Moseley Baker letter

Moseley (Mosley) Baker (1802-1848), born in Norfolk, Virginia, was a pioneer legislator and a military leader in the Texas Revolution. He studied law in Montgomery, Alabama, and in 1892 was elected to the state legislature of Montgomery County. In 1835, he and his family moved to Liberty, Texas.

Baker was a leading advocate of Texas independence from Mexico, and served as a private at the battle of Gonzalez, the Grass fight, and skirmishes connected to the siege of Bexar in 1835. In 1836, he was elected captain of the largest company in Sam Houston's army. Later, Baker commanded Company D of Colonel Edward Burleson's First Regiment of Texas Volunteers at the battle of San Jacinto. In 1836, Baker was elected as a representative from Austin County to the First Congress of the Republic of Texas. During his term he drew up charges of impeachment against the chief executive, Sam Houston. Baker also served in the Third Congress from Galveston County from 1838-1839. Congress appointed him as a brigadier general for a campaign on the Brazos in 1839, and again in 1842 in response to General Adrián Woll's seizure of San Antonio. In 1844, Baker wrote an open letter against the president in which he objected to Houston's policies, actions, and character. Following the death of Baker's wife, he began preaching and publishing a religious newspaper in Houston. He remained there until his death on November 4, 1848.