“He looked as tall as that sweet gum tree,” said one of General Sam Houston's men years after the battle of San Jacinto. “Or maybe as tall as a church steeple.”

“Aw, he wasn't but seven foot four,” said another.

They were wrong, of course, all wrong. Sam Houston was about six and a half feet tall. But he had a way of holding his body as straight as an arrow, even after it had been torn with battle wounds, so that he towered over other men. More important, Sam Houston had a way of thinking, talking, and acting that made him seem a giant.

In Sam Houston, The Tallest Texan William Johnson tells the life story of this amazing American who was governor of Tennessee and later of Texas, who was Congressman from Tennessee and later Senator from Texas, and who became President of the Republic of Texas in 1836. It almost seems he was born to be a leader. When he went to live with the Indians, they took him in as one of their own. When he left Tennessee and started life anew in Texas, he became the military leader and political spokesman for that fabulous territory soon to become a part of the United States.

Wherever he went Sam Houston became a hero. The men who fought under him at San Jacinto adored him. Their grandchildren and great-grandchildren are still telling about Old Sam and how he told Mexican general Santa Anna to “Remember the Alamo!” Old Sam! There was a man for you! Sam Houston, the tallest Texan!

From the dust jacket