Committee on Public Safety
San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Texas and the Civil War Committee on Public Safety Created by Texas Secession Convention, Jan. 1861. A committee of 15 men to prevent public disorder and--in the face of open hostility from Governor Sam Houston--enforce Secession Convention mandates. On Feb. 18, 1861, in what might well have been first battle of the Civil War, minute men under committee orders surrounded the Federal headquarters for the State, in San Antonio, and effected surrender of the alien force. Over $3,000,000 worth of ammunition, guns, army vehicles, military goods and money were seized. Prompt action here postponed hostilities. The captured foe was sent north without bloodshed on Texas soil. This move was followed by occupation of a chain of frontier forts won in the San Antonio action and useful in defense of Confederate Texas. The committee set up 3 military districts, placing troops on frontiers, coast and Mexican border. Texas was the only Confederate state with the problem of defenses on the border of a neutral nation. Numbers of Texas counties also used for at least 2 years Committees on Public Safety, for protection against Indians and to obtain supplies. The seccession Convention and Committee on Public Safety did much to prepare Texas for War. (1965)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
When Texas's Secession Convention met in January 1861, it created a fifteen-man Committee on Public Safety to enforce its mandates over the fierce objection of Unionist Governor Sam Houston. On February 18, 1861, minute men acting under the committee's orders surrounded and forced the surrender of the U.S. Army's Texas headquarters in San Antonio, seizing vast stores of arms and supplies. The committee went on to organize military districts guarding the frontier, coast, and Mexican border.
Why it matters
The bloodless seizure of federal property in San Antonio was among the earliest overt acts of the secession crisis, showing how state authority was marshaled for war weeks before the guns of Fort Sumter.
Plan your visit
NearbyMake a day of it — museums, food, and places to stay near this marker.
Museums & culture
- Visitor's Center Museum1.2 mi away
- Artpace1.2 mi away · 445 North Main Avenue, San Antonio, TX
- San Antonio Museum of Art1.2 mi away · 200 West Jones Avenue, San Antonio
- Centro de Artes1.5 mi away
- Spanish Governor's Palace1.5 mi away
- Buckhorn Saloon and Museum1.5 mi away
Attractions
- Scobee Planetarium0.1 mi away
- Terror Mansion0.4 mi away
- River boat boarding1.1 mi away
- boat ride boarding1.3 mi away
- Murchison Tower1.5 mi away
- Air Castles1.5 mi away
Food & drink
- Texas de Brazil1.5 mi away · 313 East Houston Street, San Antonio
- La Vida Coffee & Drinks1.5 mi away · 106 Jefferson Street
- Voodoo Donut1.5 mi away
- Playland Pizza1.5 mi away
- The Local Bar1.6 mi away
- Maddy McMurphy's Irish Sports Bar1.6 mi away · 420 East Houston Street, San Antonio, TX
Places to stay
- Sheraton Gunter Hotel San Antonio1.5 mi away · 205 East Houston Street, San Antonio, TX
- The St. Anthony, a Luxury Collection Hotel, San Antonio1.5 mi away · 300 E Travis St, San Antonio, TX
- Best Western Premier Historic Travelers Hotel Alamo/Riverwalk1.5 mi away
- Home2 Suites by Hilton San Antonio Downtown - Riverwalk, TX1.5 mi away · 603 Navarro Street, San Antonio, TX
- Holiday Inn Riverwalk1.5 mi away · 217 North Saint Mary's Street, San Antonio, TX
- Omni La Mansión del Rio1.6 mi away · 112 College Street, San Antonio
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Related people
- · Sam Houston
Themes & tags
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