USA > Texas > A Twentieth century history of southwest Texas, Volume I > Part 14
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Capture of Santa Anna.
Only a few of the Mexicans escaped, and great quantities of stores, ammunition and guns fell into the hands of the Texans. Santa Anna, conscious of his former treachery and his just deserts, was found the next day, hidden in the brush and habited in the uniform of a private soldier, but as he was led back among the other prisoners their ejacula- tions of "El Presidente," and the fact that he wore some rich articles of jewelry revealed his identity. The subsequent forbearance and leniency in the treatment of Santa Anna is ample evidence of the self- control and wisdom of the American conquerors and proof of their ability not only to win independence but to preserve it and found a worthy nation. But it was with difficulty that the authorities preserved Santa Anna from mob justice, and vengeance rankled in the hearts of the people for many weeks.
The humbled dictator was willing to offer any terms for his own safety, and after several weeks of delay, during which he had to be closely guarded and secreted from the angry people, he signed at Velasco, on May 14th, two treaties, one of them being a secret agreement, ac- cording to which he was to send the Mexican forces out of Texas and to lend his aid in securing the recognition of the independence of Texas. The public treaty was forwarded to General Filisola, chief in command of the remaining Mexican armies in Texas, and was ratified by him to- wards the end of May.
The forces under Filisola were at the Brazos when the news of the overthrow of Santa Anna came, and he at once began to fall back, and after concentrating the different divisions he began a retreat to the Colo- - rado. The Mexicans were in sad plight as to provisions, and the long campaign at a distance from a base had exhausted nearly all their re- sources and fighting power. The way to the Colorado was one scene
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of hardships and disasters, owing to the heavy floods and scarcity of all foodstuffs, and it was an emaciated and worn-out army that reached Victoria about the middle of May. Here the troops that had been sta- tioned at San Antonio joined in the retreat. In the meantime the Mex- ican government had learned of the disastrous ending of their invasion. Instructions were at once forwarded to Filisola to hold the territory al- ready gained, and that as the treaty of Santa Anna had been signed while he was in durance and intimidated it was annulled, and that under no circumstances should the independence of the revolting state be recog- nized. But these orders from the central government did not reach Filisola until his troops had crossed the Nueces and were on their way. to Matamoras, and at a consultation of the officers it was decided that owing to the destitute condition of the army and the agreement already ratified by Filisola the retreat should continue. By the middle of June, therefore, the Mexican forces, once so brilliantly arrayed and well equipped but now so gaunt and disorganized, had crossed the Rio Grande, within less than four months after Travis had sent out final appeals for help from the Alamo .- The Alamo had indeed been remembered.
To gather up a few more fragments concerning the war of independ- ence :- Santa Anna was kept a close prisoner until after Houston be- came president of the republic, and he was finally sent to the United States capital at Washington, and thence returned to Mexico, where he had been previously defeated by a signal majority for the office of presi- dent, after which he does not come into prominence until the war be- tween the United States and Mexico .- The Texan navy, though small, was able to effect no little part in the winning of independence, and by the capture of vessels loaded with Mexican supplies contributed timely suc- cor to the exigent army and government .- Mexico by no means resigned her Texas province ungrudgingly. The government, despite the with- drawal of all the troops to the south of the Rio Grande, continued its hostile attitude and at least by decrees-never executed-made prepara- tions for renewed invasion. But, as had so many times before been true, political troubles and threatened convulsions at home kept the Mexican pot boiling over all the time, and she had no time to dip into that across the border. The four thousand troops at Matamoras were never started north again, and the only aggressions of Mexico during the next few years were confined to petty excursions, the incitement of the Indians, and a general hatred of Texans and avoidance of peaceful relations with the country. The treaty of Santa Anna was never ratified, and the hostile attitude was maintained. On the Texas side a large force was once formed to resist invasion and to proceed against Matamoras, but the movement finally came to nothing, owing to the lack of a navy. Two or three other hostile movements will be noticed in the proper order.
