Thia Day In Texas History - April 26
Posted: Fri Apr 26, 2019 9:13 am
1836 - The small river steamerCayuga, the first commercially successful steamboat in Texas, played an important role during the Texas Revolution. She carried supplies for the revolutionary army, transported government officials and refugees, and was the floating capitol of Texas in April 1836. The Cayuga was the only steamer in Texas at this time. She operated on the Brazos River during the fall of 1834 under the command of Capt. William P. Harris and ascended the river as high as Washington.
In April 1836 David G. Burnet, ad interim president of the new Republic of Texas, impressed the Cayuga for public service. The ship began transporting provisions to the Texas army and rescuing officials and citizens fleeing the advancing Mexican armies. On April 15 Captain Harris, in command of the steamer, evacuated Harrisburg just ahead of Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna and his troops. The refugees included President Burnet, his cabinet, and all the inhabitants of the town. After stopping at Lynch's Ferry and New Washington the Cayuga preceded to Anahuac and Galveston, where the passengers disembarked. The cabinet members remained aboard and on April 19 were rejoined by Burnet, who had left the steamer at Lynch's Ferry to get his family and had narrowly escaped being captured by the Mexicans at New Washington. The business of the republic was conducted through April 26 on the Cayuga, the temporary capitol. During this time the republic bought the steamer for $5,000 from Harris.
1865 - The Eighteenth Texas Cavalry, also known as Darnell's Cavalry Regiment surrendered on April 26, 1865, at Bennett's House, Durham Station, in North Carolina. It was organized at Dallas, Texas, on March 15, 1862. The regiment initially had ten companies lettered A to K comprising men from the counties of Bastrop, Bell, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Harris, Henderson, Johnson, Travis, and Williamson. Commanding the regiment was Col. Nicholas H. Darnell with field officers Lt. Col. John T. Coit, Maj. Charles C. Morgan, and Maj. William A. Ryan. The regiment was first assigned to duty in the Indian Territory where it became involved in a dispute with that area's commanding officer Gen. Albert Pike. The dispute stemmed from the regiment moving its camp without notifying General Pike. Soon after, the regiment was dismounted in April 1862 and transferred to Arkansas Post, Arkansas, in August 1862.
The Eighteenth Texas Cavalry took part in more than thirty engagements and battles while serving in the Army of Tennessee. Its most notable battles and campaigns were Chickamauga on September 19–20, 1863; the Chattanooga siege and Chattanooga from September to November 1863; the Atlanta campaign from May to September 1864; Jonesboro from August 31 to September 1, 1864; Franklin on November 30, 1864; Nashville on December 15–16, 1864; the Carolinas campaign from February to April, 1865; and Bentonville on March 19–21, 1865. The Eighteenth Texas Cavalry suffered heavy casualties throughout the war and probably fewer than 125 enlisted men and officers were present at the regiment's surrender.
1876 - In sections of the Texas frontier where courts and jails had not been established or where officials and juries could not be depended upon, committees of vigilance were often formed to stamp out lawlessness and rid communities of desperadoes. Sometimes these secret bodies degenerated into mob rule or were used for private vengeance, but usually they were made up of law-abiding, responsible citizens who wanted only to maintain order and to protect lives and property. They operated against murderers, horse thieves, cattle rustlers, and those who held up stagecoaches and trains. Sometimes they acted without warning, but often they gave notice for offenders to leave. Those who failed to do so might be caught and hanged.
The best known and probably most active vigilance committee in Texas was that of Fort Griffin. On the night of April 9, 1876, this group caught a man in the act of stealing a horse and promptly hanged him to a pecan tree, leaving below the swinging body a pick and shovel for the convenience of anyone who might wish to remove the gruesome spectacle. In the next three months the Fort Griffin vigilantes shot two horse thieves and hanged six others. Two years later they executed by firing squad a former sheriff of Shackelford County who had turned to cattle rustling.
