Heroes of Texas

Originally Aired: June 17, 1936 Cavalcade of America #36, "Heroes of Texas," chronicles the dramatic story of Moses and Stephen Austin as they fight to establish American settlement in Texas. In 1820, Moses Austin travels to San Antonio to petition the haughty Spanish Governor Martinez for a land grant to bring 300 American pioneer families into Texas. Initially rebuffed due to the governor's foul mood over a burnt dinner, Moses finds unexpected help from Baron de Bastrop, an old acquaintance who vouches for him and secures a promise that the petition will be recommended to the Viceroy of Mexico. Moses returns home to Arkansas to recruit settlers, but the arduous journey proves too much for the aging pioneer. Stricken with pneumonia and facing death, Moses extracts a deathbed promise from his wife Mariah that their son Stephen will carry on his dream. When Stephen arrives in Nacogdoches weeks later with his party of settlers from New Orleans, he is met by his mother with devastating news. Now the young 27-year-old must decide whether to shoulder his father's unfinished mission and become the leader that Texas desperately needs.