JOSÉ ANTONIO NAVARRO, one of the most noted characters connected with the early history of San Antonio and the Texas struggle for inde- pendence, was born in San Antonio de Bexar, Feb. 28, 1795. His father; Don Angel Navarro, a native of the island of Corsica, was an officer, either colonel or general, in the Spanish army, and came to San Antonio
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in command of Spanish troops. He was married in San Antonio to Donna Josefa Ruiz de Peña, a Spanish creole of noble descent.
José Antonio Navarro, when but ten years old, was sent by his father to one of the best schools of Saltillo, where he remained a few years, and then returned to San Antonio, when he was placed in one of the commer- cial houses there, in which he continued until after his father's death. In 1813 occurred the disastrous defeat of the patriot forces on the Medina by the Spanish General Arredondo, and Col. Navarro, his father, was made prisoner. The family was living at Seguin at that particular time, José and his mother rode on horseback all the way from Seguin to San Antonio to secure the services of a lawyer for the purpose of securing Col. Navarro's release. The lawyer made a petition to the Jefe Politico (political chief), who was then stationed at San Antonio. He was told that if Colonel Navarro would sign it and promise that he would not again make war against Mexico he would be given his liberty. It was sent to him while he was yet in prison and he refused to sign it, stating that life under such conditions would not be worth anything to him. Because of activity in the revolution of 1813, the family were treated with scorn and persecution, and looked upon with suspicion by the Spanish authorities at San Antonio. The long-wished-for change came in 1821. Iturbide raised again the standard of revolution; Navarro and his relatives were again on the side of freedom. The Spanish governor at Bexar, Don Antonio Maria Martinez, surrendered and delivered up all the archives of the gov- ernment to the new administration. From this period dates the restora- tion and return of the Navarros.
In 1821 José Antonio Navarro was elected representative to the. legislature of the state of Coahuila and Texas. In July of the same year he and Stephen F. Austin traveled to Saltillo together, and thereafter were warm friends. After serving his term he returned to San Antonio, where he began to long for a change in the affairs of government, which was already becoming distasteful to him; yet such a change as would be consistent with the honor and glory of the Mexican republic and that freedom and prosperity so much wished for in Texas. Never for one moment did Navarro, after his return to San Antonio, harbor the idea that he would one day contribute, directly or indirectly, to the separation of Texas from Mexico.
Navarro continued in San Antonio trying to devise some means to better the condition of Texas. He saw that few good results were to be expected from mere good wishes and high hopes, if some powerful hand did not intervene to overthrow the present order of things. The military commanders of San Antonio, and all throughout Texas, were, unfortu- nately, the most stupid and brutal of the Mexican army, and by their con- duct daily increased the discontent of the inhabitants. Yet the Navarro family was highly esteemed and respected by the Mexican officers and was treated with courtesy and consideration. One of José's sisters was mar- ried to Governor Ahumada and the other to Juan Martin Veramendi. His faithfulness to the Mexican government was never questioned nor suspected, as evidenced by his election to the federal congress as late as 1835. It was not until he resigned his seat in Congress and declared openly his sentiments to be in favor of independence that he was consid-
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ered and regarded as an enemy. As a soldier, he suffered both imprison- ment and unjust criticism at the hands of the enemy.
The year 1835 arrived, and Navarro was elected senator to the fed- eral congress. This appointment placed him in a dilemma, whether to go to Mexico and take his seat in the Mexican congress, or remain in Texas and await the uncertain outcome of an incipient revolution. But being a man of determination, fearless and unhesitating, he did not long delay. He arrived at the conclusion that separation was inevitable, and his mind once made up he became one of the most enthusiastic of the rev- olutionists. Furthermore, he went to his uncle, Don Francisco Ruiz, who still hesitated, not for fear or lack of sympathy with the movement, but for his extreme dislike or hatred of the Americans. This venerable Mex- ican colonel, born likewise in San Antonio, had taken part in the earlier revolutionary movements, as a result of which he had been a refugee. Though finally persuaded by his nephew to sign and take part in the in- dependence movement, when Texas became a state of the Union, the un- daunted soldier lived among the Indians several years rather than be sub- ject to the laws of either Mexico or the United States. At last the burden of many years broke down his haughty spirit and he returned to San An- tonio, where he died.
