George Childress - Texas

Texas

After spending some time raising money and volunteers in Tennessee for the Texas army, Childress left permanently for Texas. He arrived at the Red River on December 13, 1835, and reached Robertson's colony on January 9, 1836. The following February he and his uncle, Sterling C. Robertson, were elected to represent Milam Municipality (formerly known as Viesca) at the Convention of 1836. Childress called the convention to order and subsequently introduced a resolution authorizing a committee of five members to draft a declaration of independence. Upon adoption of the resolution, he was named chairman of the committee by Richard Ellis and is almost universally acknowledged as the primary author of the document. The other members of the committee were Edward Conrad, James Fannin, Bailey Hardeman, and Collin McKinney. The committee finished the drafting in only one day, leading many to believe that Childress had gone to the convention with a draft already prepared.

The convention approved the document on March 2, 1836. The document is modeled closely on the United States Declaration of Independence with its list of causes. Although the document is dated March 2, the actual signing took place on March 3, after errors were discovered when it was read. On March 19, 1836, Childress and Robert Hamilton were sent to the United States to gain recognition of the new Republic of Texas. They were later replaced by James Collinsworth and Peter W.