Selection of Columbia

Selection of Columbia. . , Following the signing of the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836 at Washington on the Brazos, an ad interim government was formed. Headed by President David G. Burnet and Vice President Lorenzo de Zavala, this government became a moving target for the advancing Mexican army. From Washington on the Brazos, the government moved to Harrisburg then to Galveston and on to Velasco. On July 23, President Burnet called for a general election for the first Monday in September to select the first officials of the Texas republic. In addition to electing officials, the citizens of Texas would be asked to ratify the newly written constitution and a proposal of annexation to the United States. Burnet named Columbia as the location for the October 3, 1836 meeting of Congress because it had more space available than any Texas town other than Nacogdoches, and it possessed a newspaper, the Telegraph and Texas Register.