Wednesday, April 24, 2024
Legacy Comes to Life
LEGACY COMES TO LIFE
EDITOR’S NOTE: David Choate is the great-great uncle of Robyn Davis. Robyn is a member and President of the Erastus “Deaf” Smith Chapter of The Sons of the Republic of Texas (SRT) in Pasadena. Robyn serves the SRT as the San Jacinto, District Representative and as a committee-man on the Texian Navy Day and Logo committees.
I was born in 1811 in Louisiana in a town called Zwolle. My father’s name was David Choate Sr, and my mother was Sarah Clark. My father moved the family to Texas, receiving a Mexican land grant of 4,428 acres in 1831. We settled in what is now Hardin County. I had five brothers and sisters. Our family was farming ranchers and we were good at caring for our land and livestock.
In 1836, I had heard that General Santa Anna was marching across Texas to take away some of our freedoms. I joined up with a group of men in Beaumont. We began marching west to help relieve the men who were besieged in the Alamo. Upon arriving in Liberty, I met with my brother-in-law, Stephen Jackson, who had married my sister, Susan.
Stephen told me a rider came along with a letter from Colonel William B. Travis asking all men to come to the Alamo to help the men there. The group I was with combined with the volunteers in Liberty. We were now under the command of Captain William Logan. We started to march west to Bexar to relieve the men at the Alamo. Upon arriving in San Felipe, we were met by General Sam Houston and his army. We were told that the Alamo had fallen and that we were to head back east. Stephen and I helped the families leave from San Felipe, which began what would be called the “Runaway Scrape.”
Upon arriving in Harrisburg, Stephen left to return to Sour Lake to get my sister and their children out of harm’s way. General Sam Houston continued to take us east. Many of the men were very unhappy that we just didn’t turn around and face Santa Anna and his army for what they had done to our brothers at the Alamo and Goliad.
We arrived at Buffalo Bayou on April 19, 1836 and found it flooding. General Houston confiscated the flooring in the home of Isaac Batterson to build rafts, which were used to ferry us across Buffalo Bayou. About 283 Texians had to stay behind at the Batterson place because of illness. None of them wanted to miss the battle that we all knew would happen soon, but they were too sick to fight.
After crossing the bayou, General Sam Houston settled us in a meadow just up from the marshes between Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River. My company was then placed under the command of General Sidney Sherman. We were told that Santa Anna and his army were nearby, so we were on alert and ready to fight. Our orders were to attack on the left flank.
In the afternoon of April 21, we were given the order to charge. We began marching toward Santa Anna and his army. Cannons started fairing and we just ran at them shouting “Remember the Alamo!” and “Remember Goliad!” The battle only lasted a little while — and we found out later only 18 minutes. We felt good about whipping the Mexican army and avenging our family and friends who died at the Alamo and Goliad.
Eleven Texians died in the battle and 30 others were wounded including General Houston. The next day Santa Anna was captured, and he surrendered to General Houston. We had won our independence and liberty from Mexico. Texas was free!
After my service in the Texian army, I received land for helping gain Texas its independence. I began to farm the land and was somewhat of a land speculator. In 1850, I founded the town of Concord in Hardin County. We were along the stagecoach route from Beaumont, so we had a lot of visitors and trade. I also donated a plot of land in Hardin County that would become a cemetery known as Leatherwood. This is where I was buried upon my death in 1879.
WHO ARE THE SONS OF THE REPUBLIC OF TEXAS? The Sons of the Republic of Texas
(SRT) consists of members who are direct lineal descendants of those who settled the Republic of Texas from 1836 to February 19, 1846. The purpose of the SRT is to
perpetuate the memory and spirit of the men and women who won Texas’ independence. They set the course for Texas to become a nation and eventually the 28th state. LEGACY COMES TO LIFE personifies our ancestors with true stories about real people who changed the course of history! For membership information please visit our website; srttexas.org or email; old300.srt@gmai.com.
