USA > Texas > A School History of Texas: From Its Discovery in 1685 to 1893. For the Use of Schools, Academies, Convents, Seminaries, and all Institutions of Learning > Part 10
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The committee ascertained that " Colonels Fannin and Johnson fully concur with the resolutions ; " but, as Colonel Johnson declined to cooperate with Colonel Fannin, all power was conferred upon Fannin as "agent for supplies and for the collection of all volunteers who were willing to enter into an expedition against Matamoras, wherever they may be found ; . . . to negotiate a loan of three thousand dollars, to hold elections for officers, and appoint such special agents as he should deem necessary, and delegate to them in writing such powers as he might think proper."
JOHNSON AND GRANT.
Dr. James Grant became associated with Colonel Johnson in his plans, and their proposed expedition received the sanc- tion of the Council ; not the Governor, Henry Smith.
Dr. Grant was a Scotch resident of Coahuila, where he had large landed interests. He was one of the exiled mem- bers of the legislature. As aid-de-camp to General Burleson in the storming of San Antonio, he fought bravely and re- ceived a wound.
The small garrison left in San Antonio consisted of a few enrolled soldiers, among whom were several sick and wounded,
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ters to Washington, on the Brazos; and, as Lieutenant-Col- onel Neill wished to be relieved from San Antonio and enter the recruiting service, General Sam Houston ordered Lieuten- ant-Colonel Travis to that post.
As early as December 17, 1835, General Houston had ordered Colonel Bowie, at that moment at Goliad, to proceed on the route to Matamoras, " hoping thereby to get the ex- pedition under governmental control, to have it in his power to order its abandonment."
General Houston added : " Much is left to your discre- tion." In a report he said : "There is no man on whose forecast, prudence, and valor I place a higher estimate than Colonel Bowie." Of the expedition he further said : " A city of twelve thousand souls will not be taken by a few men who have marched twenty-two days without breadstuffs or necessary supplies for an army." Colonel Bowie did not receive the order, having left for San Antonio.
General Houston then went to Goliad, arriving there on the night of the 14th of January. He had orders from Gov- ernor Smith to " take command and commence active opera- tions against Matamoras, or annoy and injure the enemy as circumstances would permit."
It was hoped that the presence of the commander-in- chief would produce subordination among the volunteers at Goliad, and divert them from the Matamoras scheme, which both the Governor and General Houston considered "suicidal."
After a brief visit to Refugio and Goliad, General Hous- ton returned to Washington and reported. He said : " So soon as I was made acquainted with his [Johnson's] mission, and the powers granted to J. W. Fannin, Jr., I could not remain mistaken as to the object of the Council or the wishes of individuals. I had but one course left me to pur- sue, which was to return and report to you." He then added this prophetic expression : "By remaining with the army
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the Council would have had the pleasure of ascribing to me the evils which their own conduct and acts will, in all probability, bring upon the country."
In February, 1836, General Houston and Captain John Forbes visited the Cherokee Indians in the East as commis- sioners, to renew the pledge which the "consultation " had so solemnly made them, securing to them their land titles, and defining their boundaries.
The remnant-many having left from time to time-of the Council continued to meet after nominally deposing Gov- ernor Smith on the 11th of January, and sometimes passed ordinances on the most weighty subjects. They adjourned to Washington, on the Brazos, on the 16th of February ; and, without a quorum, continued their organization, in part, until the ist of March, 1836, when the convention met, and they delivered their archives to that body.
In the meantime the calamities which had been predicted were already upon the country.
QUESTIONS .- Did the members of the provisional council form a harmonious body ? What power did the Governor derive from the constitution by which his office was created ? What powers were conferred upon the council ? What were they authorized to do for the relief of the treasury ? What was Governor Henry Smith's policy ? What was the policy of the council ? What was Colonel F. W. Johnson's opinion of the expedition ? What was Captain Edward Hall directed to do ? What were Fannin's views of the plan ? Who became interested with Johnson in the expedition ? Did they receive the approbation of the council ? Of Governor Smith ? Who was Dr. Grant ? What was the condition of affairs in San Antonio ? What did the leaders think with regard to a number of Mexicans ? Where did Johnson and Grant establish their headquarters ? Where were Fannin's ? What news did Governor Smith receive from San Antonio ? What did this call forth from Governor Smith ? What became the war-cry ? What did Grant promise to those who would join him ? What did he style himself ? Where did he join Johnson ? What had Governor Smith directed Houston to do ? Whose place did Travis take ? What 'order had Houston given to Bowie ? Why ? What did he state in the order ? Did it reach Bowie ? Where did Houston go ? Why ? What orders had he ? What was hoped ? What did Houston state on his return ? What prophetic remark did he add ? What im- portant service did Houston render in February, 1836 ? What did the provisional council continue to do ? When did the convention mect ?
