General Hamilton Prioleau Bee was born in Charleston, S. C., July 22, 1822, and died in San Antonio, Texas, on October 3, 1897, aged 75 years. His grandfather was Judge Thomas Bee, who held a commission from President Washington, as Judge of the United States Circuit Court for South Carolina, and his father, Col. Barnard E. Bee, occupied quite a conspicuous place in the history of the Texas Republic, having been Secretary of War under President Sam Houston, and Secretary of State under President M. B. Lamar, and also Minister to the United States and to the Republic of Mexico, though Santa Anna declined to receive him, treating the young Republic as a rebellious province, notwithstanding the Mexican disaster at San Jacinto.
After Santa Anna's surrender to General Houston, he was sent to Washington, in order that he might, in the presence of President Jackson, renew the promises he had made, in order to secure his liberty, and Colonels Hockley, Bee, and Potter were selected to accompany him. It became necessary for him to have a large sum of money, about three thousand dollars, and Colonel Bee advanced it, receiving in return a draft on Santa Anna's bank, in the City of Mexico, for the amount. Upon presentation, the payment of the draft was refused by Santa Anna, on the ground that at the time of its execution, he was a prisoner of war, and, therefore, under duress. Colonel Bee died in 1854.
General Bee's brother, General Barnard E. Bee, was a graduate of the West Point academy, and was killed at the battle of Manassas, being the first general officer killed in the Civil War. He was a splendid soldier, and he it was that christened Gen. T. J. Jackson as “Stonewall,” while rallying his troops, saying to them: “See, there is Jackson, standing like a stone wall. Let us determine to die here, and we shall conquer.”
He was soon after mortally wounded, while holding in his hand the beautiful sword presented to him by the State of South Carolina for his distinguished services in the Mexican war.
Hamilton P. Bee, at the early age of fifteen years, brought his mother out to the then young Republic of Texas, the trip being made by sea, on the steamship Columbia. They landed at Galveston, Texas, then lately desolated by a fearful storm, in November, 1837. His father was then in Houston filling the office of Secretary of War, and the subject of this sketch thus linked his life with that of the young Republic. Dutifully and faithfully he followed during life its standards through all the mutations of fortune, always true to the cause of Texas. He first held the position of clerk in the Comptroller's office, the Comptroller being the writer of this article.
It is a marked incident, as showing the stupendous progress of the State, that at that time there was only one clerk in the Comptroller's office, and now the working force is counted by scores.
The friendship thus begun between the Comptroller and his clerk continued unbroken throughout.
General Bee lived in Houston until his father retired from President Houston's cabinet, when the family moved to Velasco. Here they resided until the election of Lamar, when they returned to the capital, Colonel Bee assuming the position of Secretary of State.
When the capital was removed to Austin, General Bee took up his residence in that village, and engaged in the study of law under Judge Webb, a distinguished lawyer of the early days. The Comanche war soon breaking out, he joined the army, which engaged in several conflicts with the Indians, including the battle of Plum Creek, in which the Texans commanded by Gen. Ed Burleson and Col. Jno. H. Moore were completely successful, routing the Indians and recovering a large part of their stolen plunder. Later on, in 1840, General Bee acted as Secretary of the Commission that ran the boundary line between the Republic of Texas and the United States, the Texas Commissioner being Gen. Memucan Hunt. The engineer in charge was Major Graham, of the United States Corps of Engineers. He was the father of Gen. W. M. Graham, who at present is in command of the Department of the Gulf, and Lieuts. Jos. E. Johnston and Geo. C. Meade were the assistant engineers. These officers afterwards occupied prominent places in the late “War between the States.” The expedition started from the mouth of the Sabine and followed the line of the Sabine River to its source, thence to Red River. Its work was of a very satisfactory nature.
