TEXAS INDEPENDENCE TO BE MARKED AT LEADERS' BURIAL SITE

Feb. 27, 2001 | 3:30 p.m.

By ART CHAPMAN c.2001 Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Friday is Texas Independence Day, the day we celebrate the 59 representatives who met at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, to vote into existence the Republic of Texas.

Tennessean George C. Childress drafted the independence document, and Texas historian Stephen Hardin writes that Childress borrowed heavily from Thomas Jefferson's original 1776 Declaration of Independence in both word and spirit.

``No matter,'' Hardin writes. ``Anglo-Celtic Texians proudly embraced the values and traditions of their founding fathers. `The same blood that animated the hearts of our ancestors in '76 still flows in our veins,' one frontier preacher affirmed. Still, not all the delegates were of that blood. Four Mexican residents signed the declaration on behalf of their Tejano constituents.

``By their presence and with their signatures, they demonstrated that they too shared Jefferson's values -- and his vision of liberty. Thus began a decade of independence singular in the annals of American history.''

Texans, who by nature traditionally enjoy reveling in their history, do not overly celebrate their independence day. There will be a parade in Austin, a weekend ceremony at the Washington-on-the-Brazos State Park, and a barbecue cookoff in Dripping Springs.

Because the celebrations have been so paltry over the years, Lone Star patriots have established an organization called ``Celebrate Texas'' to drum up support for the holiday.

But more people will remember next week's anniversary of the fall of the Alamo, and in April we will more openly celebrate the Texians' victory at San Jacinto.

It is hard to compete with the lore of the Alamo and the enormous size of the San Jacinto battlefield monument.

But there is a place to really appreciate Texas independence. Just east of Interstate 35 in Austin, back among some simple frame homes in a rolling pasture, rests the Texas State Cemetery.

At an event there Friday morning, Texas Land Commissioner David Dewhurst will be the featured speaker, and re-enactors in full regalia will salute the notable Texans who are buried there.

Among them are 14 of the men who signed the Texas Declaration of Independence.

The cemetery was a favorite cause of the late Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock. Established in 1851, the cemetery had fallen into disrepair over the years, and Bullock squeezed the Legislature for enough funds to update the historic site.

Now, the Confederate headstones that were once dirty and askew are now lined up like a regimental review in what is called Confederate Field. A new visitor's center, made of Texas limestone, greets guests. A giant Texas flag soars over the grounds.

Stephen F. Austin is buried at the cemetery. He was not at Washington-on-the-Brazos when the declaration was signed; he was in the United States trying to raise money for the revolution.

The cemetery includes the graves of 11 Texas governors, three lieutenant governors, two American Revolutionary War veterans, 65 Republic of Texas veterans, and 2,200 Confederate veterans and their spouses.

Joanna Elizabeth Troutman is buried there. In 1836, as a group of Georgia men were heading to Texas to fight, she handed them a handmade flag that bore a five-point blue star on a white background with the words ``Liberty or Death'' underneath. James Fanin raised that flag at the fortress of Goliad when he heard the Texas Declaration of Independence had been signed. When Troutman died, a grateful Texas brought her body to the cemetery; her burial marked her first trip to Texas.

History is heavy among the 18 acres of pecan, live oak and mesquite trees. Names leap off the granite headstones: William Alexander Anderson ``Bigfoot'' Wallace; Texas patriots Albert Sidney Johnston, Edward Burleson and Benjamin McCulloch.

All are buried on Republic Hill, a good place to celebrate the birth of Texas.

(Art Chapman writes a weekly column on things Texan. You can call him at (817) 390-7422, or e-mail: artc(at)star-telegram.com. Visit the Star-Telegram's online services on the World Wide Web: www.star-telegram.com)