1886 - The Bastrop and Taylor Railway Company was chartered on April 26, 1886, to build from Bastrop to Taylor for a distance of thirty-two miles. The business office was in Bastrop. The line had a capital of $320,000. R. S. Walker served as the first president. Members of the first board of directors were M. H. McLaurin and Calvin Satterfield, both of Austin, and A. W. Moore, J. C. Buchanan, R. A. Green, and Chester Erhard, all of Bastrop. On November 18, 1891, the line became part of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company of Texas.
1923 - Cleto L. Rodríguez, Medal of Honor recipient, was born on April 26, 1923, and raised in San Marcos and San Antonio. After his parents died when he was nine, he moved to San Antonio with relatives. Rodríguez entered the United States Army in early 1944 and served as a technical sergeant. He was an automatic rifleman with Company B, 148th Infantry, when his unit attacked the strongly defended Paco Railroad Station during the battle for Manila in the Philippine Islands. He and his partner, John N. Reese, Jr., of Pryor, Oklahoma, killed eighty-two enemy soldiers and disorganized their defense, thus facilitating the defeat of the Japanese at their strong point. Two days later, Rodríguez singlehandedly killed six enemy soldiers and destroyed a twenty-millimeter gun. Thus on two occasions he "materially aided the advance of U.S. troops in Manila." Rodríguez was the fifth person of Mexican descent to win the Medal of Honor. Fourteen Texans received the award for service in World War II, six of whom were of Mexican descent. Rodríguez was also the first Mexican American GI to win the highest award in the South Pacific. Rodríguez died on December 7, 1990, and is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
1943 - Lubbock Army Flying School, changed its name to Lubbock Army Airfield, on April 26, 1943. It later became known as Reese Air Force Base. Aircraft flown from the base during World War II included the T-6 Texan, the AT-17 Bobcat, and the AT-9 Jeep. The base was closed on December 31, 1945, after graduating more than 7,000 pilots. Some barracks were converted to veterans' housing, and the National Guard, Air Reserve, and Naval Reserve units took over other buildings. The base was reactivated on October 5, 1949, as a multiengine pilot-training base. The installation was called Lubbock Air Force Base until November 5, 1949, when it was renamed Reese Air Force Base in honor of 1st Lt. Augustus F. Reese, Jr., a native of nearby Shallowater, who was killed in action during World War II. The main aircraft used was the TB-25 "Mitchell" bomber, which was used to train student officers and aviation cadets.
In April 1836 David G. Burnet, ad interim president of the new Republic of Texas, impressed the Cayuga for public service. The ship began transporting provisions to the Texas army and rescuing officials and citizens fleeing the advancing Mexican armies. On April 15 Captain Harris, in command of the steamer, evacuated Harrisburg just ahead of Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna and his troops. The refugees included President Burnet, his cabinet, and all the inhabitants of the town. After stopping at Lynch's Ferry and New Washington the Cayuga preceded to Anahuac and Galveston, where the passengers disembarked. The cabinet members remained aboard and on April 19 were rejoined by Burnet, who had left the steamer at Lynch's Ferry to get his family and had narrowly escaped being captured by the Mexicans at New Washington. The business of the republic was conducted through April 26 on the Cayuga, the temporary capitol. During this time the republic bought the steamer for $5,000 from Harris.
1865 - The Eighteenth Texas Cavalry, also known as Darnell's Cavalry Regiment surrendered on April 26, 1865, at Bennett's House, Durham Station, in North Carolina. It was organized at Dallas, Texas, on March 15, 1862. The regiment initially had ten companies lettered A to K comprising men from the counties of Bastrop, Bell, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Harris, Henderson, Johnson, Travis, and Williamson. Commanding the regiment was Col. Nicholas H. Darnell with field officers Lt. Col. John T. Coit, Maj. Charles C. Morgan, and Maj. William A. Ryan. The regiment was first assigned to duty in the Indian Territory where it became involved in a dispute with that area's commanding officer Gen. Albert Pike. The dispute stemmed from the regiment moving its camp without notifying General Pike. Soon after, the regiment was dismounted in April 1862 and transferred to Arkansas Post, Arkansas, in August 1862.
