter Seguin carried was written on
February 24th. Wait, that’s Sunday!
(8) The panic and subsequent
flight east by Texas settlers after the fall of the Alamo is known as
the “Runaway Scrape.” Seguin’s command provided protection for fleeing
families by blocking Santa Anna at the Brazos River. Members of the
Presbytery of the Brazos, one of the earliest associations of the church
in Texas, were able to obtain safe passage and continue their work
creating a Presbyterian college in Texas.
(7) Seguin’s unit
re-joined the Texas Army in April, and participated in the surprise
attack on and victory over Santa Anna’s forces at San Jacinto. Seguin’s
infantry was placed under the company of Sidney Sherman, for whom a
Grayson County town is named. I think there’s a college there too.
(6) After Texas independence, future Austin College Trustee Sam Houston
asked Seguin to return to the Alamo in San Antonio. There, he formally
accepted the surrender of Mexico and served as the city’s military
commander through 1837. One of his tasks was to direct burial services
for the Alamo dead.
(5) In appreciation of his efforts, the town
of Walnut Springs on the Guadalupe renamed their town “Seguin” in 1838.
The Presbytery of the Brazos continued their work on determining the
site of a Presbyterian college in the 1840s. They were initially
committed to a town on the Guadalupe river; their first choice was not
Sherman, nor Huntsville, but Seguin, TX.
(4) Seguin was a
Senator of the Texas Republic from 1837 to 1840, and worked closely with
Congressman Jose Antonio Navarro (a close friend of Stephen F. Austin)
to ensure that that Texans of Mexican descent would be considered full
and free Texans in the new country. In 1839, the town that bears his
name honored him with a parade and celebration.
(3) IN SPITE OF
ALL OF THIS HISTORY, Seguin was forced to flee Texas for Mexico in 1842.
While old guard Anglos considered him a hero of the Texas Revolution,
the Republic was flooded with new arrivals from the U.S. who viewed his
ethnicity and language with suspicion and hatred. You know, like all of
those yahoos on youtube filmed screaming at Texans of Mexican descent
who have lived in San Antonio since the 16th century to start speaking
“English goshdurnit.” Seguin passed away in Mexico, saying:
“[I
am] a foreigner in my native land. I sought for shelter amongst those
against whom I fought; I separated from my country, parents, family,
relatives and friends, and what was more, from the institutions, on
behalf which I had drawn my sword, with an earnest wish to see Texas
free and happy.”
(2) But the story has a happier ending.
Seguin’s actions in the Texas Revolution were eventually recognized in
full after his passing. His remains were returned to Seguin, TX on July
4th, 1976 during bicentennial celebrations. His statue graces the
Seguin town center. He’s appropriately honored for his courage in the
face of Mexico City despotism. Things are different today.
Today, we know. Texas is a place where both English and Spanish are spoken, and where both Austin & Seguin are recognized.
Hoy sabemos. Tejas es un lugar donde se habla el ingles y el espanol, y donde se reconocen los Srs. Austin & Seguin.
(1) And good news! The finals of the SCAC Women’s Basketball
tournament takes place Sunday at noon in Seguin. AC and Trinity are the
top two seeds with byes. If both win on Saturday, they’ll face off in
Sunday’s final.
I hope to make the Sunday tournament final with
family down in Seguin. I hope AC is in it. I hope Trinity is too. I
hope the Roos beat ’em and earn an NCAA tournament bid. I hope some of
y’all reading this will be there too.
I hope.
As Seguin’s friend Travis might have said:
February 24th, 2019: To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World:
Come on down to Seguin for a little basketball. The Frito Pie is on me. Go Roos.
