Brownwood’s Welcome W. Chandler Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas have created 12 posters featuring 17 Brown County veterans. The Daughters created the posters to publicize the approximately 2,000 veterans buried at Greenleaf Cemetery and to encourage citizens to purchase wreaths to honor these heroes, a program sponsored by Wreaths Across America. Posters are being displayed this month at the Brown County Museum of History in recognition of Veterans Day.
DRT will host a poster reception at the Brown County Museum of History on Veterans Day, Friday, Nov. 11, at 10 a.m. The public is invited to this free event.
Following is information about the earliest Brownwoodian featured in the exhibit.
Noah Turner Byars’ name looms large in the chronicles of the Texas Revolution.
Sam Houston named the Blacksmith Byars as Armorer of the Texas Revolution, and The Texas Declaration of Independence was signed in one of Byars’ Washington-on-the-Brazos buildings.
The designation of Armorer bestowed upon Byars the crucial responsibility of supplying the Texas army with munitions. He cut up horseshoes and other bits of metal to make rifle cartridges. Following the Revolution Byars was sergeant-at-arms of the Republic of Texas Senate. He also served as justice of peace of the Austin County Court.
Born in South Carolina in 1808, Byars died in Brownwood in 1886 after founding the First Baptist Church, one of 60 he is credited with founding in Texas. He moved to Brownwood in 1882 and began a letter-writing campaign to establish a Baptist college in Central Texas, resulting in the opening of Howard Payne College in 1889.
Help DRT honor Brown County veterans. Sponsor $15 wreaths to be placed on veteran graves Saturday, Dec.17 at Greenleaf Cemetery.
To purchase wreaths, make checks payable to Welcome W. Chandler DRT and mail to Nancy Lowry, DRT Treasurer, PO Box 272, Bangs, TX 76823. You may also purchase wreaths online at www.wreathsacrossamerica.org/TX1050P. Deadline to order wreaths online is Nov. 21. Deadline to receive checks is Nov. 18.