the archives to Houston. As justification, he cited the part of the Constitution of the Republic of Texas that stated, "The president and heads of departments shall keep their offices at the seat of government, unless removed by the permission of Congress, or unless, in case of emergency in time of war, the public interest may require their removal." Colonel Henry Jones, the military commander in Austin, convened a group of citizens to discuss Houston's order. Public sentiment was that Austin was safe and that Houston's departure had created a lack of confidence in the city, which had resulted in devalued real estate. On March 16, the committee of vigilance resolved that removing the archives was against the law. It formed a patrol at Bastrop to search every wagon and to seize any government records found. Sam Houston's private secretary, W.D. Miller, wrote to him that Austin residents "would much rather take their rifles to prevent a removal [of the archives] than to fight Mexicans." To resolve the issue, the president called a special session of Congress, which convened in Houston on June 27, 1842. Congress took no action to move the capital. Conflict In September 1842, General Arián Woll led another Mexican expedition into Texas and temporarily captured San Antonio. Houston convened the Seventh Texas Congress at Washington-on-the-Brazos. In his introductory remarks, Houston demanded that Congress support the removal of the archives over the protests of the "seditious" citizens of Austin and asserted that "as to the propriety and necessity of the act no reasonable doubt could exist." On December 9, Senator Greer proposed "A Bill to provide for the safety of the National Archives." The vote to suspend the rules to allow the bill to pass quickly resulted in a tie. Senate President Edward Burleson, who did not like Sam Houston, cast the deciding vote against the bill. Undeterred, on December 10, Greer introduced another bill to move the General Land Office. He left blank the name of the city to which the office should be moved, which resulted in weeks of debate as to which city should be so honored. On December 10, Houston privately tasked Colonel Thomas I. Smith and Captain Eli Chandler with moving the nation's archives to Washington-on-the-Brazos. Houston wrote, "The importance of removing the public archives and government stores from their present dangerous situation at the City of Austin to a place of