Barnard E. Bee, Sr.

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Barnard Elliot Bee, Sr. (1787–1853) was an early settler and political leader in the Republic of Texas.

Barnard Bee was born in Charleston, South Carolina, the son of Thomas Bee who was a delegate to the Continental Congress. He studied law, and served on the staff of his brother-in-law, governor James Hamilton Jr.. In 1836, Bee moved to Texas and settled near Houston.

Bee served the young Republic in a number of offices: as Secretary of the Treasury in 1836, Secretary of War from 1837-1838 and Secretary of State from 1839-1839. In 1839, Texas sent him as an agent to negotiate permanent peace and borders with Mexico. His offers were rejected and he began his return by sailing to Cuba, then obtained passage to Washington, D.C.. The Texas government then appointed him as minister (ambassador) to the United States. He served in that post from April 20, 1840 to December 13, 1841. He negotiated with Daniel Webster and settled the formal treaty by which the United States recognized Texas.

Bee returned to Texas, and generally to private life. He strongly opposed the annexation of Texas into the United States, and when that was accomplished, he returned to South Carolina. He died there in 1853, and is buried in St Paul’s Churchyard in Pendleton, South Carolina. His sons, Hamilton Prieleaux Bee and Barnard E. Bee Jr. both served as generals in the Confederate Army during the Civil War.

Bee County and the city of Beeville in Texas are named in his honor.