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Sal from Fort Worth sent me

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a letter in which he advised

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that I should look into the story

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of how the Bowery Theatre in New

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York City back in 1836

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raised money for the

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Texas Revolution.

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Sal is 98 years old and I am

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grateful that he is still an

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avid student of history and

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took the time to write.

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Thank you, Sal.

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I pursued your lead vigorously

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and I found historical

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gold.

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Let's begin here on a roundabout

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way to the Bowery Theatre.

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Robert Todd Lincoln was nearly

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killed in 1835

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when he almost fell off a train

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platform in New Jersey.

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He was saved by the strong

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arm of Edwin Booth,

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who grabbed him by his coat collar

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and pulled him to safety.

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Edwin booth saved the life

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of Robert Lincoln.

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If that fact sounds strangely

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familiar to you, It is

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because of another fact.

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More firmly rooted in your memory

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that upstages it.

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A year after this event,

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John Wilkes Booth, Edwin's brother,

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would assassinate Abraham Lincoln,

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Robert's father.

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The two events were not connected

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except by randomness.

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Our story today has more of these

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coincidences that occur so

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frequently in history that they seem

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almost miraculous.

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As you may know, Edwin Booth and

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John Wilkes Booth were

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both actors but Edwin was

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considered the finest of his era.

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Edwin and John's father Junius

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Brutus Booth was before

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that considered the finest actor of

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his time.

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Walt Whitman loved his mastery of

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the stage.

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In senior Booth's time he

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was a passionate supporter

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of the Texas Revolution.

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He was known to use his

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Shakespearean trained voice to

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mount tables and bars in New York

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City to explain at length to

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the patrons.

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Just why they should support the

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Texas Revolution against Mexico.

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In January of 1836, he convinced

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Thomas Hamblin, the manager of the

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Bowery theater, where he was

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primarily headlining plays

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in those days to

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host some fundraising evenings

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under the heading of a

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triumph for Texas,

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a GoFundMe of the 19th century.

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They raised money by putting on the

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play Venice Preserve.

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Booth plays Pierre, who is

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a headstrong revolutionary,

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giving speeches about the need to

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overthrow dictators in

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the name of God-given freedom,

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speeches not unlike those that were

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soon to be delivered at the Alamo

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and San Jacinto.

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The question that begs to be asked

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here is how did Junius

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Booth develop such a

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love for Texas all the way from New

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York City and given that he was

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British by birth?

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It turns out that he knew

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Sam Houston personally,

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from Houston's early days as a U S

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congressman from Tennessee.

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Booth frequently performed in the

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theaters in Washington, DC, and

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they became, as we would say today,

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drinking buddies.

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Booth even coached Houston on

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his oratorical style to make him a

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more effective congressional

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orator.

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Naturally, some years later, when

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Booth was aware that Houston was

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in Texas endeavoring to overthrow

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Santa Anna, he wanted to help.

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He did what he could to rally

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national sentiment for the Texas

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cause from the stage of

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the Bowery Theater and from

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tabletops and bars, where

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he sold patrons on the

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righteous cause of Texas freedom.

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When Sam Houston returned to

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Washington as a Texas Senator

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in 1846,

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he and Booth again rekindled their

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bromance and commenced bar

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hopping on occasion.

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Once again, here is

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a description of the two of them in

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those days.

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When in Washington, Junius Brutus

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Booth and General Sam Houston of

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Texas were great cronies.

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It was a picture worthy of punch

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to see this eccentric pair

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take their afternoon promenade

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along Pennsylvania Avenue.

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Houston stood six feet,

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four inches and booth about

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five feet, five inches.

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As it was winter, Houston's ample

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shoulders were covered with a

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large gray blanket that reached

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to his heels.

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His grizzled head was mounted by a

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huge Mexican sombrero.

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Booth was fashionably attired in a

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brown long skirted overcoat

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with buttons high up in the small of

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his back and his classic head

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held up a high crowned

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silk hat.

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And thus they marched.

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Little Booth, clinging to the arm

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and with difficulty, keeping pace

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with the sturdy strides of

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the hero of Santa Sena.

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They were on pleasure bent

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and were soon lost to view

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of the amused pedestrians.

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Oh, I would have loved to have seen

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that.

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I'm WFStrong. These are stories from

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Texas by way of New York

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and Washington DC.

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Some of them are

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true.