| With resentment and tension
running high in the colonies in May, 1775, the delegates of Mecklenburg
County met and passed unanimously the Mecklenburg Declaration of
Independence. Captain James Jack, a
brave, intelligent, and determined patriot, was commissioned to carry this
important document to Philadelphia, where the Continental Congress was
then in session.
When told by the North Carolina
representatives that they did not think Congress was ready to act upon
"absolute independence," his reply was, "Gentlemen, you may debate here
about reconciliation and memorialize your kind, but bear in mind
Mecklenburg owes no allegiance to, and is separated from the crown of
Great Britain forever."
On the first call for troops, Captain Jack
entered the service in command of a troop and remained through the war.
Showing the same zeal and patriotic spirit,
descendants of Captain Jack came to Texas in 1831. After taking an active
part in gaining independence for Texas, they distinguished themselves as
Judge of the Supreme Court of the Republic of Texas, Secretary of State,
and as Representatives and Senators. |
