Hamilton Prioleau Bee (July 22, 1822 – October 3, 1897) was an American politician in early

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

; he was secretary of the Texas Senate in 1846. He served nearly 10 years as representative to the state house beginning in 1849, and for one term as

Speaker of the Texas House of Representatives The speaker of the Texas House of Representatives is the speaker (politics), presiding officer of the Texas House of Representatives. The Speaker's main duties are to conduct meetings of the House, appoint committees, and enforce the Rules of the ...

. He later served as a

Confederate States Army The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...

general during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. In 1869 during the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, he and his family left Texas, living for several years in

Saltillo, Mexico Saltillo () is the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila and is also the municipal seat of the municipality of the same name. Mexico City, Monterrey, and Saltillo are all connected by a major railroad and highwa ...

before their return to San Antonio in 1876. He lived there for most of the rest of his life.

Early life

Hamilton Prioleau Bee was born into a political family in Charleston,

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, on July 22, 1822.Eicher, John H., and

David J. Eicher David John Eicher (born August 7, 1961) is an American editor, writer, and popularizer of astronomy and space. He has been editor-in-chief of ''Astronomy'' magazine since 2002. He is author, coauthor, or editor of 23 books on science and American ...

, ''Civil War High Commands''. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . p. 125. His parents were Ann Wragg (Fayssoux) and Barnard Elliott Bee, Sr. His younger brother was Barnard Elliott Bee, Jr. Bee's family moved to Texas in 1836 when Hamilton was 14. Their father Barnard Bee, Sr. was a leader in the

Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) against the Centralist Republic of Mexico, centralist government of Mexico in the Mexican state of ...

and served as Secretary of State and Secretary of War in the

Republic of Texas The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...

. Bee County, Texas and the town of

Beeville Beeville is a city in Bee County, Texas, United States. Its population of 13,543 at the 2020 census makes it the 207th-largest city in Texas. It is the county seat of Bee County and home to the main campus of Coastal Bend College. The area ar ...

were named for him. The two brothers both served as generals in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War; Barnard Jr. was killed early in the war at the

Battle of First Bull Run The First Battle of Bull Run, called the Battle of First Manassas
. by Confederate States ...

. Hamilton followed his father into politics in the Republic of Texas and the later state, serving in elective office for more than a decade in total.

Political career

At age 17, Hamilton Bee was appointed as secretary for the commission that determined the border between the United States and the

Sam Houston Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...

sent Joseph C. Eldridge, Thomas S. Torrey and Bee to open negotiations with the

Comanche The Comanche (), or Nʉmʉnʉʉ (, 'the people'), are a Tribe (Native American), Native American tribe from the Great Plains, Southern Plains of the present-day United States. Comanche people today belong to the List of federally recognized tri ...

in 1843. They achieved the Treaty of Tehuacana Creek. Bee was elected to the

Texas Senate The Texas Senate is the upper house of the Texas Legislature, with the Texas House of Representatives functioning as the lower house. Together, they form the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the state of Texas. The Senate ...

in the

First Texas Legislature The 1st Texas Legislature convened from February 16 to May 13, 1846, in regular session. Members of the House of Representatives and Senate were elected in December 1845, after an election on October 13, 1845, that ratified the proposed state cons ...

in 1846 and served as its secretary. During the

Mexican–American War The Mexican–American War (Spanish language, Spanish: ''guerra de Estados Unidos-México, guerra mexicano-estadounidense''), also known in the United States as the Mexican War, and in Mexico as the United States intervention in Mexico, ...

, Bee served under

Benjamin McCulloch Brigadier-General Benjamin McCulloch (November 11, 1811 – March 7, 1862) was a soldier in the Texas Revolution, a Texas Ranger, a major-general in the Texas militia and thereafter a major in the United States Army (United States Volunteers) ...

's Company A of Col. Jack Hays's 1st Regiment of Texas Mounted Volunteers for a time. He transferred to Mirabeau B. Lamar's Texas cavalry company as a second lieutenant. Bee signed up for a second term in 1847—this time as

first lieutenant First lieutenant is a commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces; in some forces, it is an appointment. The rank of lieutenant has different meanings in different military formations, but in most forces it is sub-divided into a se ...

—in Lamar's Company, which was by then a component of Col.

Peter Hansborough Bell Peter Hansborough Bell (May 11, 1810Various sources give multiple dates in May 1810 and May 1812 for Bell's birth. Bell's gravestone uses a May 1812 date.March 8, 1898) was an American military officer and politician who served as the third gove ...

