The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 16, July 1912 - April, 1913 Page: 278
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The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Be this as it may, however, what Virginians lacked in the way of
numbers, they made up for by the high quality of the service ren-
dered the young republic. No braver or more loyal spirit gave
his life in behalf of Texas independence than John Sowers Brooks,1
of Augusta county, Virginia; another Virginian who rendered the
cause of Texas distinguished services as a soldier was Colonel
William G. Cooke,2 of Fredericksburg. Among the more conspic-
uous builders of the new state the names of Branch T. Archer and
Peter Hansborough BellP deservedly have a high place. Another
Virginian who rendered his adopted home valuable services both
as a civilian and as a soldier was Judge Edwin Waller.4 Both
Austin and Houston were natives of Virginia, while among the
signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence, eleven were
either natives or former residents of Virginia.
Rumblings of the storm about to break in Texas reached Vir-
ginia in the summer of 1835. In July and August the Richmond
papers printed reports of the projected invasion of Texas by the
Mexicans and of the determination of the colonists to resist.5 The
Richmond Enquirer of July 17, 1835, copied from the New York
Courier the following extract which correctly summed up the sit-
uation at this time:
Each succeeding day is rendering Texas of more importance to
the United States from the fact that it is rapidly being settled by
our own people, and the very probable supposition that in a few
years it will constitute a portion of our Union. In settling the
boundary line between Texas and the United States, the Rio
Grande should be, and in all probability, will be fixed upon as the
dividing line, and thus the thousands of American citizens who
are now settling what is yet a foreign country, will once more find
themselves enjoying the blessings and protection of our liberal
laws.
'See TIIE QUARTERLY, IX, 157-209, for an account of this gallant though
ill-fated young officer.
a Ibid., IX, 210-219.
SSee Coyner's article on "Peter Hansborough Bell' in TE- QUARTERLY,
III, 49-53. Governor Bell, at the age of twenty-six, left his native state
to engage in the war of Texas independence, and rendered valiant service
on the field of San Jacinto as a member of the cavalry corps.
4See Peareson, "Reminiscences of Judge Edwin Waller," in THIE QUAR-
TERLY, IV, 39-53. See Thrall, 540, 570, for accounts of James Gaines and
Frank W. Johnson, who filled important civil and military positions.
5Richmond Enquirer, July 17, 1835; August 4, 1835.278
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 16, July 1912 - April, 1913, periodical, 1913; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101058/m1/286/?rotate=90: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.