In December of 1835 the Mexican forces were driven from San An- tonio, and a convention was appointed to meet at Washington on the Brazos. Col. Francisco Ruiz and José Antonio Navarro were chosen del- egates from San Antonio, by the unanimous vote of the people, to repre- sent them at the convention. There, being convinced that there was no alternative between liberty or an ignominious subjection, he subscribed the declaration of independence on March 2, 1836.
Navarro was given command of troops in the Texas army, for he was a soldier by training and inheritance, and his services as an officer were of the utmost value to the Texans, and after independence was achieved he continued in active service, both military and civil, in the af- fairs of the young republic, becoming a prominent member of the Texas congress. He was also one of the officers selected to accompany the fam- ous Santa Fe expedition in 1841, which was organized in this state to go to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the purpose of establishing the rights of Texas to a certain portion of that territory which at that time was claimed bv Mexico. As told elsewhere, this expedition met with disaster and most of its members were taken prisoners by the Mexican army. They were taken to Mexico City and confined in different prisons, Colonel Navarro, who was one of the commissioners, being detained on the charge of trea- son in Uloa Castile, a military prison in the sea off Tampico, Mexico. where he was confined for four years, returning thence to his home in Texas. His early home, however, had been at Seguin, but he later moved to his ranch in Atascosa county, and later to San Antonio, where he died Jan. 13, 1871.
Colonel Navarro was greatly beloved and appreciated by the early residents of this state for his bravery and self-sacrifice in severing his re- lations with the Mexican government and joining the revolutionists, and it would be a fitting tribute in these later years to erect a monument to his memory. He was a fine character, a man of great ability and deter-
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mination, and one of his brothers was honored by being buried in San Fernando Cathedral in San Antonio, his resting place being under the main altar in that church.
Col. José Antonio Navarro was born in San Antonio, Feb. 28, 1795, and was married to Margarita de la Garza. Four sons, José Antonio George, Angel, Celso, Sixto Eusebio, and three daughters, Carmen, Maria Gertrudis, Josefa, were born to them. The last mentioned was married to Mr. Daniel I. Tobin and she still survives. She lives with her granddaughter in the state of Sonora, Mexico. José Antonio George Navarro (Colonel Navarro's son) was county judge of Zapata county (which he organized) for about twenty years without opposition and died in office. Angel Navarro was a lawyer. He attended St. Mary's College, at St. Louis, Mo., and later studied law in either Cambridge or West Point. He was considered as one of the best lawyers of that time and was some time in partnership with Hon. James B. Wells of Brownsville. He died at Laredo from the effects of a pistol shot fired by an assassin.
Celso Navarro enlisted in the Confederate army, but was soon dis- charged on account of ill health.
Captain Sixto E. Navarro, a son of Colonel Navarro, was born in San Antonio while Texas was still a part of Mexico, but his youth and young manhood were spent at the Navarro homestead on Atascosa creek, Atascosa county, twelve miles north of the present town of Pleasanton. In his later life he became a successful planter and stockman, owning large landed interests, and became prominent in the affairs of Texas. He vol- unteered in the Confederate service during the Civil war, serving with distinction throughout the entire struggle and received merited promo- tion to the rank of captain, serving under Colonel "Rip" Ford. During the latter part of his life Captain Navarro again became a resident of San Antonio, and his death occurred in this city in 1905, his burial taking place under the auspices of the local camp, United Confederate Veterans.
Capt. Sixto E. Navarro's wife, Genoveva Cortinas, was born and reared in Nacogdoches, Texas. Her father, Dolores Cortinas, was an in- terpreter and died of cholera when she was but four years of age. Two of her brothers served in the Confederate army. Her grandfather, Man- uel de los Santos Coy, was the postmaster at Nacogdoches and did much to help the cause of Texas independence. He received from the govern- ment a large tract of land in compensation for his services, and so did Colonel Navarro.
