December 30, 1842.  Austin, Texas. 1842 had been a tense time for the infant Republic of Texas.  Regular incursions of Mexican troops across the loosely defended borders peaked with the rapid March capture of San Antonio by Mexican General Rafael Vasquez.  With over 1000 troops with him, the Texan defenders fled quickly, with many retreating to Austin.  And though Vasquez’s raiders withdrew rather quickly, the shock of the ease with which a major settlement fell shook the young nation’s government, at least its Executive Branch.  That March raid would lead to something much greater.  Internal dissension, a lawless executive, and a mini-civil war, as the local populace of Austin did what the country’s president refused to do, and defended its legal status as capitol of the Republic against the angry overreach of famed General Sam Houston in the not so famous Texas Archive War.

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