's regiment of Texas volunteers. Bee moved to Laredo after the war. In 1848 he ran and won a seat in the

Texas House of Representatives The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. There are no Term limits in the United States, term limits. The ...

for the

Third Texas Legislature The 3rd Texas Legislature met from November 5, 1849 to December 3, 1850 in its regular session and two called sessions. All members of the House of Representatives and about half of the members of the Senate were elected in 1849. Sessions * 3rd ...

. He was repeatedly re-elected and served from 1849 through the end of the Seventh Legislature, for a total of ten years in the House. In the Sixth Legislature, Bee was decisively elected Speaker of the House with 78 votes, to 1 vote each for N. B. Charlton and Pleasant Williams Kittrell.

Marriage and family

After becoming established in the Texas legislature, at the age of 32 Bee married Mildred Tarver on May 21, 1854. After marriage, they had ten children, including sons Barnard E. Bee and

Carlos Bee Carlos Bee (July 8, 1867 – April 20, 1932) was an attorney and politician, serving as U.S. Representative from Texas. He was a son of Hamilton P. Bee and a great-grandson of Thomas Bee, a politician and judge in South Carolina in the Revolution ...

, born while they were living in Mexico. His grandson,

, was born in

Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...

and also became a politician. He was elected as mayor of

Hayward, California Hayward is a city located in Alameda County, California, United States, in the East Bay subregion of the San Francisco Bay Area. With a population of 162,954 as of 2020, Hayward is the sixth largest city in the Bay Area, and the third largest in ...

and to the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

Civil War

In 1861, Bee was elected brigadier general of the Texas militia and appointed as a brigadier general in the Confederate Army on March 4, 1862. Bee commanded the brigade that consisted of Carl Buchel's 1st Texas Cavalry, Nicholas C. Gould's 23rd Texas Cavalry, Xavier Blanchard Debray's 26th Texas Cavalry, James B. Liken's 35th Texas Cavalry, Peter Cavanaugh Woods's 36th Texas Cavalry, and Alexander Watkins Terrell's Texas Cavalry Regiments. Bee was headquartered in Brownsville, where he facilitated the trade of cotton for munitions through

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. On November 4, 1863, he was forced to abandon Brownsville in the face of a Union expeditionary force under Major General

Nathaniel P. Banks Nathaniel Prentice (or Prentiss) Banks (January 30, 1816 – September 1, 1894) was an American politician from Massachusetts and a Union Army, Union general during the American Civil War, Civil War. A millworker, Banks became prominent in local ...

. Bee was transferred to a field command in 1864 under

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

Richard Taylor in the Red River Campaign. In the

Battle of Pleasant Hill The Battle of Pleasant Hill on April 9, 1864, in Louisiana formed part of the Red River Campaign during the American Civil War, when Union Army, Union forces were attempting to occupy the Louisiana state capital, Shreveport, Louisiana, Shrevepo ...

, Bee had two different horses shot out from under him during a cavalry charge, but was only slightly wounded. One of Bee's brigade commanders at this time was Arthur P. Bagby, Jr., who later replaced him in command. Later, despite intense criticism of his handling of his troops, Bee was given command of Thomas Green's division in Major General John A. Wharton's cavalry corps in February 1865. After that time, he commanded an infantry brigade in Brigadier General Samuel B. Maxey's division.Eicher, 2001, p. 126.

Postbellum

After the war in 1869 during the

, Bee moved his family to

. They lived in a self-imposed exile in Mexico until 1876. By then Democrats were regaining control of the Texas state legislature. He became a steward and superintendent of the farm at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas, now known as Texas A&M University. They returned to live in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, where Bee practiced law. He was appointed the Texas Commissioner of the Office of Insurance, Statistics, and History (now the

Texas Department of Insurance The Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) regulates insurers and other companies that conduct insurance business in Texas, and assists Texas-based insurance consumers. TDI was founded in 1876 as the Department of Insurance, Statistics and History. ...

) for the 1885-1886 legislative term. After Bee died on October 3, 1897, he was buried in the Confederate Cemetery in San Antonio.

Notes

References

* Eicher, John H., and

, ''Civil War High Commands.'' Stanford: Stanford University Press, 2001. . * Sifakis, Stewart. ''Who Was Who in the Civil War.'' New York: Facts On File, 1988. . * Warner, Ezra J. ''Generals in Gray: Lives of the Confederate Commanders.'' Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1959. . * Winters, John D. ''The Civil War in Louisiana''. Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1963. .

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bee, Hamilton P. 1822 births 1897 deaths Speakers of the Texas House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Bee family Politicians from Charleston, South Carolina American military personnel of the Mexican–American War Confederate States Army brigadier generals People of Texas in the American Civil War People from Laredo, Texas 19th-century members of the Texas Legislature