jtroutman

Joanna Troutman called the "Lady of Goliad", 17 year old daughter of Colonel and Mrs. Hiram Baldwin Troutman, fashioned the Texas Lone Star Flag from her silk skirts. In 1835, 150 middle Georgia soldiers marched to Texas to assist in the fight against Mexico. When they passed through Knoxville, Joanna presented the flag to Colonel William Ward on the steps of the Troutman Inn, later known as the Harris Hotel. The flag flew during the battle of Goliad and later was recognized as Texas' official flag. One hundred and one years later, Texas Governor O. B. Colquitt was guest speaker in Knoxville for the unveiling of a memorial marker sponsored by Stiles A. Martin. Joanna is buried in Austin, Texas, next to a bronze figure of herself, sculpted by Pompeo Coppini.

Joanna Troutman’s Flag: Inspired by a Star

By Billy Powell

Over the past two years, author and columnist Billy Powell with historian Sidney Goodrich’s capable assistance, has produced 15 major historical articles on Crawford County for the "Georgia Post." Solving age-old mysteries has been their trademark.

Three Intriguing Questions
A good portion of the front page story entitled “The Vanished Town of Hammett” published in the February 3, 2011, edition of the “Georgia Post” was devoted to the life and accomplishments of Joanna Troutman, a prominent Crawford Countian of the 19^th century who became famous for crafting the Texas state flag. Since that time, local historian Sidney Goodrich and I have been keenly interested in identifying the star that inspired Joanna to make the battle flag, which was presented to the Georgia Volunteers marching westward in 1835 to assist Texas in her fight for independence against Mexico. Consequently, in this article, we plan to answer three intriguing and longstanding questions: (1) Identity of the star? (2) When did the star appear? and (3) Where was Joanna when she saw the star?

One Star Outshined All the Rest
Sandy Sims gave me a copy of “A Lady and a Lone Star Flag” written in 1936 (updated in 1986) by Henry David Pope, Joanna’s great grandson. The book disclosed that Joanna Elizabeth Troutman, 17-years-old at the time, received inspiration for designing the Texas battle flag while “sitting on the porch of her country home.” She noticed a single star that appeared prominently in the night sky and shined brighter than all the rest. “That star reminds me of Texas” she exclaimed, implying that the lone star reminded her of Texas fighting alone for its independence against Mexico. Joanna immediately went inside the family home and drew a five-pointed star on paper and under it wrote the word “Texas.”

Hiram B. Troutman Home
In researching court house records, Sidney Goodrich found that the house from which Joanna sighted the star belonged to Joanna’s father, Hiram Bainbridge Troutman (1797-1880). It sat on the north side of Avera Road, on a knoll called Mulberry Hill, approximately three tenths of a mile west of the Pope Road-Avera Road intersection. The house faced south and its front porch extended around both the west and east sides of the house. It was situated just south of the old Matthews Peach Packing Shed, whose structure is still standing. Circa 1970, the house was disassembled by Phillip Fountain of Peach County, placed in a warehouse, but never rebuilt. Should this house or any portion thereof still be in Crawford County, please notify the “Georgia Post.”

Joanna and Friends Craft the Flag
Shortly after seeing the star, Joanna, with the help of a few young girls, fashioned the flag in an upstairs room of her father’s inn at Knoxville. It is said that Joanna used the silk from two of her own dresses. The flag, made of white and blue silk petticoats, bore a blue, five-pointed star on each side. One side bore the words, “Liberty or Death.” On the other were the Latin words “Ubilibertas habitat ibi nostra patria est” which translate “Where liberty dwells, there is my country.” David Pope places the year as 1835 when Joanna Troutman, standing on the steps of her father’s inn at Knoxville, presented the flag to the Georgia Company of 150 men marching to Texas to assist in the war with Mexico. The Georgia volunteers, commanded by Major William Ward, carried Joanna’s flag into battle. The Troutman Inn was destroyed by fire in 1928. It stood near the old Postal Road and in proximity to the old Knoxville courthouse. A historic marker on the courthouse grounds designates the spot.

Joanna Troutman Immortalized
The lone star flag designed by Joanna was adopted as the state flag of Texas in 1913. Joanna Troutman is immortalized in the State Cemetery in Austin, Texas, where a bronze stature depicts a young girl with needle and thread sewing the lone star flag. Her portrait, an oil painting, also hangs in the Texas state capitol.

