In downtown Austin, Texas near Congress Avenue and Sixth Street, stands a bronze statue of Angelina Eberly holding a torch, igniting a cannon. From where the monument stands, the Tennessee native fired the opening shot in the short-lived “Archives War” and earned the innkeeper the title of “Savior of Austin.”
Sam Houston ordered the Capitol of the Republic of Texas moved to Houston on March 10, 1842. The estimated two hundred remaining residents of Austin knew if the national archives were removed, Austin would never again be the Capitol. They formed a vigilance committee and loaded the cannon with grape shot in anticipation of a raid of the national records.
On the morning of December 30, 1842, twenty-six men in three wagons, on orders of President Sam Houston, arrived to take the national archives. Land Commissioner, Thomas William Ward or “Peg Leg” as the locals called him, directed the loading of eleven boxes. By noon the wagons were ready to roll, angry vigilantes shook their fists at Ward and the soldiers, as Angelina fired her famous shot. Shrapnel hit the Land Office, but no one was injured. The wagons took off north toward Kenny Fort on Brushy Creek. The vigilantes caught up with them, a short gun battle ensued. Houston’s men surrendered and the records were returned to Austin.