Mr. and Mrs. S. E. Navarro's family consisted of five sons, Nereo G., Francisco, Sixto C., José Antonio. José Angelo, and six daughters, Teo- dora, Gertrudis, Antonia, Margarita, Josefa, and Genevieve. Three sons and one daughter have taken to school-teaching as their chosen profession, hoping, in this manner, to render some service to their native and beloved state. Prof. Nereo G. Navarro and Prof. Sixto C. Navarro are teaching English in the public schools. Prof. José Antonio Navarro is the prin- cipal of the English and Spanish Department in Draughon's San An- tonio Business College, and Miss Genevieve Navarro is teaching English in the city public schools. The youngest son, Angelo Navarro, is a first- class hospital apprentice in the United States navy and will in all proba- bility follow the Stars and Stripes forever.
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Prof. José A. Navarro was born in Laredo, Texas, and received his education partly in Atascosa county and partly in the schools of San An- tonio. As a teacher he holds a state certificate, and he also taught Eng- lish for several years in the free schools of the state. He has at his home many interesting documents relating to the early history of the Navarro family, among them being a part of the speech, written with a quill, which his grandfather, Colonel Navarro, had prepared to deliver at Santa Fe on the occasion of the expedition's arrival there ; also his letter of resig- nation from the Mexican congress.
GENERAL HAMILTON PRIOLEAU BEE, who died at San Antonio, on the third of October, 1897, was a member of a family noted in the political and military history of Texas and the south. His grandfather, Thomas B. Bee, was a member of the Royal Privy Council of South Carolina, in colonial times, a member of the Continental Congress, lieutenant governor of South Carolina, and in 1792 was appointed judge of the United States court by George Washington, after the colony became a state, serving in that capacity until 1810 and dying in the following year.
Colonel Barnard E. Bee, father of the deceased, was prominent in the nullification troubles in South Carolina in 1832. He brought his family to Texas in 1836, shortly after the independence of the state had been achieved, and settled at Houston. With his son, General Hamilton P., he joined the army of the Republic of Texas, and was selected by Samuel Houston as one of the three commissioners to accompany the Mexican General, Santa Anna, to Washington in October, 1836, that the latter might assure President Jackson, as he had General Houston, that Texas would not be again molested by Mexicans. The trip was made and the promise given, Santa Anna deliberately violating his formal pledge soon after his return to Mexico to become its dictator. Following his return from Washington Barnard E. Bee was made secretary of war in Texas. under President Lamar and later secretary of state under President Houston. Through a misunderstanding with the latter Col- onel Bee resigned his position as secretary of war, but was appointed minister to Mexico, going to his post of duty on a French boat. Arriv- ing at Vera Cruz, he sent word to Santa Anna, who refused, however, to receive him as an official representative of Texas. Colonel Bee at once returned to Washington, and was appointed minister to Wash- ington. When Texas was annexed to the Union he returned to his old home in South Carolina, where his last days were spent.
Among his sons was General Barnard E. Bee., Jr., who, as a com- pliment to his father, was appointed a cadet at West Point. He was credited to South Carolina, as the regulations at that time would not per- mit of appointments outside of the United States, and his residence was in Texas, then an independent republic. Barnard E. Bee, Jr., was grad- uated from the West Point Military Academy in 1845, and served throughout the Mexican war, after which he remained in active army service until the outbreak of the Civil war, when he was stationed at Fort Laramie, Wyoming, as captain of the Tenth Infantry. He then resigned, went to South Carolina and offered his services to that state. Reporting at Richmond, he was made brigadier general by President
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Jefferson Davis, and was killed at the first battle of Manassas on the 21st of July, 1861. It was he who remarked of General Jackson, "There stands Jackson like a stone wall;" which won for that brilliant southern officer the well known name of "Stonewall Jackson." The San Antonio chapter of the Daughters of the Confederacy was named in honor of this eminent soldier.
