Dr. Charles B. Stewart & the Texas Lone Star Flag
by Robin Montgomery
Who designed the Lone Star Flag? This is the first of two colums which will address personalities and events at the center of this question. In the present space, we will present the arresting story of Dr. Charles B. Stewart of Montgomery County and his pivotal role in the Lone Star drama.
Charles Bellinger Stewart was born on 6 February 1806 in Charleston, South Carolina. By the time his body received internment in the cemetery of Montgomery, Texas in July of 1885, the saga of Charles Stewart reached across the political spectrum of his adopted state.
Arriving in Texas in 1830, Stewart immediately had an impact on events, serving, for instance, in the critical Battle of Velasco in 1832. But the contributions of Charles Stewart to the Texan cause would resonate not only on the battlefield. Among his many activities in the political realm aiding the cause of Texas’s preparation for winning its independence was service as secretary of the first two governments of the Texans.
The first serious effort of the Texans to form a government of independence went by the name of the Permanent Council. Under Richard Royal, the president of that council, Charles Stewart served as secretary. Then under the successor entity to the Permanent Council, known as the Provisional Council, Stewart once again became the secretary, making him, in effect, the first Texas Secretary of State.
Upon completing his turns at the position of secretary, Charles Stewart received election to membership in the Convention at Washington-on-the Brazos where, on 2 March 1836, he became a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. He went on to represent Montgomery County at the Constitutional Convention of 1845 and in the First, Fourth and Fourteenth Legislatures.
Meanwhile, Mr. Stewart served as a medical doctor and pharmacist, professions which he pursued upon moving to the town of Montgomery by 1837. But the activity of Charles Stewart which is most germane to this writing occurred in 1839. That was the year he served on a special committee of the Third Congress of the Republic of Texas charged with the duty of designing a new state flag.
On the 30th of May, 1997, Texas Governor George W. Bush signed House Resolution 1123 recognizing Montgomery County as the birthplace of the Lone Star Flag of Texas. The resolution stated in part that “Dr. Charles Stewart of Montgomery County created this inspirational banner.”
Next: an intriguing subplot.