The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977 Page: 246
492 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
local clergyman, Potter ambushed the unfortunate minister on a lonely
country road and mutilated him. At a later date in Texas, the term "Pot-
terizing" described the above crime.
As did so many others of that era, Potter arrived in Texas seeking sur-
cease from past troubles. He was elected as a delegate from the Nacog-
doches district to the Independence Convention and was a strong advocate
of separation from Mexico. Appointed by President David G. Burnet as
the first Texas secretary of the navy, Potter lacked administrative skills and
quickly resigned his office when Houston was elected president. However,
the author follows the usual interpretation in crediting the skeleton navy
with a major share of the victory over Mexico. A supporter of President
Mirabeau B. Lamar's, Potter clashed frequently with Sam Houston both
on personal grounds and substantive issues. His vigorous defense of the
Cherokee Land Bill and insistence that the permanent capitol of the Repu-
blic be located at Austin drew "Old Sam's" fire in one legislative skirmish
after another. As a member of the Fifth and Sixth Congress, perhaps Pot-
ter's most lasting contribution during the Republic era was his advocacy
of all measures to aid public education.
Potter's end was characteristically violent. A victim of the Regulator-
Moderator struggle, he was shot while attempting to flee his pursuers and,
contrary to legend, Caddo Lake yielded his body the next day. Fischer's
book will inevitably invite comparison with an earlier work by Ernest
Shearer, Robert Potter: Remarkable North Carolinian and Texan (1951) ).
Both catch the flavor of this intriguing man.246
University of Houston
STANLEY E. SIEGEL
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 80, July 1976 - April, 1977, periodical, 1976/1977; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101204/m1/278/?rotate=270: accessed April 30, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.