1836 – To celebrate Texas’ Declaration of Independence, James W. Fannin raised a flag with the words “Liberty or Death” in Goliad.
1836 - Gen. Sam Houston, now appointed major general and commander in chief by the convention, ordered Neill, at Gonzales, and Fannin, at Goliad, to undertake joint action to aid Travis at the Alamo. Word had not reached Houston that the Alamo had fallen.
1846 - Gen. Zachary Taylor issued orders for the army of occupation to advance to the Rio Grande. The army was organized into an advance guard and three brigades for purposes of marching, convenience of camp, supply, and mutual support in case of hostilities. The advance unit, composed of the Second Regiment of Dragoons and a battery of artillery under the command of Col. David E. Twiggs, left Corpus Christi on March 8, 1846. The three brigades, each followed by its own baggage and supply train, left successively at one-day intervals. The route taken by his army became known as "Taylor's Trail".
1847 - The First US Post Office in Texas opened in East Hamilton (Shelby County) on this date in 1847.
1854 - Fort Fillmore(about 40 miles north of El Paso), was officially renamed Fort Bliss, in memory of Lt. Col. William Wallace Smith Bliss, Gen. Zachary Taylor's chief of staff during the Mexican War and later his son-in-law..
1862 - The battle of the Civil War ironclads Merrimack and Monitor near Chesapeake Bay sounded the death knell for a Texas gunboat before it ever got out of the planning stages. Texas mapmaker Robert Creuzbaur had proposed an innovative design for an iron-plated gunboat called Sea King in November 1861. With a hot-air engine that powered propellers at the stern, this wood and iron vessel, Creuzbaur estimated, could reach a speed of 18 mph. Topside armaments would provide ample defense, but the ship’s most unique weapon was a gun beneath the waterline. This “submarine cannon” would surely blast through the Union fleet’s vulnerable wooden hulls. Fifty years before its time, the inventive cartographer envisioned a version of the modern torpedo tube.
1912 - Gov. Preston Smith is born in Corn Hill.
1932 - Tula Ellice Finklea was born in Amarillo. Her brother had trouble pronouncing "sis", and called her "Sid", a name her Hollywood producers changed to "Cyd" to give it more mysery. Cyd Charisse performed in dozens of movies, most notably "Singing in the Rain" and "Brigadoon". She continue her career appearing numerous times on television including the Love Boat and Frazier. She died in 2008.
1945 - Jack Lummus, Medal of Honor recipient, was born in Ennis, Texas. After having fought without rest for two days and nights, he was leading a rifle platoon attached to the Second Battalion, Twenty-seventh Marines, Fifth Marine Division. The marines were in action against Japanese forces that were deeply entrenched. Advancing into the face of a concentration of hostile fire, Lummus was knocked down by a grenade explosion. Recovering, he moved forward and singlehandedly attacked and destroyed the occupied emplacement. Under fire from a supporting emplacement, he fell from the impact of a second grenade, sustaining painful shoulder wounds. Disregarding his injuries, he continued his one-man assault and charged another pillbox, killing all the occupants. He then returned to his platoon position and encouraged his men to advance. While moving forward under fire, he rushed a third fortified installation and killed its defending troops. He continued to lead his men, personally attacking foxholes and spider traps and systematically reducing the opposition, until he stepped on a land mine and was killed.
1965 - Texas Senator Ralph Yarborough in reference to the Civil Rights march in Selma, delcared "Shame on you, George Wallace, for the wet ropes that bruised the muscles, for the bullwhips that cut the flesh, for the clubs that broke the bones, for the tear gas that blinded, burned and choked into insensibility!