The Flight of the Saltire

[Frank McGrath]

If you get it to me by the 16th of sept, I'm taking my kilt to Germany for a week. Wedding, Scottish festival and then, Oktoberfest.

[Scott West]

Jacksonville, Florida is prepared to receive the XMTSAS Saltire! Please keep me in mind when she rides the currents to the "littler latitudes"! Palm trees, sandy beaches and Guinness (and a few Coronas w/limes) await!!

Scott West
swest8181@yahoo.com

[BoldHighlander]

Cool!

I had cousins (Scobee/Scobie) on my father's side who were part of "Austin's 1,000" (the original colony families), but I never got to visit this area when I traveled Texas a few years back. Thanks for posting these photos!

[Zardoz]

Thanks guys! It had been a while since I'd visited San Felipe, and I enjoyed the trip. Sorry I didn't get any shots of me with the airship, I didn't think to bring a tripod, and I was alone at the park. On the good side it was a nice morning, and I took the time to wander about the area and read all the markers etc..I'm generally pretty unsentimental, but as a proud native Texan I never fail to be moved when I consider the events that unfolded at places like that.

I'll have a couple more stops in the Texas history tour, plus some other things of interest coming up!

(Oh and Jock, not yet! )

[Zardoz]

Today I took the Saltire on the next stop on the Texas Independance Trail, Washington On The Brazos, the birthplace of the Republic of Texas.



When delegates representing Texas settlements met at San Felipe in 1835, the citizens of Washington had hoped this "consultation" would be held in their town. They argued Washington was centrally located for all delegates, as the town’s ferry serviced the heavily-traveled La Bahia road, and the Brazos River was navigable from the coast. Soon the provisional government, who had been using an unfinished San Felipe hotel as a meeting hall and lodging, called for a convention to be held at Washington beginning March 1, 1836. If you're wondering; Washington, Texas was named after the town of Washington, Georgia, the hometown of several of the first settlers.



I guess the the San Felipe digs were pretty bad, because the convention that drew up the Texas Declaration of Independence met in a unfinished gunsmith's shop!



The granite obelisk marking the birth of a new country.


This is a replica of the Texas 'Independence Hall' built on the site of the original, in the 1930s.


59 delegates piled into a hall like this and signed the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2nd 1836. The Declaration was produced, literally, overnight because while it was being prepared, the Alamo in San Antonio was under seige by the army of Mexico. The delegates were a diverse collection of folks, they came from a total of five foreign countries (Mexico, Canada, Scotland, Ireland and England) and twelve different US states. Only two, Jose Francisco Ruiz and Jose Antonio Navarro, were "native Texans" the rest were relative newcomers. Only ten of the delegates had been in Texas more than a few years prior to 1836, fifteen had come in 1835.


Elsewhere on the grounds are this nice visitor's center,


and the Star of the Republic museum, which is star shaped when viewed from the air.


In one of the gardens I saw this tribute to Ron Stone, an Oklahoma native who came to Houston in the early 60's. He was a Houston TV reporter and news anchor for over 30 years, and host of 'The Eyes of Texas' a cultural anthology TV series, till his death in 2008. He loved Texas and our history. He was also a neighbor of my family's, and I went though school with his son.


Even though their season is pretty much over, there were a few scraggly looking Bluebonnets hanging on around the park.

Till next time...

[BoldHighlander]

Wonderful!

You know the only time I was near Washington On The Brazos was late one night as we were traveling w/ in-laws the night before Thanksgiving. Unfortunately another site I missed & never got to return to visit!

Thanks for sharing.

[Zardoz]

On May 9th, Mrs.Z and I took the Saltire on a trip to visit the San Jacinto Battleground and Monument, and the Battleship Texas, just east of Houston. Unlike my last couple of outings, the weather was blustery and cloudy, so I'm sorry some of the photos are a bit dark.


The Monument as seen from the park entrance road.

The world’s tallest war memorial stands at San Jacinto. It was finished in 1939 and at 570 feet, is 15 feet taller than the Washington monument. It honors all those who fought for Texas independence.
A museum is located in the base of the monument, greeting visitors with bronze doors emblazoned with the six flags of Texas. The base is 125 feet square, with text panels highlighting significant events in history leading up to and resulting from the Texas Revolution.
The shaft itself is octagonal, 48 feet at its base, 30 feet at the observation level and 19 feet square at the base of its crowning jewel—a 220-ton star made from stone, steel and concrete. Despite the scale, danger and novelty of the project, not a single life was lost during its construction.


Mrs.Z and I by the reflecting pool.


Me by the base of the monument. you can see one text panels highlighting events in Texas history behind me.


We took the 500 foot elevator trip to the observation deck and took a look around.

In this shot you can see the battleship Texas, and get a close look at the fossil outlines in the cordova shell stone that the moument is clad with. This shell stone is over 100 million years old and was quarried from Burnet County north of Austin.


This is the original battlefield obelisk, erected near the site of the Texian camp.

The Battle of San Jacinto was fought on April 21, 1836. It was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution, following defeats at Goliad and the Alamo. About 900 men of the Texas Army led by General Sam Houston engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican force of 1200 in a fight that lasted just eighteen minutes.
The Texans achieved complete surprise. It was a bold attack in broad daylight but its success can be attributed in good part to Santa Anna's failure to post guards during the army's siesta. Santa Anna's army primarily consisted of professional soldiers, but they were trained to fight in ranks, exchanging volleys with their opponents. The Mexicans were ill-prepared for brawling of frontiersmen with long knives, clenched fists, and cries of "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!"

About 700 of the Mexican soldiers were killed and 730 captured, while only nine Texans died. Santa Anna was found the next day hiding in the grass and dressed as a common foot soldier. He was identified after other Mexican prisoners called him "El Presidente", and surrendered personally to Sam Houston.





Among the battlefield graves, are a few graves of people who survived the battle, but still wished to be buried among their fallen comrads. the state has replaced many of the markers that have not servived the years and weather.

For Mexico, the defeat at San Jacinto was the beginning of a downhill political spiral that would result into the loss of nearly a million square miles in territory. For the Texans, their victory led to a new republic, and later annexation into the United States, and the United States' war with Mexico. In the end, the United States would gain not only Texas but also New Mexico, Nevada, Arizona, California, Utah and parts of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado and Wyoming.

As a result of the Battle of San Jacinto, almost a third of what is now the United States of America changed ownership.