A state senator from Dallas filed a measure Wednesday to designate the cannon as the official gun of Texas.
Sen. Don Huffines, R-Dallas, filed Senate Concurrent Resolution 8, suggesting that the cannon should become the official gun of Texas as it "has been an important weapon in the state's fight for liberty and independence as well as a symbol of the defiance and determination of its people."
Huffines points to the 1835 Battle of Gonzales, the catalyst of the Texas Revolution when Texian rebels refused to surrender their six-pound cannon to Mexican soldiers and declared "Come and take it!" The event has become a symbol of Texas history.
A year after the Battle of Gonzales, two six-pound cannons known as the Twin Sisters were instrumental in defeating Santa Anna's army.
In 1842, during the years of the Texas Republic, another cannon played a role in keeping the capital of Texas in Austin. Residents believed that President Sam Houston planned to move the capital to Houston. When Texas Rangers arrived in Austin to collect the government's archives, an innkeeper named Angelina Eberly stood at the corner of Sixth Street and Congress Avenue and fired a cannon in protest. A statue of Eberly now stands on Congress Avenue.
Today, Smokey the Cannon is fired throughout University of Texas football games. The cannon also tours the country with the Cannon Crew for charity and volunteer events.
If approved, the cannon would be the first official gun of Texas.
Test your knowledge of other state symbols with our quiz:
Other state symbols include:
- Bread: Pan De Campo
- Dinosaur: Brachiosaur Sauropod
- Dog: Blue Lacy
- Fish: Guadalupe Bass
- Fruit: Texas Red Grapefruit
- Gem: Texas Blue Topaz
- Health Nut: Pecan
- Insect: Monarch Butterfly
- Mammal, Flying: Mexican Free-Tailed Bat
- Mammal, Large: Longhorn
- Mammal, Small: Armadillo
- Motto: "Friendship"
- Musical Instrument: Guitar
- Nickname: "Lone Star State"
- Pastries: Sopaipilla and Strudel
- Pepper: Jalapeno
- Plant: Prickly Pear Cactus
- Reptile: Horned Lizard
- Shell: Lightning Whelk
- Ship: U.S.S. Texas
- Shrub: Crape Myrtle
- Snack: Tortilla Chips and Salsa
- Sport: Rodeo
- Stone: Petrified Palmwood
- Vegetable: Sweet Onion