When the Vasquez raid on San Antonio occurred in 1842, he volunteered and joined a company that set out to assist in expelling the invaders. By the time San Antonio was reached the trouble was over, and the command, after a short stay in the vicinity, returned home. Meanwhile President Houston conceived the plan of arranging a meeting at Bird's Fort—the present site of Fort Worth—of all the tribes of Texas with the Commissioners from Texas, for the purpose of making a treaty of peace. General Bee accompanied the Commission, headed by Col. Jos. C. Eldridge, as secretary. There was only one other member of the Commission, Thos. Torrey, a member of the Torrey family, so well known in Southwest Texas, and they were accompanied by three Delaware Indians as guides and interpreters. This expedition started out in 1843 from Washington on the Brazos, at that time the seat of government, and was absent for over eight months. It was filled with exciting experiences and at times promised to terminate fatally to the members of the Commission.
The Commission visited all the wild tribes extending as far north as Fort Sill in the Indian Territory, and succeeding in inducing the tribes to meet with the Texas Commission.
In 1846, General Bee was elected Secretary of the First Senate of Texas; but when the war with Mexico broke out he joined Capt. Ben McCulloch's company and participated in the battle of Monterey. He afterwards became first lieutenant of M. B. Lamar's company and continued in the service until the close of the war. He then took up his residence in Laredo and engaged in merchandising. He was next elected a member of the legislature, and served in that capacity from 1849 to 1856. He was Speaker of the House from 1854 to 1856, filling the office with great credit to himself and his constituents. He was a delegate to the Democratic convention at Cincinnati which nominated Buchanan for President in 1856. After retirement from the legislature, he engaged in planting near Goliad, where he was living at the outbreak of the war. He served as presidential elector and cast his vote for Jefferson Davis as President of the Confederate States. He was shortly afterwards appointed brigadier general of the State militia by Governor Edward Clark, and then commissioned a brigadier general in the Confederate States army and assigned to the command of the Western District of Texas, stationed at Brownsville. He was desirous of finding a place in the main theater of the war, but in vain, since by reason of his acquaintance with the frontier and with the people of Mexico, his services were considered indispensable to the Confederate cause in that quarter.
He remained in command at Brownsville until the arrival of Banks' army at the mouth of the Rio Grande, when with the one company which had been left with him—the others having been ordered to the more eastern seat of war—he retired to the interior, taking with him a large amount of government supplies, etc. Upon reporting to General Magruder he was assigned to the command of a brigade consisting of the regiments of Likens, Terrell, De Bray, Woods, and Buchel, and marched to Louisiana, where he participated in the battles of Mansfield and Pleasant Hill. He led the cavalry charge at the battle of Pleasant Hill, one of the most brilliant on record, in which the gallant Col. A. Buchel lost his life.
After the Red River campaign, General Bee returned to Texas and continued with the army as a cavalry commander until the close of the war.
On the fall of the Confederacy, General Bee sought in Mexico to retrieve his lost fortunes, but after spending some years in that country, he returned to Texas and was appointed to a responsible position at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas. After the expiration of his term he moved to San Antonio in 1879, where he continued to reside until his death, with the exception of two years spent at Austin as Commissioner of Insurance, Statistics and History, under the administration of the lamented Governor John Ireland.
General Bee was married in 1854 to Miss Mary Mildred Tarver, who survives him. Of their large family six are yet alive. He was a splendid type of the old school of Southern gentlemen—honorable, high-toned, brave and chivalrous. He passed his long life with the people of Texas, being the contemporary and associate of Lamar, Henderson, Ford, Burleson, Maverick, and a host of others whose names have become historic. He was earnestly interested in the history of Texas and its perpetuation, and died as he had lived, universally beloved and admired for his sterling qualities of mind and heart. Peace to his ashes.
How to cite:
Lubbock, F. R., "H. P. BEE ", Volume 002, Number 1, Southwestern Historical Quarterly Online, Page 54 - 57. http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/publications/journals/shq/online/v002/n1/article_5.html
[Accessed Mon Dec 1 17:21:20 CST 2008]