.. .
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5
TRAVIS' APPEAL FROM THE ALAMO. Photographed from the original in possession of John Henry Brown.
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CHAPTER XXXV.
SIEGE AND FALL OF THE ALAMO.
BY the middle of February, 1836, the plans of Santa Anna for a general invasion of Texas became positively known : to enter in three divisions-Sesma, Filisola, and Cos to take San Antonio ; Urea and Garay to take Goliad, and march by the lower route through Victoria to Nacogdoches ; and Santa Anna to penetrate into the heart of the country-the ob- ject being to ex- terminate the Americans.
THE ALAMO.
The siege of the Alamo was made known to the country by an appeal from Travis, February 23d, to Andrew Ponton, judge, and the citizens of Gonzales, for men and provisions. The enemy were then in sight. He added : "Send an express to San Felipe night and day." The express hastened forward with the news to Washington, on the Brazos ; Governor Smith, by proclamation, made a most stirring and earnest appeal to the patriotism of the country for aid in supplies and men for the relief of the Alamo.
On the 24th Travis wrote : "I am besieged by a thousand or more Mexicans under Santa Anna. I have sustained a continued bombardment for twenty-four hours and have not lost a man." He adds : "The enemy have demanded a sur- render, otherwise the garrison is to be put to the sword if the place is taken. I have answered the summons with a cannon
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shot, and our flag (the federal flag of Mexico) still waves proudly from the walls." Travis had no doubt of reenforce- ment from Fannin and other sources.
In response to Travis' appeal, at three o'clock on the morning of the 1st of March, thirty-two brave and daring men from Gonzales, under Captain Albert Martin, made their way into the fort.
On the 3d of March-the convention having met on the 1st-Colonel Travis wrote to the convention that, from the 25th of February, he had sustained a constant bombardment from two howitzers, and a heavy cannonading from a battery on the other side of the river ; at the same time the enemy were employed in encircling them with entrenched encamp- ments. He said : " At least two hundred shells have fallen inside our walls without having injured a single man ; indeed, we have been so fortunate as not to lose a man from any cause, and we have killed many of the enemy." He adds : " The spirits of my men are still high, although they have had much to depress them." Travis was still faintly hoping for aid from Fannin.
Travis wrote the convention his views as to the final battle-ground, which explains what might otherwise seem like obstinate recklessness.
" If large reinforcements are hastened to this frontier, this neighborhood will be the great and decisive battle- ground. The power of Santa Anna is to be met here or in the colonies ; we had better meet it here than to suffer a war of desolation to rage in our settlements. Though this call may be neglected, I am determined to sustain myself as long as possible, and die like a soldier who never forgets what is due to his own honor or that of his country.
" God and Texas ! Victory or death !
" TRAVIS."
Colonel Fannin predicted what afterwards became true :
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" A victory for the Mexicans at this time will cost them more than a defeat."
On the morning of the 3d Colonel James Butler Bonham of South Carolina, whom Travis had commissioned with a last appeal to Fannin for aid, reentered the walls, under a shower of balls from the enemy and amid acclamations of welcome from the men in the Alamo.
When the siege began they were almost destitute of food ; but in some deserted houses they found about ninety bushels of corn, and before the siege advanced they had driven within the walls twenty head of beeves.
-
On the 4th the Mexicans kept up a constant bombard- ment. It seemed to be their purpose to wear out the physi- cal strength of the garrison, so that, at the last, victory would be easy.