Georgia Responds to Texas’s Call for Help
Shedding additional light on the life of Joanna Troutman was an article titled “The Story of the Flag of Texas” that appeared in the December 1938 issue of the “National Historical Magazine.” It was written by Cornelia Hartsfield Brown of Fort Valley. She is the grandmother of Cornelia “Pete” Brown Nichols also of Fort Valley, who provided me a copy of the magazine. According to Mrs. Brown, after news reached Georgia in early November 1835 of Texas’ fight for independence, a public meeting was held in Macon on November 14, 1835, for the purpose of arousing interest in the cause of Texas. Joanna learned of Texas’ plight from travelers arriving at the Troutman Inn—a stage coach stop between Macon and Columbus. Joanna also was a friend of Lt. Hugh McLeod of Macon, a recent West Point graduate, who gave a fiery speech in support of Texas at the 14 November Macon meeting. McLeod resigned his commission in the U.S. army to join the Georgia volunteers. The thought of Texas was constantly on Joanna’s mind until the bright-shining star in the night sky gave her the inspiration to design and sew a battle flag to present to the Georgia volunteers. She knew they would be marching through Knoxville enroute to Columbus before heading westward to Texas. Joanna and her girl friends began assembling the flag only a few days before the soldiers were to arrive in Knoxville.

Joanna Presents Lone Star Flag
When the soldiers marched into town, Joanna was standing on the steps of her father’s inn. She presented the flag to Major William Ward. As she did, the square below exploded into a tumultuous rallying cry, and local men from Crawford County joined the ranks of the volunteer army. One of them was John Turner Spillers, who witnessed the presentation of the flag by Joanna Troutman and would return home to be recognized for his patriotism and valor. Eleven days later, on 25 November 1835, three companies were formed in Georgia, commanded by Major William Ward. Two more companies were organized in Columbus. The five companies formed a battalion commanded by Col. James W. Fannin Jr. Major William Ward was promoted to Lt. Colonel and made second in command.

Establishing Timelines
In a letter from Columbus, Georgia, dated November 23, 1835, Lt. Hugh McLeod thanked Joanna for the flag and praised her patriotic efforts. Therefore, during the span of nine days, from 14 November (Macon meeting) to 23 November (Lt. McLeod’s letter), Joanna spotted the bright star, made the flag, and presented it to the Georgia volunteers at Knoxville. Obviously, the flag was made in great haste because Lt. McLeod wrote: “I was fearful from the shortness of time that you would not be able to finish it as tastefully as you would wish.” Obviously, Joanna had communicated her intentions to craft the flag to her friend, Lt. McLeod, a resident of Macon. Below is the probable sequence of events:
           --14 November: meeting in Macon.
           --15 November: Joanna sees the star.
           --18 November: Joanna and friends complete the flag.
           --19 November: Joanna presents the flag at Knoxville.
           --23 November: Georgia volunteers arrive in Columbus.
The Georgia Company, under the banner of Joanna’s Lone Star flag, reached Texas in December, 1835. The flag was first unfurled on Texas soil at Valesco, Texas, on January 8, 1836.

Fannin’s Massacre: John Spillers escapes
After several battles with the Mexican army, both Colonels Fannin and Ward and their troops were captured and taken prisoners. The Mexicans told the prisoners they would be taken back to Fort Goliad, and, after a few days, allowed to march back to the United States. Relying on the Mexicans’ word of honor, the brave contingent of 150 men from Georgia marched out in single file, only to be shot down in cold blood by the treacherous Mexicans. Only two Georgians escaped the murderous fire of the enemy: John Spillers of Crawford County and Samuel Hardaway of Macon. This atrocity, known in history as “Fannin’s Massacre,” occurred on March 27, 1836. John Turner Spillers returned to Crawford County a hero and became a prominent citizen. He was born in Hancock County around 1802 and died in Crawford County on Sept. 20, 1881. He is buried in the Providence Church Cemetery, on the north side of U.S. Highway 80, approximately 1.5-miles west of Roberta. His descendants are too numerous to list; however, John Turner Spillers is a great grandfather of four notable Crawford Countians: Paul Spillers, a former County Commission Chairman; Doug Spillers, also a former Commission Chairman; Terry Spillers-Paul’s younger brother, and local historian Sidney Goodrich, whose mother, Jewel, was a Spillers. Another distinguished member was the late Wilbur Spillers of Fort Valley, a businessman and city councilman. He was Paul’s and Terry’s brother.

General Sam Houston Honors Joanna Troutman
The war that started on October 2, 1835, came to an end on April 21, 1836 (four weeks after Fannin’s massacre) when General Sam Houston led Texas to victory over the Mexican army under Santa Anna at the battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna was captured shortly after the battle. The conclusion of the war resulted in the creation of the Republic of Texas. Among the spoils of war taken from Santa Anna was his elaborate collection of silverware. From this collection, General Houston sent a fork and spoon to Joanna Troutman Pope in appreciation for her patriotism in making the Lone Star flag. These silver pieces are still in possession of the Pope family. The first congress of the Republic of Texas adopted the Lone Star as the flag of the Young Republic and the great seal and all other seals of office were required to have the Lone Star engraved upon them as the coat of arms of Texas.

