GOD & TEXAS: The Blacksmith

Texas had many heroes during the 1835 Revolution against Mexico. But few people remember the remarkable contribution that Noah Turner Byars made to the formation of the Republic of Texas.

Born in South Carolina in 1808, Byars relocated to Washington-on-the-Brazos Texas in 1835. Hoping to utilize his significant talents as a gunsmith and blacksmith, he and his partner Peter M. Mercer purchased a lot and began constructing a gun store.

However, it was only partially completed when they were approached by Captain John W. Hall and the Washington Town Company with an interesting proposal. The company wanted to rent the building to hold the first Constitutional Convention to write the Texas Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the Republic of Texas. Byars and the company agreed to a price, and this unfinished building became Independence Hall and the seat of the interim government of the Republic of Texas.

General Sam Houston appointed Byars to serve as the armorer and blacksmith of the Texas Army. While not a combatant at the Battle of San Jacinto, the Brownwood Record Herald (2012/03/02) states: “Byars’ primary occupation as a blacksmith gave him another footnote in Texas revolutionary history. It was he who had the know-how and ability for fashioning the cannonballs and cartridges.”

After the war, Byars was appointed to serve as sergeant-at-arms of the Texas Senate by President Mirabeau B. Lamar and was later elected justice of the peace in Travis County. In a humorous postscript to history, most archivists agree that Byars was never paid by the interim government for the use of his shop.

In 1838, Byars began to see life differently. He married Sophia Lowden, and they had three children. He was a charter member of the Baptist church in Washington-on-the-Brazos and was ordained to preach in 1841. Byars then became the first Baptist missionary to the Texas frontier, and over the next 40 years, he is credited with establishing over 60 congregations and four Baptist associations.

Byars settled in Brownwood, Texas, and was buried in Greenleaf Cemetery following his death in 1888. On his headstone is his testimony of faith as quoted from Psalm 23, “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil. The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want.”

Like Byars, many of the leaders of pioneer Texas were God-fearing men. They offered their natural skills to better the country they loved. To them, the tremendous risks were worth the potential reward. But some of them also saw the spiritual needs of their countrymen. And like Byars, they jeopardized their lives to share the Good News with many who had never heard it.

Today is no different. We still need leaders with a strong commitment to God to guide us with a clear vision. It was former president Ronald Reagan who said, “Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.” This continues to be a defining truth.

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