I’ve just uploaded an article by Chuck Glass on the arms of the Republic and State of Texas; enjoy.
http://www.americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=State.Texas
Fine paper! Very interesting…
...it is a pity however that this clever and detalised observation is not complemented with an appendix containing author’s (or at least somebody else’s) critical remarks and suggestions. Why to leave all the initiative to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas? 
Joseph McMillan;80540 wrote:
enjoy.
Yes, I did!
interesting read :p
Very interesting! Now I know the genesis of the saying, "Only two things come from Texas: steers and $3 bills."
I think a good "coat of arms" would have been Per pale Argent and Gules on a fess Azure a mullet also of the first and for crest a mullet Argent encircled by a garland of live oak and olive Proper, conjoined at the stems with a ribbon Or [using the TNG crest blazon].
—Guy
Guy Power wrote: "I think a good "coat of arms" would have been Per pale Argent and Gules on a fess Azure a mullet also of the first and for crest a mullet Argent encircled by a garland of live oak and olive Proper, conjoined at the stems with a ribbon Or [using the TNG crest blazon]."
—> Did you mean "on a chief…" rather than "fess"?—i.e. the flag of Baja Oklahoma hanging vertically?
And as to Michael’s question, "Why to leave all the initiative to the Daughters of the Republic of Texas?"—
—> as anyone who has spent any time in Texas can attest, suggestions from outsiders about fixing perceived problems with the Greatest State on Earth will likely be met with ... well, consider the reception of comments from Moscow regarding desirable improvements in the affairs of Chechnia… 
Mike~~
"All my ex’s live in Texas,
That’s why I hang my hat in Tennessee"
I’ve always thought that the arms of Texas ought to be "Azure a star Argent," with the shield, rather than the star, surrounded by the branches. In fact the original law can be read that way, and the way it appears on the $3 bill suggests that that might have been the correct reading.
It would be nice if we could find other early emblazonments, preferably from the republican period. Other than the bill, everything in Chuck’s article is late 19th century or newer.
Michael F. McCartney;80552 wrote:
—> Did you mean "on a chief…" rather than "fess"?—i.e. the flag of Baja Oklahoma hanging vertically?
Ooooohhhhhh .... major egg on face! Yup ~ that’s what I meant.
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_5EvMAgEl90M/SWTZBH57wsI/AAAAAAAABdI/pKQ8K7L5cJ8/s1600/egg_on_face.jpg
Sheesh!
—Guy
Joseph McMillan;80555 wrote:
I’ve always thought that the arms of Texas ought to be "Azure a star Argent," with the shield, rather than the star, surrounded by the branches.
Yeah ... I’d vote for that, Joe. But ... "The Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star" belonged to the Republic of West Florida.
—Guy
Joseph McMillan;80540 wrote:
I’ve just uploaded an article by Chuck Glass on the arms of the Republic and State of Texas; enjoy.
http://www.americanheraldry.org/pages/index.php?n=State.Texas
Joe, could you find space to add the following to the "Arms of Texas" page? I found this when reading about MSG Roy Benavidez accomplishments earning him the Congressional Medal of Honor. He was posthumously awarded the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor; it has been awarded only seven times.
http://www.markbyrd.com/images/RPB/RPB_tmoh.jpg
Texas Legislative Medal of Honor
Texas Statute wrote:
Sec. 431.131. TEXAS LEGISLATIVE MEDAL OF HONOR. (a) The Texas Legislative Medal of Honor shall be awarded to a member of the state or federal military forces designated by concurrent resolution of the legislature who voluntarily performs a deed of personal bravery or self-sacrifice involving risk of life that is so conspicuous as to clearly distinguish the person for gallantry and intrepidity above the person’s comrades. Awarding of the medal shall be considered on the standard of extraordinary merit. The medal may be awarded only on incontestable proof of performance of the deed. To be eligible for the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor, a person must:
(1) have been born in this state;
(2) reside in this state or have been a resident of this state on the person’s death; or
(3) have been a resident of this state when the person entered military service.
(b) A person is not ineligible for the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor because the person has received any other medal or award for military service, including a medal or award made by the United States.
(c) To receive the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor, a person must be nominated during a regular session of the legislature by majority vote of all the members of a nominating committee consisting of:
(1) the adjutant general or the adjutant general’s designated representative;
(2) the lieutenant governor or the lieutenant governor’s designated representative;
(3) the speaker of the house of representatives or the speaker’s designated representative; and
(4) the chair of the standing committee of each house of the legislature with primary jurisdiction over military and veterans affairs.
(d) The legislature by concurrent resolution may direct the governor to award the Texas Legislative Medal of Honor to a person nominated by the nominating committee. The committee chairs serving on the nominating committee shall jointly prepare a concurrent resolution directing the governor to award the medal to a person nominated. The legislature may direct the medal to be awarded only during a regular session and may not direct the medal to be awarded to more than one person during a regular session.
Acts 1987, 70th Leg., ch. 147, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1987. Amended by Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 1092, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 1020, Sec. 1, eff. June 20, 2003.
Guy:
Thank you very much for this find. I hope we can add it to the article.
Joseph McMillan;80555 wrote:
It would be nice if we could find other early emblazonments, preferably from the republican period. Other than the bill, everything in Chuck’s article is late 19th century or newer.
That was my hope, too, Joe. In researching the article, I wanted to find official documents that may have used the coat of arms in some manner. There were no coins minted during the days of the Republic, and other than the paper currency, I only found bonds printed by the government, though none of them had a coat of arms or great seal on them. I found no treaties, either, and I’ve wondered what else might be out there.
Of course, I had to pick and choose what to include in the article, but there is an image of the Republic’s arms that are in the Life Science Library at the University of Texas
[ATTACH]812[/ATTACH]
And, there’s a further image:
[ATTACH]814[/ATTACH]
The Texas Navy Association uses an emblem that incorporates an Argent star on an Azure field with an anchor, but they tell me that this dates back only about 40 years.
I’m hoping to hear from my fellow forum members from Texas, Hugh, David, Mark, Hassan, et al, as to any other uses of the arms they may know of that date to the time of the Republic.
I found this image from a 19th century document entitled "The Immigrant’s Guide to Texas."
[ATTACH]820[/ATTACH]
Guy Power;80557 wrote:
Yeah ... I’d vote for that, Joe. But ... "The Bonnie Blue Flag that bears a single star" belonged to the Republic of West Florida.
You are correct. The short lived Republic of West Florida in encompassed the Gulf Coast portions of the present day states of Mississippi, Alabama and eastern Louisiana. Many settlers from this area moved on to Texas a decade or two later taking their flag tradition with them.
Charles Glass;81324 wrote:
I found this image from a 19th century document entitled "The Immigrant’s Guide to Texas."
[ATTACH]820[/ATTACH]
Charles, the attachment didn’t come through. Can you attach an image or url?
Thanks,
—Guy
EDIT—Oops! My bad ... I wasn’t logged in. I see it now.
I found another use of the Texas State Seal:
http://img840.imageshack.us/img840/7241/texassealspurs.jpg
Vintage spurs, but I don’t know the period—probably mid 20th cent or after. Found the image on Ebay.
—Guy