Joanna Troutman was born in Crawford County on February 18, 1818. She married Solomon L. Pope in 1839, and in 1840 the couple moved to Elmwood plantation (named after abundance of Elm trees) eight miles south of Knoxville, Georgia. They had four sons. Her husband died in 1872, and Joanna married W. G. Vinson, a Georgia state legislator, in 1875. She died on July 23, 1879, at Elmwood and was buried next to her first husband, Solomon Pope. In 1913, Texas Governor Oscar B. Colquitt at the urging of Cornelia Hartsfield Brown of Fort Valley, secured permission to have Joanna’s remains exhumed at Elmwood and taken to Texas for re-interment and enshrinement in the State Cemetery in Austin. After exhumation, Sidney’s Goodrich’s mother, Jewel Spillers-a young girl at the time, and grandmother, Mrs. Jennie Reed, saw a rusty casket (presumably Joanna’s) pass by their home at Gaillard on a horse-drawn wagon. A bronze statue by Pompeo L. Coppini was erected in the Austin cemetery as a monument to Joanna’s memory; her portrait—depicted as a 17-year-old girl-- hangs in the state Capitol. At the time Joanna’s remains were transported to Texas, it is believed that Solomon Pope and two of the couples’ four sons were exhumed and reinterred in Fort Valley’s Oaklawn Cemetery. (See related story in February 17, 2011 issue of “Georgia Post.”)

Thirty years after the death of Joanna Troutman, her sister-in-law, Mrs. John Troutman Sr. of Fort Valley, appealed to Mrs. Cornelia Brown of Fort Valley, who wielded considerable influence and, at the time, was President of the Georgia Federation of Women’s Clubs. Mrs. John Troutman Sr. was upset that Joanna’s grave comprised only an unmarked concrete slab in a grossly neglected cemetery and wanted Joanna’s remains moved to Texas where she might be better known. Mrs. Brown writes: “I visited Joanna’s neglected grave—over which cattle from a neighboring farm roamed daily; the only vigil over her grave were the twinkling stars by night and the sighing of pines by day. I resolved that Joanna Troutman’s name and deed should not be forgotten.” Consequently, Mrs. Brown appealed to Texas Governor Oscar B. Colquitt in writing to have Joanna’s remains exhumed and transported to Texas for enshrinement. Governor Colquit readily concurred and worked tirelessly with the Texas House and Senate to have Mrs. Brown’s wishes fulfilled. A bronze stature of Joanna was erected and placed in the State Cemetery at Austin, and a painting of Joanna was commissioned, completed, and hung at the State Capitol. On one side of the stature’s pedestal is a testimonial to Joanna and on the other three sides are the names of the brave Georgians under Col. Ward who gave their lives that Texas might be free. These were the same soldiers to whom Joanna presented the Lone Star Flag in November 1835 at her father’s inn in Knoxville, Georgia.

Investigative Trip to Museum
We visited Jim Greenhouse, the Science Curator at the Museum of Arts and Sciences in Macon, Georgia. The museum features a planetarium with a domed ceiling onto which images of the stars, planets, and meteors seen in the night sky can be projected for audience viewing. Jim has a computer program called “Stellarium” that can roll back the heavens for centuries and replicate the night sky for any given date and locale in past history. We specifically asked Jim to back his computer program up 176 years to November 15, 1835, to view the night sky when Joanna Troutman sighted the bright star. On Jim’s computer screen popped up the starry sky as it would have looked from the porch of Joanna Troutman’s family home in Crawford County. After sunset at approximately 6: 30 p.m., two prominent stars rose in the sky: “Vega” in the west (brightest star in the constellation Lyra) and “Capella” (brightest star in constellation Auriga) in the east. Around 9:30 p.m., the “planet Jupiter” (near the large star Sirius) and the star “Rigel” (in the constellation Orion) rose over the eastern horizon. “The planet Jupiter was definitely the brightest object in the sky that night,” observed Jim. I asked Jim if the star positions would change appreciably for an earlier date in November such as the 10^th of the month and he responded, “It would make no difference. Jupiter would still be the most dominant heavenly body.”

Conclusion
Therefore, we conclude that Joanna Troutman was inspired to make the “Lone Star Flag” when she spotted the planet Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system and the 5^th planet from the sun. Jupiter generates no light of its own, but reflects the light of the sun. Joanna observed the bright-shining Jupiter from the porch of her parent’s home at Elmwood, made the flag in her father’s inn at Knoxville, and presented it to the troops from the steps of the Troutman Inn at Knoxville, all in the span of about five days: 15-19 November 1835. Joanna Troutman, known as the “Betsy Ross of Texas,” is one of Crawford County’s greatest icons.