A few cannon shots over a dispute about which town will house some files? Welcome to Texas history.
From the Revolution of 1836, through its time as a Republic teetering on the edge of bankruptcy, to its first stint as a state (1845-61) it was a wild ride. THC has posted on the Alamo, the invasion of Nuevo Mexico and the threatened invasion of New Mexico and, of course, Sam Houston, who towered over every other figure in this period, loved or hated by every Texan.
Like so many other events of those times, the Archive War revolved around Sam Houston who was, at the time, President of the Republic of Texas. First elected president from 1836 to 1838, Houston could not run for a second term under the Texas Constitution, which also provided for three years terms after 1838. Next up was as president was Mirabeau Lamar, a fierce opponent of Houston; while they greatly differed on policy, particularly towards Mexico and the Indians, Houston's personality also had a significant polarizing impact on Texas politics and factional infighting. In December 1841, Houston returned as president.
Mexico had never recognized Texan independence and in 1842 launched two invasions of the republic, occupying San Antonio both times along with some towns on the Gulf coast, but eventually withdrawing. However, the invasions created a panic in the western and central parts of Texas, including its capital Austin. Sam Houston, who disliked Austin and preferred Houston, founded in 1837 and, of course, named after him, as the capital of the republic, saw an opportunity.
Houston often referred to Austin as "the most unfortunate site on earth for a seat of government", refused to move into the presidential "mansion", a small one story log house, instead taking a room at the boarding house of Mrs Angelina Eberly.
In the wake of the first Mexican invasion in early 1842, Houston called a special session of congress in Houston, arguing that Austin was defenseless, and ordered his Secretary of State to move the Republic's archives to Houston, though no action was taken at the time. Austin residents formed a Committee of Safety, warning Houston that any attempt to remove the archives would be resisted.
After the second invasion in September 1842, Houston called a special session at Washington-on-the-Brazos (about halfway between Austin and Houston), the town where Texian independence had been declared in 1836. Houston's proposal to move the capital to Washington was defeated by one vote, but he nonetheless moved agencies out of Austin to Washington and then, in December 1842, Sam declared Houston the temporary capital and sent a squad of rangers, under Colonel Thomas Smith and Captain Eli Chandler, to Austin to remove the archives.
On December 30, 1842, the rangers managed to load three wagons with the archives before boarding house owner Mrs Eberly noticed them, ran to a cannon kept loaded to alert residents of Indian raids, and fired it (depicted above), alerting the town. The Committee of Safety organized a pursuit of the wagons, taking with it a cannon from the town arsenal, finally catching up with them at Brushy Creek, north of Austin. The rangers had not expected a pursuit and after a cannon shot surrendered and were escorted back to Austin where the archives were restored to their rightful home.
No one was hurt in the making of this war.
Austin was named temporary capital in 1845 when Texas was admitted to the Union, a location which became permanent after a referendum in 1850.
This animated video below provides an entertaining and instructive guide to how the tunnel, which may have provided water for a thousand years, was designed and constructed.