On the recordMarch 1, 2012
I see the Senator from Arkansas on the Senate floor. I will follow the Senator from Arkansas on another piece of legislation about which I hope to speak, but I do want to take about 5 minutes to read the letter William Barret Travis sent from the Alamo. 176 years ago tomorrow, March 2, 1836, is the anniversary date of Texas' independence. I am going to read this letter in commemoration of Texas Independence Day because it was on that date that Texas declared its independence from Mexico. Fifty-nine brave men signed the Texas Declaration of Independence, putting their lives, and the lives of their families, on the line to declare that ``the people of Texas do now constitute a free, Sovereign, and independent republic.'' I am proud that my great-great grandfather, Charles S. Taylor, was willing to sign that document that declared our freedom. In fact my son Houston is named Houston Taylor Hutchison for that Texas patriot. I am humbled to hold the seat that was first held by another signer, and one of Charles S. Taylor's best friends, and that was Thomas Rusk, who was the Secretary of War who defended the Declaration of Independence by fighting at the Battle of San Jacinto. As was the case in the American Revolution, our freedom was ultimately secured through the actions of the brave Texans who fought and died on the battlefield.…
