A statute honoring Sam Houston was unveiled in Birchwood and dedicated at the Cherokee Removal Memorial
Most people know about Sam Houston's accomplishments in Texas, but many history buffs will tell you Mr. Houston's legacy didn't start there.
"There would not have been a Texas as we know it without the Tennesseans," says Troy Wayne Poteete, chief justice of the Cherokee Nation Supreme Court and executive director of the National Trail of Tears Association, who said Mr. Houston had a rich history in Tennessee.
Mr. Poteete, a descendant of Mr. Houston's Cherokee wife, Tiana Rogers, was the keynote speaker at the Sunday statue dedication ceremony at the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park in Birchwood.
His talk emphasized the importance of knowing both Mr. Houston's upbringing as well as the roles he played in Texas.
"The events today help curve that line of thinking," he said.
Local history lovers and friends of the park gathered to hear Mr. Poteete's retelling about an adventurous and curious Mr. Houston who lived among the Cherokee Nation in Tennessee for three years and became the adopted son of Chief John Jolly. After fighting in the Battle of Horseshoe Bend, the war hero would then become congressman, and then governor of Tennessee before going West.
During the Texas Revolution, Mr. Houston was elected president of the Republic of Texas. After the state’s annexation into the United States of America, he became a U.S. senator and then governor of Texas — making him the only elected official to hold governorship in two states.
Ceremony participants witnessed the unveiling of a quarter-size bronze statue of a 20-year-old Mr. Houston created by Pennsylvania sculptor Wayne Hyde. The statue, made using a "lost wax" hot-cast bronze process, is a replica of the 7-foot statue erected in Marysville in March.
The statue is titled, "You will hear of me." These were among Mr. Houston's last words as he left Marysville to join the Army during the War of 1812.
In the representation, Mr. Houston is adorned in much of the traditional garb, including a Calico coat with a flower pattern, a beaded sash around his waist, and his hair in a queue — or traditional Native American braid. He also carries a pipe tomahawk and his father's rifle that dated back to the Revolutionary War.
Mr. Hyde says the details in the statue depict Houston's love for the Cherokee people, and that its new home is ideal, as Mr. Houston spent his adolescence at Hiwassee Island near where the park stands today.
"Cherokee Removal Memorial Park represents the Cherokee people," Mr. Hyde says. "I think it is appropriate that one [statue] be placed here. I am honored by the fact that it will be here to represent an important figure in American history."
Meigs County Mayor Bill James, Joe Emert, president of the East Tennessee Historical Society, Tom Morgan, president of the Friends of the Cherokee Removal Memorial Park, and Greg Vital, park supporter, gave remarks in honor of the statue.
"I think it's just so special that we get this kind of tribute and honor Sam Houston in this fashion," said Mr. Morgan. "It seems that our goal to get the word out about the park is coming to fruition."
Another statue replica of Mr. Houston was dedicated to the Sam Houston Memorial Museum in Huntsville, Texas, where the legendary war hero and politician died at the age of 70.