The Eighteenth Texas Cavalry took part in more than thirty engagements and battles while serving in the Army of Tennessee. Its most notable battles and campaigns were Chickamauga on September 19–20, 1863; the Chattanooga siege and Chattanooga from September to November 1863; the Atlanta campaign from May to September 1864; Jonesboro from August 31 to September 1, 1864; Franklin on November 30, 1864; Nashville on December 15–16, 1864; the Carolinas campaign from February to April, 1865; and Bentonville on March 19–21, 1865. The Eighteenth Texas Cavalry suffered heavy casualties throughout the war and probably fewer than 125 enlisted men and officers were present at the regiment's surrender.
1876 - In sections of the Texas frontier where courts and jails had not been established or where officials and juries could not be depended upon, committees of vigilance were often formed to stamp out lawlessness and rid communities of desperadoes. Sometimes these secret bodies degenerated into mob rule or were used for private vengeance, but usually they were made up of law-abiding, responsible citizens who wanted only to maintain order and to protect lives and property. They operated against murderers, horse thieves, cattle rustlers, and those who held up stagecoaches and trains. Sometimes they acted without warning, but often they gave notice for offenders to leave. Those who failed to do so might be caught and hanged.
The best known and probably most active vigilance committee in Texas was that of Fort Griffin. On the night of April 9, 1876, this group caught a man in the act of stealing a horse and promptly hanged him to a pecan tree, leaving below the swinging body a pick and shovel for the convenience of anyone who might wish to remove the gruesome spectacle. In the next three months the Fort Griffin vigilantes shot two horse thieves and hanged six others. Two years later they executed by firing squad a former sheriff of Shackelford County who had turned to cattle rustling.
1886 - The Bastrop and Taylor Railway Company was chartered on April 26, 1886, to build from Bastrop to Taylor for a distance of thirty-two miles. The business office was in Bastrop. The line had a capital of $320,000. R. S. Walker served as the first president. Members of the first board of directors were M. H. McLaurin and Calvin Satterfield, both of Austin, and A. W. Moore, J. C. Buchanan, R. A. Green, and Chester Erhard, all of Bastrop. On November 18, 1891, the line became part of the Missouri, Kansas and Texas Railway Company of Texas.
1923 - Cleto L. Rodríguez, Medal of Honor recipient, was born on April 26, 1923, and raised in San Marcos and San Antonio. After his parents died when he was nine, he moved to San Antonio with relatives. Rodríguez entered the United States Army in early 1944 and served as a technical sergeant. He was an automatic rifleman with Company B, 148th Infantry, when his unit attacked the strongly defended Paco Railroad Station during the battle for Manila in the Philippine Islands. He and his partner, John N. Reese, Jr., of Pryor, Oklahoma, killed eighty-two enemy soldiers and disorganized their defense, thus facilitating the defeat of the Japanese at their strong point. Two days later, Rodríguez singlehandedly killed six enemy soldiers and destroyed a twenty-millimeter gun. Thus on two occasions he "materially aided the advance of U.S. troops in Manila." Rodríguez was the fifth person of Mexican descent to win the Medal of Honor. Fourteen Texans received the award for service in World War II, six of whom were of Mexican descent. Rodríguez was also the first Mexican American GI to win the highest award in the South Pacific. Rodríguez died on December 7, 1990, and is buried at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.
1943 - Lubbock Army Flying School, changed its name to Lubbock Army Airfield, on April 26, 1943. It later became known as Reese Air Force Base. Aircraft flown from the base during World War II included the T-6 Texan, the AT-17 Bobcat, and the AT-9 Jeep. The base was closed on December 31, 1945, after graduating more than 7,000 pilots. Some barracks were converted to veterans' housing, and the National Guard, Air Reserve, and Naval Reserve units took over other buildings. The base was reactivated on October 5, 1949, as a multiengine pilot-training base. The installation was called Lubbock Air Force Base until November 5, 1949, when it was renamed Reese Air Force Base in honor of 1st Lt. Augustus F. Reese, Jr., a native of nearby Shallowater, who was killed in action during World War II. The main aircraft used was the TB-25 "Mitchell" bomber, which was used to train student officers and aviation cadets.