WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1836
515
Commissions will issue to none until they have received the sanction of the Constitutional advisers; nor will I add to the ac- cummulated expenses of the Government by appointing persons, who can render no corresponding advantages. Sam Houston 1 E. W. "Winkler (ed.), Secret .lo1mwls of the Senate of the Republic of Texas, 1836-1845, p. 35. ~These nominations were 1·ejected on December 20, 1836, the same day they were presented, but on December 21, the nomination of Felix Huston was reconsidered and was confirmed (Secret Jo10-nals, p. 40); and on December 22, the nomination of Green was reconsidered, but was again 1·ejected. 3 Thornas Jefferson Green (1801-December 13, 1863) was born and died in Warren County, North Carolina. He went to Texas in 1836 and remainetj a citizen of that Republic until 1845. He se1·ved in the Texas Revolution with the rank of brigadier. general. In 1843, along with other officers and men, he refused to obey the 01·ders of General Alexander Somervell, whose loyalty he doubted,and with a small body of Texan troops left the main army and made an expedition against the Mexican town of Mier. The c,xpedition was disastrous for the Texans; 193 men and officers were taken prisoners and were started on a march to Mexico City. An attempt was made to escape, but the men were recaptured, and, according to Santa Anna's order, every tenth man was shot. This is what is known as the decimation of the Salado. Those fortunate enough to have drawn white beans in the lottery for life, were marched on to Mexico City, thence to the famous prison of Perote, where they suffered many hardships for about two years. Green himself was held a prisoner until September 16, 1844, when he, with 103 others was released. Several years later he went to California, sei-ved there in the Senate of the State Legislature, and there he was made a major general of militia. At the outbreak of the Civil War he entered the Confederate Army and participated in many of the early campaigns in Virginia. He was the author of several books and pamphlets: (1) The Mie1· Expeclition (New York, 1845) is the author's journal which is said to have been kept during his imprisonment at Pe1·ote and during the whole expedition with additional notes and comments. He published this book to defend his conduct in making the J\Iier Expedition. He also made a detailed reply to Houston's speech made in the United States Sen- ate, August 1, 1854. For further details of the man's life and character, see Thomas Jefferson Green, The Mier Expedition; Houston's Speech in ihe U. S. Senate, August 1, 1854; also, G1·een's Reply; Yoakum, Histo111 of Texas, II, 171; Thrall, 547; Biogmphical Encyclopedia of Texas (N<-w York, 1880), 276. ~Felix Huston (also spelled Houston) was a native of Kentucky, who was practicing law at Natchez, Mississippi, when the Tt•xas Revolution l.,roke out in 1835. He became interested in that struggle as early as July, 1835, and on the 14th of that month presided ove1· a meeting hc-ld at Natchez, for the purpose of discussing the Texas situation. From that time on we find him an advocate for Texas independence. It €cems thnt Felix Huston was a typical military nd\·entu1·er, ambitious, nggr<'ssive,
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