This Day In Texas History - May 18

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1817 - The pirate Jean Laffite sailed from Galveston to Matagorda.

1835 - Green Dewitt, empresario of Dewitt's colony, died in Monclova, Coahuila, Mexico. In 1821 he was inspired by Moses Austin's widely bruited success in obtaining a grant from the Mexican government to establish a colony in Texas. Having seen Texas and visited Austin, DeWitt journeyed in March 1825 to Saltillo, the capital of the Mexican state of Coahuila and Texas, where he petitioned the state government for a land grant. Aided by Austin and the Baron de Bastrop, he was awarded an empresario grant on April 15, 1825, to settle 400 Anglo-Americans on the Guadalupe River and was authorized to establish a colony adjacent to Stephen F. Austin's. Although he was successful in attracting settlers to the colony, he was unable to fulfill his contract by the time it expired on April 15, 1831, and he failed to get it renewed.

1839, a group of Texas Rangers defeated a party of Mexicans and Indians, including some Cherokees from Cherokee Chief Bowl's village. On the body of Manuel Flores, the group's leader, were found documents encouraging Indians to follow a campaign of harassment against Texans. Included were letters from Mexican officials addressed to Córdova and Bowl. Although Bowl denied all charges against his people and Houston maintained his belief in their innocence, President Lamar became convinced that the Cherokees could not be allowed to stay in Texas. The Cherokee War and subsequent removal of the Cherokees from Texas began shortly thereafter. This incident, known as the Córdova Rebellion, at first appeared to be nothing more than an isolated insurrection by local malcontents. Later evidence, however, indicated the existence of a far-reaching web of conspiracy.

1871 - More than 100 Kiowas, Comanches, Kiowa-Apaches, Arapahoes, and Cheyennes from the Fort Sill Reservation in Oklahoma attacked Henry Warren's wagon train on the Butterfield Overland Mail route. They killed the wagonmaster and six teamsters and allowed five to escape. The Indians, who suffered one dead and five wounded, returned to the reservation. One of the escaped teamsters reached Fort Richardson, where he told his story to General Sherman and Colonel Mackenzie. Chiefs Satank, Satanta, and Big Tree, leaders of the raid, were subsequently arrested. Satank was killed while trying to escape, and Satanta and Big Tree were tried by civil courts in Texas (the first time Indians had been tried in civil courts), found guilty, and sentenced to hang. Governor Edmund Davis commuted the Indians' sentences to life imprisonment. The raid caused General Sherman to change his opinion about conditions on the Texas frontier, thus ending his own defensive policy and the Quaker peace policy as well. Sherman ordered soldiers to begin offensive operations against all Indians found off the reservation, a policy that culminated in the Red River War of 1874-75 and the resulting end of Indian raids in North Texas.

1902 - A 250-yard wide tornado rips through Goliad, destroying 150 buildings, including a church that was holding services. 40 worshipers were killed or injured. The tornado is believed to have touched down just before 4 pm near Berclair, about 15 miles Southwest of Goliad, then moved on a path direct toward the city destroying buildings and homes. Before it was all over, 114 were killed and 230 injured. For half a century, this was the deadliest tornado in Texas history, until May 13, 1953, when an F5 tornado destroy downtown Waco damaging over 1000 homes.

1912 – At the christening of the USS Texas, a camera captured what is thought to be the first motion pictures of a US Navy ship-launching. This is the second battleship Texas that had been launched.

1931 - The Forty-second Legislature passed House Concurrent Resolution No. 58, establishing a joint committee of five members authorized to investigate all state departments, institutions, and the judiciary in an effort to reform the administrative machinery and to reduce the high cost of state government. The subsequent report, sometimes referred to as the Griffenhagen Report, ran to more than 2,000 pages. In 1933, the joint committee submitted its findings to the Forty-third Legislature along with a letter of transmittal suggesting reforms that might save the state government more than $6 million a year without impairing needed services. Despite the voluminous documentation, neither the Forty-third Legislature nor subsequent ones took effective action on the recommendations.

1955 - State Senator Kilmer Corbin sets a new filibuster record on the floor of the Texas Senate, speaking for 28 hours and 15 minutes straight, breaking the old record set by Sen Jimmy Phillips only six weeks prior.

1978 - "The Buddy Holly Story" had its world premiere in Dallas, TX.

1989 - An investment group led by the President's son, George W Bush and Edward Rose purchased controlling interest in the Texas Rangers from Eddie Chiles. Eddie Chiles was once famous for his ultra conservative radio spots and bumper stickers that read "I'm Mad Too, Eddie"