For Texans, this is the beginning of a special period: the HHDs, or the High Holy Days of Texas History. They begin on February 23, the day the forces of Antonio López de Santa Anna arrived in San Antonio de Béxar and opened the 13-day siege of the Alamo.
They continue through March 6, the day Mexican assault troops overran the fort’s defenses and killed every Texian defender.
Additionally, on March 2, 1836, delegates in the Town of Washington declared Texas independent from Mexico, marking the creation of the Republic of Texas, which maintained its sovereignty for a decade before joining the United States in 1846 as the twenty-eighth state.
These days, moreover, mark the time when thousands of Texian civilians abandoned their homes, took to rain-lashed paths, and joined the mass evacuation to the U.S. border. They remembered the episode as the “Runaway Scrape,” which, some of you will be aware, is of special interest to me.
This year, I will observe the High Holy Days by attending the annual meeting of the Texas State Historical Association, March 5-7, in Irving. On March 8, I will drive to San Antonio to attend the annual meeting of the Alamo Historical Society.
Several other commemorative events will occur in and around the Alamo and, indeed, throughout the state. If you have never participated in a HHDs activity, I encourage you to do so. For many of us, it has become a lifelong habit. If nothing else, deliver a prayer of thankfulness for all those intrepid pioneers who sacrificed so much to secure the lives we enjoy today.
God bless Texas.
And God bless the men, women, and children who built it.