The Lost Gettysburg Address by David T. Dixon Page A

and middling plantations. It certainly was not the
tidy little metropolis of Dayton that Eliza’s Patterson ancestors had
hacked out of a virgin forest.
    Despite these challenges, Anderson was determined to create his
idealized version of a country estate and leveraged his military
connections to build it. The site he chose was one of the most picturesque
in the area. Perched on the highest point of land about four miles
north of town and nourished by natural springs at the headwaters
of the San Antonio River stood a half-finished armory. It had been
abandoned by the army and remained standing like a medieval ruin,
an eyesore to the citizens of San Antonio. Anderson purchased the
property and began transforming it into a ranchero mansion. The
building had potential. Laid out in the shape of a Maltese cross, with
thick stone walls and lofty ceilings, the home was cool in the summer
and cozy in the winter. Anderson relished the opportunity to turn
this rough diamond into a sparkling jewel, though it was a mere shell
needing flooring, plaster, and decorative accoutrements. Anderson
poured his considerable energies and money into the project. He
intended to create a showplace. He imagined that it might become one
of the finest new residences in Texas. 8
    Anderson brought horses and cattle with extensive pedigrees to his
new ranch. They contrasted sharply with the longhorns and Indian
palominos prevalent in the region. He branded the bovines with a
moon and star. He gave his stallions biblical names like Jehoshaphat
and Nebuchadnezzar. He eschewed the black coat and collar
typical of his gentlemen peers, preferring instead the traditional vaquero
outfit of chaps and a broad-brimmed sombrero. Like a character in
one of his favorite Shakespeare plays, Anderson immersed himself
in his own period drama. It soon became a horror story. When slave
traders began to land their illegal cargo at Indianola and Galveston
in blatant defiance of Texas and U.S. laws, Anderson resolved to take
action. He would not stand idle and watch his country disintegrate.
Despite having no political capital in Texas, he was still a man of
talent and influence.Sam Houston and the Union circle in Texas
needed him. 9
    Anderson decided to raise a company of “new Texas Rangers” to
“cut the throat of every pirate aboard, scuttle their ships,” and free
the slaves. He had two secret accomplices but needed a third. He
chose a close neighbor whom he suspected shared similar political
views. Anderson revealed his plan toDennis Meade and asked for
assistance. Meade replied that if Anderson attempted such a rash plan,
he would call on the real Texas Rangers to stop him. His ardor thus
cooled, Anderson abandoned the scheme. In retrospect, his move to
Texas in 1859 appears rash and unwise. He was so smitten with his
beloved Lady Liberty that he may have misread fatal flaws in the
Constitution as mere hairline cracks in the folds of her otherwise
sparkling marble gown. Anderson was not alone. Throughout the
tortuous final years of the 1850s, few leaders could actually conceive
that sectional divisions and jealousies could lead to the most
catastrophic of outcomes.
    Union supporters in Texas were bolstered in these delusions in
August 1859. The election of Sam Houston to the governor’s chair by
a majority of nearly eighty-seven hundred votes came amid the largest
turnout in state electoral history. Houston had defeated incumbent
governorHardin R. Runnels, whose Democratic Party’s platform
included formal reopening of the slave trade. Anderson attended
several campaign events and felt that Houston’s emotional connection
with his audience was as great as any speaker he had ever seen. He
later stated that Houston was the most courageous Union man that
ever breathed. Both Houston and Anderson ended up paying a high
price for their patriotism. Strong Union supporters like Houston
existed among the most influential public men in almost every Southern
state. Such