Thomas Jefferson Rusk

Thomas Jefferson Rusk(December 5, 1803 – July 29, 1857) was an early political and military leader of theRepublic of Texas, serving as its firstsecretary of warand as a general at theBattle of San Jacinto. He was later a U.S. politician and served as a senator from Texas from 1846 until his suicide. He served as thepresident pro tempore of the United States Senatein 1857.
Rusk was born inPendleton, South Carolina, to John Rusk, astonemason, and Sterritt Rusk. After beingadmittedto thebarin 1825, Rusk began his law practice inClarkesville, Georgia. In 1827, he married Mary F. (Polly) Cleveland, the daughter ofGeneralBenjamin Cleveland, grandson of Col.Benjamin Clevelandof King's Mountain fame. Rusk became a business partner of his father-in-law after the marriage. He lived in the gold region ofGeorgiaand made sizable mining investments. In 1834, however, the managers of the company in which he had invested embezzled all the funds and fled toMexican Texas. Rusk pursued them toNacogdoches, but never recovered the money.
Made by Thomas Jefferson Rusk (section)
Rusk decided to stay in Texas and became a citizen of Mexico in 1835, applied for a headrightinDavid G. Burnet's colony, and sent for his family. After hearing Nacogdoches citizens denounce the despotism of Mexico, Rusk became involved in the independence movement. He organized volunteers from Nacogdoches and hastened to Gonzales, where his men joinedStephen F. Austin's army in preventing the Mexicans from seizing theircannon. They proceeded toSan Antonio, but Rusk left the army before theSiege of Béxar.
The provisional government named himinspector generalof the army in the Nacogdoches District. As a delegate from Nacogdoches to theConvention of 1836, Rusk not only signed theTexas Declaration of Independence, but also chaired the committee to revise the constitution of theRepublic of Texas. Thead interimgovernment, installed on March 17, 1836, appointed Rusk as secretary of war. When informed thatthe Alamohad fallen and the Mexican army was moving eastward, Rusk helpedPresidentDavid Burnet to move the government toHarrisburg.
After the Mexicans killed allJames W. Fannin'sTexan army atGoliad, Burnet sent Rusk with orders for GeneralSam Houstonto make a stand against the enemy. Rusk participated with bravery in the defeat ofSanta Annaon April 21, 1836, in theBattle of San Jacinto. From May to October 1836, he served as commander-in-chief of theArmy of the Republic of Texas, with the rank ofbrigadier general. He followed the Mexican troops westward as they retired from Texas to be certain of their retreat beyond theRio Grande. Then, he conducted a military funeral for the troops killed at Goliad.
In the first regularly elected administration, President Houston appointed Rusk secretary of war, but after a few weeks, Rusk resigned to take care of pressing domestic problems.At the insistence of friends, however, he represented Nacogdoches in the Second Congress of the Republic (1837–1838). Rusk was amason. He joinedMilam Lodge No. 40(Later Milam Lodge #2) in Nacogdoches in 1837 and was a founding member of theGrand Lodge of Texas, organized inHoustonon December 20, 1837.
As chairman of the House Military Committee in 1837, he sponsored amilitiabill that passed over Houston's veto, and Congress elected Ruskmajor generalof themilitia. In the summer of 1838, he commanded the Nacogdoches militia, which suppressed theCórdova Rebellion. In October, when Mexican agents were discovered among theKickapoo Indians, Rusk defeated those Indians and their Indian allies. He captured maraudingCaddoIndians in November 1838 and risked an international incident when he invaded United States territory to return them to the Indian agent inShreveport, Louisiana.
On December 12, 1838, the Texas Congress elected Ruskchief justiceof the republic'sSupreme Court. He served until June 30, 1840, when he resigned to resume his law practice. Later, he headed the bar of the Republic of Texas.J. Pinckney Henderson, later the firstgovernor of the state of Texas, and he formed a law partnership in 1841.
Early in 1843, Rusk was called upon once again to serve as a military commander. Concern over the lack of protection on the frontier caused Congress, in a joint ballot on January 16, 1843, to elect Rusk major general of the militia of the Republic of Texas, but he resigned in June when Houston obstructed his plans for aggressive warfare against Mexico. Rusk then turned his energies to establishingNacogdoches University(operated 1845–1895).He served as vice president of the university when the charter was granted in 1845 and president in 1846.
Rusk supported Sam Houston and the growing movement toannex Texasto the United States. He was president of the republic'sConvention of 1845, which accepted the annexation terms. The first Texas state legislature elected Houston and him to theUnited States Senatein February 1846. Rusk received the larger number of votes and the longer term of office.
Rusk and Houston forgot past differences as they worked to settle the southwest boundary question in favor of Texas' claim to the Rio Grande. Rusk supported the position of US PresidentJames K. Polkon the necessity of theMexican Warand the acquisition of California. In the debate over theCompromise of 1850, Rusk refused to endorsesecession, proposed by some in the caucus of Southern congressmen. He vigorously defended Texas' claims to the land used to create theNew Mexico Territoryin 1850, arguing for financial compensation for Texas.
As an early advocate of a transcontinental railroad through Texas, Senator Rusk made speeches in the Senate and throughout Texas in support of a southern route. TheGadsden Purchasereceived his support. Rusk was in favor of theKansas–Nebraska Act. PresidentJames Buchananoffered him the position ofUnited States postmaster generalin 1857, but he turned it down. (Buchanan gave the post toAaron V. Brown.)
While Rusk attended to duties in Washington, DC, his wife died oftuberculosison April 23, 1856. Five of their seven children were still living at the time. During a special session in March 1857, he was electedpresident pro tempore of the United States Senate.
Missing his wife and ill from atumorat the base of his neck, Rusk killed himself by a self-inflicted gunshot wound on July 29, 1857.He was 53 years old.