Samuel Rhoads Fisher
Encyclopedia
Samuel Rhoads Fisher was the secretary of the Navy
of the Republic of Texas
.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/ffi23.html
He was born in Pennsylvania
on December 31, 1794 and settled in Texas in 1830 with his wife and four children as a member of Austin's Third Colony. He represented Matagorda Municipality in the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos where he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence
. President Sam Houston
nominated Fisher as Secretary
of the Texas Navy
and the appointment was confirmed by the Senate on October 28, 1836.
A letter to presidential candidate Mirabeau B. Lamar
in August 1838 from George Wheelwright urged reconsideration of Fisher for Secretary for the good of the navy and defense of the Republic and Houston suspended Fisher from office in October 1837, to secure "harmony and efficiency". Many in the senate opposed the move and the Senate ordered Fisher's reinstatement on October 18, 1837. This event was a major incident in the early days of the Republic of Texas and added to the severe split between the various factions in the government.
Sam Houston Dixon in "The Men Who Made Texas Free" wrote that "when Mr. Fisher died, Richard Ellis, who was president of the convention which declared Texas independent of Mexico, said from the floor of the Senate: 'In the death of Rhodes Fisher the Republic has lost one of its wisest defenders. He was a man of poise even midst times of stress and excitement. Well do some of us remember his cool and deliberate consideration of our acts at Old Washington, March, 1836; how his voice of caution rang out as men of zeal vied with one another in their precipitous rush to complete their labors of establishing a government and returning to their homes. So earnestly did he plead and so logical was his appeal that we were persuaded to follow his advice........There was nothing of the braggadocio about him and he did not lack courage to express his opinions.'"
Fisher died on March 14, 1839, and was buried at Matagorda. Fisher County, established in 1876, was named after him http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/hcf4.html.
Navy
A navy is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake- or ocean-borne combat operations and related functions...
of the Republic of Texas
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas was an independent nation in North America, bordering the United States and Mexico, that existed from 1836 to 1846.Formed as a break-away republic from Mexico by the Texas Revolution, the state claimed borders that encompassed an area that included all of the present U.S...
.http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/ffi23.html
He was born in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
on December 31, 1794 and settled in Texas in 1830 with his wife and four children as a member of Austin's Third Colony. He represented Matagorda Municipality in the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos where he signed the Texas Declaration of Independence
Texas Declaration of Independence
The Texas Declaration of Independence was the formal declaration of independence of the Republic of Texas from Mexico in the Texas Revolution. It was adopted at the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 2, 1836, and formally signed the following day after errors were noted in the...
. President Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
nominated Fisher as Secretary
Texas Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the Republic of Texas was a member of the Cabinet of the President of the Republic of Texas responsible for naval affairs and management of the Texas Navy. The office lasted from 1836 until 1841, when it was merged with Secretary of War under the title Secretary of War...
of the Texas Navy
Texas Navy
The Texas Navy was the official navy of the Republic of Texas. Two Texas Navies were naval fighting forces. There is a “Third and Honorary” Texas Navy, in which officers are commissioned by the Governor of Texas as Admirals, Commanders and Lieutenants....
and the appointment was confirmed by the Senate on October 28, 1836.
A letter to presidential candidate Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau B. Lamar
Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar was a Texas politician, diplomat and soldier who was a leading Texas political figure during the Texas Republic era. He was the second President of the Republic of Texas, after David G. Burnet and Sam Houston.-Early years:Lamar grew up at Fairfield, his father's...
in August 1838 from George Wheelwright urged reconsideration of Fisher for Secretary for the good of the navy and defense of the Republic and Houston suspended Fisher from office in October 1837, to secure "harmony and efficiency". Many in the senate opposed the move and the Senate ordered Fisher's reinstatement on October 18, 1837. This event was a major incident in the early days of the Republic of Texas and added to the severe split between the various factions in the government.
Sam Houston Dixon in "The Men Who Made Texas Free" wrote that "when Mr. Fisher died, Richard Ellis, who was president of the convention which declared Texas independent of Mexico, said from the floor of the Senate: 'In the death of Rhodes Fisher the Republic has lost one of its wisest defenders. He was a man of poise even midst times of stress and excitement. Well do some of us remember his cool and deliberate consideration of our acts at Old Washington, March, 1836; how his voice of caution rang out as men of zeal vied with one another in their precipitous rush to complete their labors of establishing a government and returning to their homes. So earnestly did he plead and so logical was his appeal that we were persuaded to follow his advice........There was nothing of the braggadocio about him and he did not lack courage to express his opinions.'"
Fisher died on March 14, 1839, and was buried at Matagorda. Fisher County, established in 1876, was named after him http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/FF/hcf4.html.
Sources
- Detailed biography
- The Handbook of Texas Online.
- Linda Ericson Devereaux, The Texas Navy (Nacogdoches, Texas, 1983).
- Jim Dan Hill, The Texas Navy (New York: Barnes, 1962).
- Louis Wiltz Kemp, The Signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence (Salado, Texas: Anson Jones, 1944; rpt. 1959).