The Archive War in Texas 1842

In 1836, Texas broke away from Mexico and declared itself an independent republic. The Gulf Coast city of Houston, founded in 1836 and named in honor of Samuel Houston (1793-1863), served as the republic's capital from 1837 to 1839, when it was moved to Austin. When an invasion by Mexicans and Indians seemed imminent in 1842, Texas' President Houston moved his administration to the city of Houston and ordered that the government archives be transferred there from Austin. Citizens of Austin, fearing that if the archives were moved the capital itself would soon be relocated, hid the official records. Houston sent an armed force to do his bidding, while confusion and secret dealings prevailed. At the end of the year, soldiers dug up the hidden archives and loaded them on wagons for the trip to Houston, but irate citizens pursued the wagons and forcibly brought them back to Austin. Rather than risk the destruction of the republic's records, Houston agreed that the capital would remain in Austin, where it remains today.

References

Dictionary of Wars, 30.

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