Santa Anna, after a council in which there was a differ- ence of opinion as to waiting for some heavier guns, deter- mined to make the final assault on Sunday morning, the 6th of March. The order for the attack was full and precise in all its details, and the movements of the attacking columns were so planned as that the advance should reach the walls quietly, just at daybreak, supposing that the worn-out Tex- ans would at that hour be seeking repose. Five bodies of infantry were combined into three bodies of attack. Some of the men were furnished with scaling ladders and axes ; in the rear of these was a regiment of dragoons. The com- mand of the attack was given to General Castrillon, a gallant and brilliant officer of Spanish birth. Santa Anna took his station, with a part of his staff and all the regimental bands, at a battery south of the Alamo and near the old bridge, from which a single bugle blast was the signal for attack upon various parts of the wall. The charge of the three columns was almost simultaneous. That of Toluca made a breach on the north, but from a gun on the northwest angle of the wall, and the deadly fire of the Texas riflemen, this
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column was thrown into disorder, halted, and was kept from flight by the cavalry, which pressed closely upon them in the rear. Here the leader, Colonel Duque, fell, dangerously wounded. The other columns rushed, or were pushed, through the battered gateway, and, after being three times driven back, tumbled over the walls. The outer wall, enclos- ing an area of nearly two acres, was now indefensible. The Texans now retreated to the rooms, by which means they were divided into separate parties, each keeping up a deadly fire with their rifles ; and, at the last, when they were so pressed upon that they could not reload, they fought with clubbed guns as long as a man was left alive, and then -all was over. The body of Travis was found near the gun on the northwest angle of the wall, and around it were many dead Mexicans, showing that Travis had sold his life dearly.
Colonel James Bowie, who had at the first shared the command with Travis, had been confined to his couch with sickness ; but his room was entered and JAMES BOWIE. he was killed, after having killed several of the enemy, whose bodies were found lying near his couch.
"Crockett had taken refuge in a room of the lower barrack, near the gate. He either garrisoned it alone or was left alone by the fall of his companions ; he went forth to meet his fate in the face of the foe, and was shot
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DAVID CROCKETT.
down. There were several dead bodies of Mexicans near him."
According to Santa Anna's report the final assault occupied thirty minutes ; and, according to one Mexican authority- naturally inclined to underrate their loss-about five hundred were killed ; and it was stated between three hundred and fifty
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MONUMENT KRKUTED TO THE HKHORA OF THE ALAMO, PLACED IN THE PORTICO OF THE CAPITAL AT AUSTIN IN INGA, BURNED WITH THAT BUILDING IN IMNI. INSCRIPTIONS : TRAVIN, BOWIE, CROCKETT, BONHAM.
North Front. To the God of the fearless and free is dedicated this altar made from the ruins of the Alamo.
West Front. Blood of heroes hath stained me ; let the stones of the Alumno speak that their immolatiou be not forgotten.
South Front. - Be they enrolled with Leonidas in the host of the mighty dead. Kust Front. - Thermopyla had her messenger of defeat, but the Alamo had none.
and four hundred died of wounds in the hospitals. The Mexicans were so ex- asperated by their loss that they mutilated the bodies of the Texians; and Santa Anna, it was said, who was now on the scene, re- fused to spare three or four who had escaped the mas- sacre. The number of men with Santa Anna was about six thousand, and with Travis in the garrison were one hundred and eighty- two.
The dead bodies of the Texans were thrown into heaps with alternate layers of combustibles and par- tially burned. This was the " Fall of the Alamo."
" They died the Spartan's death, But not in hopeless strife ; Like brothers died, and their expiring breath Was freedom's breath of life."
Those who were spared from the massacre were Mrs. Dickinson and child, Mrs. Alsbury and child, a Mexican woman, Senora Candaleria, and a negro man belonging to Travis.
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When the fall of the Alamo became known, families began fleeing to the East in whatever way they could-men, women, and children, in carts and on foot, through rain, sleet, and mud, fleeing in terror from Santa Anna, with terror of Indians in their pathway, many burying their dead hastily in the wilderness, and all suffering for proper food. The whole country west of the Trinity was depopulated.
General Houston, having been elected commander-in-chief by the convention, on the 4th of March, left Washington on the 7th, and arrived in Gonzales on the 11th, on the evening of which day he was informed of the fall of the Alamo, by a Mexican. On the same evening he wrote to Fannin at Goliad to abandon that place and concentrate all his forces at Victoria. He added : " Prompt movements are necessary."
