WRITINGS OF SAM HOUSTON, 1824~1857
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officer and commanded the steamer Princ6ton at the time that one of the ship's guns burst and killed Secretary of State Abel P. .Upshur and Secre- tary of the Navy Thomas W. Gilmer. Upshur's death was regarded as a calamity to Texas, as he was favorable to annexation and, at the time of his death, had negotiations in progress concerning the matter. But Stock- ton is more particularly related to Texas history, because President Polk chose him as his messenger to convey to .the Texas government the reso- lution of the United States Government providing for annexation. Later he was a spectacular figure in claiming the territory of California for the United States (July, 1846), and was active, with Colonel S. W. Kearney, in establishing (1847-1848) territorial government. in California. ~James Love (May 12, 1795-June 12, 1874), was born and educated at Bardstown, Nelson County, Kentucky. He served in the War of 1812, then studied law and practiced his profession at Barboursville, Knox County, Kentucky. He served llS a representative in the Kentucky Legislature from 1819 to 1831. He was elected to the · 23rd United States Congress, and served from 1833 to 1835. He moved to Texas in 1837, and settled at Galveston where he set up a law office. He represented the Galveston district in the Constitutional Convention of 1845, and was elected the first judge of the Galveston district, but resigned this position after about two years' service to become clerk of the United States Court, in which position he served until the outbreak of the Civil War. He enlisted in the Con- federate Army and served for two years with the Terry Rangers. After the war he was elected the first judge of the Galveston and Hauis counties criminal court, but was removed from office by the military commander of Texas. He died in Galveston on June 12, 1874, and is buried in Trinity Church Cemetery. See Biographical Directory of the American Congress (1828), p. 1240. 0 See Houston to Anson Jones, September 24, 1844, printed in Volume IV, 371-372 of The Writings. As indicated, this letter with Jones's commentary thereon, written on the blank page, was published by several newspapers in 1848. Already in 1845, ·copies of this lette:r with Jones's note, were being circulated from hand to hand among the politicians of Texas, especially those at Galveston and Houston. Then came Jones's message to Congress, June 16, 1845. (See Jones, Letters Relating to the History of Annex_ation, 23-24.) This was a special session of Congress, called in order that the President might submit the resolution of annexation sent by the United States Government to the Texas Government. Jones reviewed the steps that had been made by Texas for annexation, and naturally presented his own part-as Secretary of State-in the drama, in the best light possible. These are evidently the documents to which Houston referred in this letter above. CONCERNING THE ERECTION OF LIGHTHOUSES AND OTHER DEFENSE MEASURES ALONG THE TEXAS COAST, JUNE 15, 29, 1846 1 Resolved, That the Committee on Commerce be instructed to inquire into the necessity and propriety of making an adequate provision for the erection of light-houses at the entrance to the harbors on the coast of Texas; also,
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