The Texas Archive War

Book excerpt: Often relegated to a footnote, the Archive War almost plunged the Republic of Texas into civil war. Houston's Archive War began with the Texas Revolution, as the spoils of the battlefield gave way to bitter political strife. Sam Houston didn't expect a two-year standoff with Austin residents over the location of the new republic's capital. But if a few things had gone differently, his attempt to shift the seat of government back to the city named after him could have ended with Austin residents in outright rebellion. As it was, the feud between Lamar and Houston over the seat of government escalated into cannon-fire and continued until Texas was a Republic no more. Author Lora-Marie Bernard thumbs through the incendiary files of the Texas Archive War.