Colonel Fannin received the order on the evening of March 13th.
QUESTIONS .- What became known in Texas about the middle of February, 1836 ? What were his plans ? How was the siege of the Alamo made known to the country ? At what date ? What was the appeal ? What did he add ? What step did Governor Smith take ? What was the word from Travis on the 24th ? Did he expect reinforcements ? What was the response to his appeal ? What did Travis write on March 3d ? From whom did he hope for aid ? What did Travis write to the convention ? What did Fannin pre- dict ? Who returned on the morning of the 3d ? How were the men fed ? What seemed to be the purpose of the Mexicans ? What did Santa Anna determine ? Describe his plan of attack. How were the Texians situated ? Describe the fight inside the walls. Where was Travis' body found ? Give an account of Bowie. Of Crockett. What was Santa Anna's report ? Why did the Mexicans mutilate the bodies of the Texians ? What was Santa Anna's force ? What was that of Travis ? What was done with the bodies of the dead Texians ? Who were spared from the massacre ? What took place when the fall of the Alamo became known ? Who was commander-in-chief on the 4th March ? Where did he learn of the fall of the Alamo ? What were his orders to Fannin ?
CHAPTER XXXVI.
FANNIN AT VELASCO-KILLING OF JOHNSON'S MEN-FATE OF GRANT AND HIS MEN-DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
IMMEDIATELY preceding the fall of Travis and his Spartan band at the Alamo, the tidings of which spread like a funeral
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pall over the country, was the culmination of the " On to. Matamoras !" scheme.
Colonel Fannin, detained at Velasco, waiting for vessels to take his command-increased by the arrival of a battalion from Georgia-to Copano and Goliad, sent a request to John- son and Grant, at San Patricio, that they would scour the country around for horses to mount his men.
For the purpose of complying with this request the men divided, some going with Grant, while part remained with Colonel Johnson at San Patricio. About sixty miles from San Patricio they captured a Mexican guard with three or four hundred horses, recruiting for Urea's cavalry, soon to advance from Matamoras. They also recaptured Rodriguez and his sixty-seven men, who had been paroled near Lipan- titlan. With these they returned to San Patricio. On their second expedition they captured a band of fifty Mexicans and several hundred horses near the Rio Grande. They also visited several ranches, buying horses at low prices. On their return, on the 2d of March, Dr. Grant, Placido, Veni- . bides, and Reuben R. Brown as guides, left their camp on the Agua Dulce, twenty miles' below San Patricio, a little in advance of their men and horses, and were travelling leisurely, in fine spirits. Passing between two motts of timber there rushed out from each several hundred Mexican dragoons, who immediately surrounded them. The three could have . escaped ; but, prevailing on Venibides to hasten to Goliad and give Fannin (he having reached that place) notice of Urea's approach, they attempted to join their men, when the'. dragoons opened their lines and Dr. Grant and Reuben R. Brown passed in. Within the lines they discovered the dead bodies of their men. Taking advantage of a stampede of the horses the two men started in their wake, were pur- sued, and, after a race of several miles, were surrounded. Dismounting, to sell their lives as dearly as possible, they were soon disarmed. Brown was lanced in the arm,
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and dragged to the ground with a lasso around his body. Grant fell, pierced with several lances from officers who recognized him as a citizen of Coahuila ; this they continued after he had expired. Brown was taken to San Patricio, and a few days later to Matamoras. In an emaciated. and miserable condition he and Samuel W. McKneely made their escape, and reached Victoria late in December, 1836.
On the night of the 27th of February, Urea had surprised Johnson and his men in San Patricio. Colonel Johnson and four of his men escaped through the rear of the building, while the Mexicans, after killing all on the outside, attacked the building in the front.
Urea had now only to dispose of Fannin and his men at Goliad to make his victory complete.
MEETING OF THE CONVENTION.
The convention met on the first day of March, 1836, the sixth day of the siege of the Alamo, at Washington, on the Brazos, and organized. There were fifty-eight delegates from the twenty-two municipalities, but not all present, who were chosen chiefly for their known advocacy of an immedi- ate declaration of independence. They were clothed with plenary powers.
