A Guide to the Nacogdoches (Texas) Committee of Vigilance and Safety Records, 1835-1837
The Nacogdoches, Texas, Committee of Vigilance and Safety was established in 1835 as a means to organize and collect arms and provisions to be used in the Texas Revolution. It was one of a number of local quasi-governmental associations formed in various Texas cities around the time of the impending Revolution. Samuel Houston, commander in chief of troops for the Department of Nacogdoches, chaired a mass meeting in September 1835 to consider the possibility of war between Texas and the federal government and to discuss convening a consultation. He then served as a delegate from Nacogdoches to the Consultation of 1835, after which he was appointed major general of the Texas Army. Henry Rueg, political chief of the Department of Nacogdoches, 1834-1836, founded the committee in 1835, appointing Frost Thorn and Thomas J. Rusk, among others, to serve on it.
Sources: Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Nacogdoches County," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/NN/hcn1.html (accessed July 27, 2010).
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Henry Rueg," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/RR/fru7.html (accessed July 27, 2010).
Handbook of Texas Online, s.v. "Samuel Houston," http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/HH/fho73.html (accessed July 27, 2010).
Transcripts of original letters, reports, resolutions, accounts, bills, and receipts, in one volume, comprise the Nacogdoches (Texas) Committee of Vigilance and Safety Records, 1835-1837. The records relate to the organization and functioning of the committee, including military and social affairs.
The collection is open for research.
Nacogdoches (Texas) Committee of Vigilance and Safety Records, 1835-1837, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin.
Basic processing and cataloging of this collection was supported with funds from the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) for the Briscoe Center’s "History Revealed: Bringing Collections to Light" project, 2009-2011.
Detailed Description of the Papers