Great-great grandson of Jefferson Davis to speak at Civil War Round Table meeting

FROM MY FRONT PORCH

Sam Houston is the publisher of the Hood County News. He is also an actor, author, playwright, performer and entertainment producer/promoter.

The North Central Texas Civil War Round Table group will be holding its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. on Monday, Sept. 13 at Spring Creek Barbeque in Granbury. This group meets the second Monday of the month during the spring and fall, to listen to speakers provide historical insight to the Civil War. The speaker on this night will be Bertram Hayes-Davis who is the great-great grandson of Jefferson Davis, the president of the Confederacy!

Many may not realize that Jefferson Davis was also a West Point graduate, a former Secretary of War under President Franklin Pierce, a hero of the Mexican War and a senator from Mississippi. This would seem to me to be a unique opportunity for aficionados of Civil War history to come and listen to what I am sure will be an interesting and informative discussion.

As many of you know, I perform and appear as Gen. Sam Houston at locations throughout Texas. General Sam and Jefferson Davis were lifelong enemies, stemming from the time when Sam Houston was living with the Cherokees at Webbers Falls in the Indian Territory. Jefferson Davis was a young lieutenant in the U.S. Army and was stationed at Webbers Falls. This is the time period immediately following Sam’s resignation from the governorship of Tennessee and his much-publicized failed marriage. Heartbroken and distraught about his life, Houston spent a considerable amount of his time consuming large amounts of whiskey — so much that the Cherokee gave him the nickname of “big drunk.”

Story has it Jefferson Davis came back to Webbers Falls late one night after a lengthy cavalry patrol, only to find Houston, completely naked and dead drunk, passed out and lying on the ground in Jefferson Davis’s quarters. Davis, being equally surprised and dismayed, threw Houston out and never forgot the transgression. Years later, Davis was angered at Texas Gov. Houston when he failed to endorse succession of Texas from the Union. This failure to support succession led to his removal of Sam Houston as the duly elected chief executive of Texas.

I will be anxious to learn if Bertram Davis was aware of the above story and how his great, great grandfather and Sam Houston butted heads. It should be an interesting evening. I wonder if Jefferson Davis and Sam Houston ever imagined they would be the subject of conversation so many years later.

COVID UPDATES

We all know the COVID numbers keep rising and more and more people are ending up in the hospital or worse. I do not know what I can say that has not already been said, but please do what you can to protect yourself and to protect your friends and family. I had COVID last year, before the vaccine was available, and it was the worst illness I have ever experienced. I promise it is not something you want to go through if you can keep from it. Use your head and remember the adage, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure! Please take care!

Thought for the day: Not everything that is faced can be changed. But nothing can be changed until it is faced.

Until next time…

sam@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 260