ARCHER, Branch T., Texan revolutionist, born in Virginia in 1790; died in Brazoria County. Texas, 22 September 1856. He studied medicine in Philadelphia, and was for many years a physician and politician in his native state, being a member of the legislature several times. In 1831 he removed to Texas, and became a prominent actor in the movements preliminary to the revolution. On 3 November 1835, he presided over the famous "consultation" held by the American settlers, and with Colonel Stephen Austin and New Hampshire Wharton formed a board of three commissioners to solicit aid from the United States in the struggle for Texan independence. He was a member of the first Texan congress in 1836, and afterward went to Washington, where he became speaker of the House of Representatives and secretary of war from 1839 to 1842, when by reason of ill health he was obliged to retire to private life.