Richard Ellis of Red River was elected president, and H. S. Kimball secretary. On the 2d of March, 1836, the convention read and adopted a "declaration of independ- ence," whereby Texas was declared to be a "free, sovereign, and independent Republic." This declaration was signed by all the members then present, fifty-two in number. Six of them signed afterwards.
On the 4th of March the convention reelected Sam Houston commander-in-chief of the army. He left for Gonzales on the 7th, having waited for his commission and
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other necessary papers. He reached Gonzales at three P.M., on the 11th, where the volunteers were collecting, and where, at night of the same day, news reached him of the fall of the Alamo. On the same night he sent an order to Fannin to retreat to Victoria. On the 16th the convention adopted the "Executive Ordinance," by which was constituted the " Gov- ernment ad interim " of the Republic of Texas. The Presi- dent was clothed with all the powers deemed necessary to meet the extraordinary condition of affairs.
The constitution of the Republic was adopted at a late hour on the night of the 17th of March, but was neither engrossed, en- rolled, nor signed, the members adjourning on the following day, after electing the president, vice-president, and cab- inet.
David G. Burnet was elected President, and Lorenzo de Zavala, Vice- DAVID G. BURNET. President, ad interim, of the Republic. The members of the cabinet were Samuel P. Carson, Secretary of State ; Bailey Hardeman, Secretary of the Treasury ; Thomas J. Rusk, Secretary of War ; Robert Potter, Secretary of the Navy ; and David Thomas, Attorney- General.
The convention dissolved and gave place to the " Gov- ernment ad interim " of the Republic. Some of the dele- gates hastened to the army, and others to their homes, to . prepare for the removal of their families to places of safety. President Burnet and two of his cabinet, all who continued
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with him, remained in Washington three days after the dis- solution of the convention, when they removed, with the government archives, to Harrisburg, on Buffalo Bayou, and soon afterwards to Galveston, barely escaping capture.
QUESTIONS .- What immediately preceded the fall of the Alamo ? For what was Fan- nin waiting ? What request did he make of Johnson and Grant in February ? How were the men divided for this purpose ? How did their second excursion terminate ? Give an account of the 2d of March. What did they discover within the lines ? What did they attempt ? What was their fate ? What now remained to be done ? When did the con- vention meet and organize ? Who was elected president ? Who vice-president ? Who secretary ? What was done on the second day ? How many signed this declaration ? What was done on the fourth day ? What was accomplished by the 16th ? With what power was the president clothed ? What is said of the constitution of the Republic ? What officers were elected ? Who were they ? What then transpired ? What of Presi- dent Burnet and two of his cabinet ?
CHAPTER XXXVII.
FANNIN'S ORDER TO RETREAT-KING'S MASSACRE-WARD'S FATE-FANNIN'S BATTLE AT ENCINAL DEL PERDIDO- SURRENDER.
ON the 21st of February, Fannin had received an order from the military committee of the council, who had made him their agent, "not to make any retrograde movements, but to await orders and reinforcements." On the 28th he was apprised of the entrance of Santa Anna into Bexar, and expressed his apprehension for "the fate of our brave men in the Alamo," and also of the surprise and killing of Johnson's men.
On the 13th of March, at night, he received the order from General Houston at Gonzales, written on the 11th, to fall back upon Victoria with his command and such artillery as was practicable, urging expedition in all his movements, as the immediate advance of the enemy might be expected. He added : " Every facility is to be afforded to women and children who may wish to leave."
In compliance with an urgent request from Refugio,
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Fannin sent Captain King with thirty men of the Georgia battalion to escort a family from that. place, as Mexican sol- diers were reported in that vicinity. On arriving, Captain King found a superior force of Mexicans, who drove him into the old mission, from which he sent in great haste to Fannin for relief.
Lieutenant-Colonel William Ward, with one hundred and fifty of the Georgia bat- talion, started on the 12th, before daylight, for Captain King's relief, which was accomplished, and their immediate re- turn was expected.
Captain King, how- ever, went with his thirty Georgians to chastise some rancheros in that vicinity whose fealty was doubted. The rancheros were too strong for them, and they retreated back to Refugio. They found that place in the hands of the Mexicans, and start- LORENZO DE ZAVALA. ed on a retreat, when they became lost ; and, after wandering all night, found themselves in the morning surrounded by a body of Mexicans, to whom they surrendered, and were every one shot.
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