General Hamilton Prioleau Bee, the son of Barnard E., so prominent in the founding and salvation of Texas, was born in South Carolina, city of Charleston, on the 22d of July, 1822. He was educated in the military school of his native city, and in his boyhood days lived with his father at the old Bee homestead, near the Calhoun place, Pendleton. In 1839 he was appointed chief clerk in the comptroller's office of the Republic of Texas, his superior being F. R. Lubbock, who was from the same dis- trict in South Carolina as the Bee family and later was elected governor. In 1842 General Bee received the appointment to the position of secre- tary of an expedition sent out by General Samuel Houston to negotiate a treaty with the tribes of hostile Indians who had been menacing Texas. The commission, which consisted, besides General Bee, of Joseph Eldridge and Thomas Torrey, met at old Washington, the original capital of Texas, and thence plunged into the wilderness and all trace of them was lost for eight months.
Upon the completion of that task Mr. Bee was made secretary of the boundary commission on behalf of the Republic of Texas to meet with a similar commission from the United States to fix the international boundary between the two countries. The trip was made with wagons from the mouth of the Sabine river to the head of the Red river. The General also experienced some military service against the Indians, par- ticipating in engagements with them at Plum Creek, Lynnville and other places. He also commenced the study of law, and when the Mexicans sacked San Antonio, in 1842, he came to that city to assist the Texans in repulsing the enemy. He then relinquished the practice of his pro- fession and gave his attention largely to the public service. He was clerk of the first house of the Republic of Texas. He joined the army at the time of the Mexican war as a lieutenant in Captain Ben McCul- loch's company and participated in the battle of Monterey and other engagements. Subsequently he located at Laredo in general merchan- dising, and from that district was elected to the legislature, where he served for six terms, acting as speaker from 1854 until 1856. He was also a delegate to the national convention which nominated James
Buchanan for the presidency.
It was after this event that General H. P. Bee retired from public life to his plantation on the river below San Antonio, but at the begin- ning of the Civil war he again became actively connected with military service by identifying himself with the cause of the Confederacy. As a brigadier general he served in the campaigns in Louisiana and Texas, being wounded at the battle of Pleasant Hill. Following the close of hostilities General Bee removed to Mexico, where he lived for a few years, but afterward returned to San Antonio. The only public office which he held after the war was that of commissioner of the department of insurance and history under Governor Ireland.
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In 1854 General H. P. Bee was married at Seguin, Texas, to Miss Mildred Tarver, of Alabama, whose father was at one time lieutenant governor of that state. His son, Carlos Bee, is a practicing attorney at San Antonio.
CHAPTER XVI.
TEXAS AS A REPUBLIC.
The Republic of Texas existed as a unit in the family of nations for nearly ten years, or from the declaration of independence on March 2, 1836, until on February 19, 1846, President Jones surrendered the executive authority into the hands of the newly elected governor of the state. During this decade in which the Lone Star shone out alone and apart in the national constellation the history of the republic diverges from its former continuity of narrative, and in the great composite of details becomes descriptive of the conditions of the period. Therefore it is necessary at this point to select the important phases in the career of the Texas republic and to treat them topically without strict regard for their interdependent development or chronological order.
The First Administration.
In exercise of the powers conferred by the constitution, there was held in September, 1836, an election for the offices of president, vice president, and senators and representatives to congress. There were three candidates for the presidency, Stephen Austin, Sam Houston, and the late governor Henry Smith. Houston's exaltation in the minds of the people after his successful campaign is shown by the fact that he was chosen by a large majority over the father of Texas, Stephen Austin, whose noble and consistent patriotism was for the time dimmed by the military glory of the former. Mirabeau B. Lamar was elected vice president.
Houston's large-mindedness and his conciliatory temper were man- ifested in his appointment of Austin to the office of secretary of state and Smith to that of secretary of war, thus doing what was in his power to harmonize the factions which were influences potent for harm to the infant republic. By provision of the constitution Houston was not to enter his office until the following December, while congress was sum- moned to assemble in October, but by mutual willingness the president and vice president of the provisional government retired from office on October 22, and on the same day Houston was inducted into office, the irregularity being sanctioned by congress.
At the same time with the election of the new government, the people gave unanimous ratification to the constitution as it stood, also practically the total vote in favor of annexation to the United States. As the annexation movement deserves a special chapter, only a few facts concerning its development will be mentioned in this chapter.
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