Outraged by the General’s defense of the Cherokees, Col. Sam Jordan grabbed an ax handle and took a swing at Sam Houston on Dec. 11, 1840, but Adolphus Sterne blocked the blow, saving the intended victim from serious bodily harm.

Wherever he went in his illustrious life, Sam Houston made fast friends, who stuck by him through thick and thin, and bitter enemies, who would have cut off their right arm to see him burn in hell. The towering figure’s abrasive manner and personal eccentrici...