10/6/2011 Jacinto Battlefield and the USS Texas

Today we went to see the Jacinto Battlefield Monument and the USS Texas along Houston Ship Channel. Everywhere you look there are refineries and grain storage here in the Port of Houston. On our way to the Battlefield I snapped this photo of the monument stick up in the middle of a refinery's towers. You might want to click on the photo to enlarge it so you you can see it better.


Many of the fuel storage tanks in this area have scenes of the battle for independence as you see below.


The Jacinto Monument and the USS Texas share the same location along the ship channel. The Jacinto Battlefield is where Sam Houston defeated Santa Anna's army in just 20 minutes to gain the independence for the Republic of Texas from Mexico. The monument is 570' – taller than the Washington Monument. It is the tallest masonry structure in the world.

The USS Texas, commissioned in 1914 and decommissioned in 1948, is a battleship that served in both World War I and II.


The stone was quarried just west of Austin, Texas. It was very unique as it contained the fossils of sea life throughout all the stone from the base to the top.
In the photo below, Doug is standing next to the base of the monument with the USS Texas seen in the background.


Below are some photos from the top of the monument of ships passing through the shipping channel. The ship channel is over 50 miles long. In the area of the ship channel, 25% of the United States' petroleum refining capacity is located. The privately and publicly owned grain elevators on the shipping channel provide Houston with more grain storage capacity than any other American port.



The above map shows the region with the ship channel.








The star at the top of the monument has multiple points so that it appears as a star from all angles.


A view of a tanker from the edge of the ship channel.