Sam Houston was born on March 2,1793 in the Shenandoah River Valley. Sam was the fifth of nine children. Sam's dad Samuel owned a plantation but because he spent most of his time with the militia the plantation did poorly. When Sam was 14 years old , his father died and his mother moved the family in 2 wagons through the Great Smoky Mountains to make their new home in Tennessee wilderness. Sam helped his family build their home in the Tennessee wilderness. They built their house out of logs and cleared out brush for planting crops. Sam did not like farming or school but he loved to read books. His favorite book was the Iliad and he read it so much that he knew it by heart. When Sam was to work in the family store he did not like it. He ran away for home. Sam walked 50 miles to the Tennessee river and paddled a canoe to the island of Hiwassie. For 3 years he lived with the Cherokees. Sam Houston was adopted by Oo-loo-te-ka also known as Chief John Jolly who named Sam Colonneh which means the "Raven". To the Indians, raven meant good fortune. Sam was known as the Raven for the rest of his life. Living with the Indians was the happiest time of his life. Sam had to open a school to get enough money to pay off debts. In Addition to this he joined Andrew Jackson's Army and became a officer in the war of 1812. The war was against the British. The war ended in 1815, Sam was appointed the U.S. Government. A treaty granted that the Cherokee Indians get 1,000,000 acres. Sam decided to become a lawyer. He went back to Tennessee and studied law. 4 years later he became Governor for Tennessee. In 1829, Sam married Eliza Allen, after a couple of months the couple divorced. Sam later joined Chief John Jolly. In contrast he rejoined the Cherokee Indians. He saw how his Indian friends had been treated and got angry. He went to Washington D.C., to talk to President Andrew Jackson. Jackson promised to help. He returned to the Cherokee Indians and married Tiana Rogers, but he wasn't happy. They got divorced because he went to Texas. Tiana would not go to Texas. A few Texans were calling for war against General Antonio Lopez De Santa Anna, who was Dictator of Mexico. Sam could see the war with Mexico could not be avoided. In 1835, war finally broke out. Sam was made General of the Texas Army. The Texans made their headquarters the Alamo mission building in San Antonio. The Texans went against Sam Houston's Orders. Sam tried to go rescue the soldiers at the Alamo but it was to late. Later the Texans lost at Goliad because they went against Sam's orders. The Texans surprised the Mexicans at their siesta and captured Santa Anna. Sam Houston was elected first president of the Republic. Texas was able to repay debts. On December 29, 1845, Texas was officially the 28th state of the Union. Sam didn't the South should when the war. Sam took his family to home in Hunstville. There he became ill and died on July 26, 1863. When Sam Houston was dying he shouted " I love Texas too much to bring strife and bloodshed upon her."
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