"The spirit of the Alamo letter has been carried by all generations of Texas fighting men to every battlefield. The letter will now be in every courthouse. "
The dedication of the Hood County Alamo Letter Plaque will take place on the Battle of San Jacinto weekend, Saturday April 20, 2024 at the Court House in Granbury, Texas, 30 miles southwest of Ft Worth.
On Veterans Day 2023, the Alamo Letter Society launched with the following Mission Statement: “To educate current and future Texans about their forefathers' armed struggle for Freedom and Liberty through the placement of a large bronze plaque containing Col. William Barrett Travis's Alamo "Victory or Death" letter, in all 254 Texas Courthouses.”
2024 marks 188 years since General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna started marching his army to Texas from Mexico. Three Mexican states, including Texas, were in rebellion. The General soon learned that Texans who value liberty and freedom would defend their family, their land, their property, and their sacred honor, with their lives.
Ron Massingill, the current County Judge for Hood County, was first elected in 2018. “Judge Massingill is a proven leader of men and women,” said Senator Brian Birdwell. “We are confident he can shepherd this project to success, culminated with a historic dedication at the Hood County Courthouse in Granbury on San Jacinto weekend April 21, 2024” Judge Massingill, a graduate of The University of Dallas and the Southern Methodist University Law school, served six years in the Army Reserves, 26th JAG out of Ft Worth. He and his wife Brenda have been married 34 years.
The Alamo letter was written on February 24, 1836, and heroically dispatched through the Mexican Army to General Sam Houston by Captain Albert Martin. Only 220 words long, many Texans and other Freedom-loving people around the world hold it in the same high esteem as the U.S. Constitution and the Magna Carta. The Alamo Letter Society is dedicated to the two leading Tejanos of the Texas Revolution, Jose Antonio Navarro and Juan Seguín.
Sylvia Navarro Tillotson, the direct descendent of Jose Antonio Navarro, said “José Navarro, a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence, helped create the 1836 and 1845 Constitutions of Texas. He was a Texas patriot, passionate about independence, opportunity, and the rights of all Texans.”
The originator of this idea is 13-year-old Texas school girl, Slone McNutt, who was studying Texas history at the Hockaday School of Dallas. In January of 2023, she visited the Alamo with her family. They were looking at the historic 220-word William Barrett Travis's "Victory or Death" letter on a bronze plaque on the lawn in front of the Alamo chapel. 7th-grade daughter Slone said to her father, Lee William “Bill” McNutt, "Daddy, why aren't these plaques with the famous letter all over Texas?” Her question was the reason for the start of this effort. An idea and an organization were born.
McNutt recruited his longtime University Park neighbor and fellow Vanderbilt University graduate, Rosser Newton, Sr., and US Army SGM (Retired) John Vick from Rockwall, who currently serves as the District Director for Texas Senator Bob Hall, to aid in the birth of the organization.
“The Alamo Letter might be as valuable to Texans today as it was to Sam Houston and his army in 1836. “ said Alamo Letter Chairman Bill McNutt, a graduate of SMU. “Ron and I have been friends for 25 years. If anyone can do a terrific and well attended dedication, it is Judge Massingill. “
The Alamo Letter Society is recruiting a single Chairperson in each County to serve as a third co-chair with Rosser Newton and Bill McNutt. Each County Chair will work with the local County Judge and County Commissioners to secure a site for the plaque either inside the Courthouse or on the Courthouse grounds. Each County Chair will organize, plan, and accomplish a historic dedication ceremony involving local schools, bands, military bases, the Daughters and Sons of the Republic of Texas, and more. Self-nominations for County Chairs are welcome. Please call 214-537-9311 for more information.
The following Counties have already announced their dedication dates:
- Ellis County Dedication, Friday Feb 23, 2024, 3pm, Courthouse in Waxahachie.
- Rockwall County Dedication will be on the 188th anniversary of the writing of the letter, Feb. 24, 2024, 10am at the New Courthouse in Rockwall.
- Van Zandt County Dedication, late March 2024, at the Courthouse in Canton.
- Nueces County, last week in March 29, 2024 at the Courthouse in Corpus Christi
"The spirit of the Alamo letter has been carried by the generations of Texas fighting men to every battlefield, “ said Slone McNutt the originator of the idea and Hockaday school student in Dallas. “ I have spoken to several descendants of Jose Antonio Navarro and Juan Sequin and they are grateful our organization honors their forefathers who understood you could be both a loyal Texan and yet proud of their Mexican heritage. “
ALAMO LETTER SOCIETY
The Alamo Letter Society exists to educate school children, new Texans and future generations, of their forefathers' fight for Liberty, and Freedom, through the placement of a large 110 pound bronze plaque containing the Alamo letter at each of the 254 courthouses in the Lone Star State. www.alamoletter.com
THE END.
Bill McNutt
Alamo Letter Society
+1 214-537-9311
McNuttLW@gmail.com