HAPPY ISAAC BATTERSON DAY!!!!!

On this day in 1836, Sam Houston, enroute to his fateful meeting with Santa Anna, ran into a problem. The stream that he had to cross, Buffalo Bayou, was swollen from the recent rains, and Santa Anna's troops were guarding the only available bridges to the plains of Saint Hyacinth keeping the army from intercepting Santa Anna. However, divine providence shined down on Houston's Army that day.
While travelling to intercept Santa Anna's army, Houston, and his soldiers happened upon the homestead of Isaac Batterson, "The Squire of Buffalo Bayou," a patriot seeking to protect his land from the advancing Mexican troops. Isaac welcomed Houston and his soldiers for the night, and on the next morning, the 19th, he agreed to let the sick and wounded remain while the rest of the soldiers went on to San Jacinto. Isaac's cabin was his pride and joy. Built to last, he had imported wood, the finest from New York for his floor. It was the only planed wood to be found in the area. That morning, over breakfast, Sam Houston asked Isaac Batterson if he could take up his floor to make a raft to ferry his troops and canons to the other side of Buffalo Bayou. Isaac Batterson agreed, and two days later, April 21, 1836, History was made, and Texas became a Republic.
What is significant about this little bit of history, is that without the floor from Isaac Batterson's house (Mrs. Amelia Batterson was not happy when she found out) the victory might not have been so clear cut. Also, it is fun to note that this floor contributed to the battle that Historians worldwide acknowledge is the eighth most significant battle ever fought. That is because from this battle, The United States was able to expand its borders to its current set up.
For further reading on this topic, go to these web sites:
http://earlytexashistory.com/tx1836/camp20.htm and
http://www.geocities.com/heartland/flats/7628/batbioisaac.htm or you can type in "Isaac Batterson" in your search engine and see what comes up.
One other sidelight to this story, is when Isaac Batterson moved to Texas with his wife and four daughters, he did not have any sons. When his wife became pregnant again, he was already established as "The Squire" so it was common for people to stop at his home and dine before moving on. One such visitor was a young man going to take an assignment for the Texian Army to oppose Santa Anna. He left, and went on to give his life in defense of freedom for Texas, as so many others did throughout this period of history. However, Isaac Batterson was so impressed with this young man that he wanted to preserve his name, so when his newborn son (his first!) arrived, he knew how to accomplish that goal, and he named his son William Barrett Travis Batterson. Also, one of his daughters, Catherine, married a Steamboat pilot named James Nelson Montgomery, and now you know my connection to this story (he is my 2nd great-grandfather).