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History in
a Pecan Shell
One of Texas’ oldest ghost towns, the community that was formed here
in 1832 was without population by 1884. It had originally been named
Santa Anna, after you-know-who, but in 1835 as war clouds formed,
the community was renamed Texana. During the Texas Revolution Texana
became a port of entry for American volunteers. Shackelford's company
of Alabama Red Rovers bivouacked here before marching to their fate
at Goliad/Fannin.
The town was abandoned (the first time) as part of the “Runaway
Scrape” when Anglos fled in fear of Santa Anna’s advancing armies.
Texana became the county seat when Jackson County was formed after
the Revolution. The Army of the Republic of Texas established Camp
Independence near Texana in 1836. The camp was the scene for one of
Texas’ most celebrated duels – involving Felix Huston and Albert Sidney
Johnston.
The Huston-Johnston
Duel
Appointed as Commanding
General of the Army, and authorized to take command from Huston, the
two men quarreled, resulting in the duel in which Johnston was shot
through his hip. He survived to serve as secretary of war for the
Republic, and a Colonel in the Mexican War. He later commanded a (Union)
Cavalry regiment and resigned to join the Confederacy when the Civil
War began. He was appointed to the rank of general by Jefferson Davis.
On April 6, 1862, he was killed while leading his forces at the battle
of Shiloh. He was temporarily buried at New Orleans. By special appropriation,
the Texas Legislature, in In In January 1867, his remains were exhumed
from a temporary grave in New Orleans as transferred to the State
Cemetery at Austin.
In 1905 famed sculptress Elisabet
Ney carved the recumbent statue which has become something of
a centerpiece at the cemetery. |
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Texana was thriving
in the 1880s and was a hub for stage lines. It remained a port for
steamships – and it was reported that as many as 20 ships arrived
each week.
But the town was hit by a double-whammy in the mid 1880s when it was
first bypassed by Count Teleferner’s New York, Texas and Mexican Railroad
in 1883, and shortly thereafter, lost an election to Edna
for the Jackson County seat of government. |
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