USA > Texas > A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to A.D. 1879. Embracing the periods of missions, colonization, the revolution the republic, and the state; also, a topographical description of the country together with its Indian tribes and their wars, and biographical sketches of hundreds of its leading historical characters. Also, a list of the countries, with historical and topical notes, and descriptions of the public institutions of the state > Part 14
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Before this, however, the division was reinforced from the reserve by Captains Cheshire, Lewis and Sutherland, with their companies.
Immediately after we got possession of the priest's house, the enemy opened a furious cannonade from all their batteries, accompanied by inces- sant volleys of small arms, against every house in our possession and every part of our lines, which continued unceasingly until 63 o'clock A. M., of the 8th, when they sent a flag of truce, with an intimation that they desired to capitulate. Commissioners were immediately named by both parties, and herewith I accompany you a copy of the terms agreed upon.
Our loss in this night-attack consisted in one man only-Belden, of the Greys, dangerously wounded while in the act of spiking a cannon.
To attempt to give you a faint idea of the intrepid conduct of the gallant
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
citizens who formed the division under my command, during the whole period of attack, would be a task of no common nature, and far above the power of my pen. All behaved with the bravery peculiar to freemen, and with a decision becoming the sacred cause of Liberty.
To signalize every individual act of gallantry, where no individual was found wanting to himself or to his country, would be a useless and endless effort. Every man has merited my warmest approbation, and deserves his country's gratitude.
The memory of Colonel B. R. Milam, the leader of this daring and suc- cessful attack, deserves to be cherished by every patriotic bosom in Texas.
I feel indebted to the able assistance of Colonel Grant, (severely wounded the first day,) Colonel Austin, Majors Morris and Moore, Adjutant Bristow, Lieutenant-Colonel Franks, of the artillery, and every captain-names already given-who entered with either division, from the morning of the 5th until the day of capitulation.
Dr. Cameron's conduct, during the siege and treaty of capitulation, mer- its particular mention. The guides, Erastus Smith, Norwich, Arnold and John W. Smith, performed important service; and I cannot conclude with- out expressing my thanks to the reserve under your command for such assistance as could be afforded me during our most critical movements.
The period put to our present war by the fall of San Antonio de Bexar will, I trust, be attended with all the happy results to Texas which her warmest friends could desire.
I have the honor to subscribe myself your most obedient servant,
F. W. JOHNSTON, Col. Com'g.
A true copy from the original.
WILLIAM T. AUSTIN, Aid-de-Camp.
CAPITULATION ENTERED INTO BY GENERAL MARTIN PERFECTO DE COS, OF THE PERMANENT TROOPS, AND GENERAL EDWARD BURLESON, OF THE COLONIAL TROOPS OF TEXAS.
Being desirous of preventing the further effusion of blood and the ravages of civil war, have agreed on the following stipulations:
1st. That General Cos and his officers retire with their arms and private property into the interior of the republic under parole of honor; and that they will not in any way oppose the re-establishment of the federal constitu- tion of 1824.
2d. That the one hundred infantry lately arrived with the convicts, the remuant of the battalion of Morelos, and the cavalry, retire with the Gen- eral, taking their arms, and ten rounds of cartridges for their muskets.
3d. That the General take the convicts brought in by Colonel Ugartechea beyond the Rio Grande.
4th. That it is discretionary with the troops to follow their General, remain, or go to such point as they may deem proper; but in case they should all or any of them separate, they are to have their arms, etc.
5th. That all the public property, money, arms, and munitions of war, be inventoried and delivered to General Burleson.
6th. That all private property be restored to its proper owners.
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CAPITULATION ENTERED INTO.
7th. That three officers of each army be appointed to make out the inven- tory and see that the terms of capitulation be carried into effect.
8th. That three officers on the part of General Cos remain for the purpose of delivering over the said property, stores, etc.
9th. That General Cos with his force, for the present, occupy the Alamo, and General Burleson with his force occupy the town of Bexar, and that. the soldiers of neither party pass to the other, armed.
10th. General Cos shall, within six days from the date hereof, remove his force from the garrison he now occupies.
11th. In addition to the arms before mentioned, General Cos shall be per- mitted to take with his force a 4-pounder and ten pounds of powder and ball.
12th. The officers appointed to make the inventory and delivery of the stores, etc., shall enter upon the duties to which they have been appointed forthwith.
13th. The citizens shall be protected in their persons and property.
14th. General Burleson will furnish General Cos with such provisions as can be obtained, necessary for his troops to the Rio Grande, at the ordinary price of the country.
15th. The sick and wounded of General Cos' army, together with a sur- geon and attendants, are permitted to remain.
16th. No person, either citizen or soldier, to be molested on account of his political opinions hitherto expressed.
17th. That duplicates of this capitulation be made out in Castillian and English, and signed by the commissioner appointed, and ratified by the commanders of both armies,
18th. The prisoners of both armies, up to this day, shall be put at liberty.
The commissioners, Jose Juan Sanchez, Adjutant-Inspector; Don Ramon Musquiz, and Lieutenant Francisco Rada, and Interpreter Don Miguel Arciniega, appointed by the Commandant and Inspector, General Martin Perfecto de Cos, in connection with Col. F. W. Johnston, Major R. C. Morris, and Captain J. C. Swisher, and Interpreter John Cameron, appointed on the part of General Edward Burleson, after a long and serious. discussion, adopted the eighteen preceding articles, reserving their ratifica- tion by the Generals of both armies.
In virtue of which, we have signed this instrument, in the city of Bexar, on the 11th of December, 1835.
JOSE JUAN SANCHEZ,
RAMON MUSQUIZ,
F. W. JOHNSON, ROBERT C. MORRIS,
J. FRANCISCO DE RADA,
JAMES G. SWISHER,
MIGUEL ARCINEGA, Interpreter, JOHN CAMERON, Interpreter.
I consent to, and will observe, the above article.
MARTIN PERFECTO DE COS.
Ratified and approved.
EDWARD BURLESON,
Commander-in-Chief Volunteer Army.
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
While the army in the field was achieving this splendid triumph, the Council at San Felipe was engaged in legisla- tion. It was composed of thirteen members-too many for prompt executive action, and entirely too few for a legislative body. Its duties and powers were not clearly defined, and it was soon manifest that it was composed of inharmonious materials. It is possible that Governor Smith was jealous of his prerogatives, and that the Council infringed upon his legitimate authority. At any rate it beame evident that the Governor and his Council could not harmonize. On the 10th of December, the Council passed a bill calling a Gen- eral Convention. Governor Smith vetoed it because it allowed the municipality of Bexar four delagates, and permitted all Mexicans to vote. The first objection was overruled, and the second obviated by declaring that all Americans might vote, and such Mexicans as were opposed to a centralized government. The election was ordered for February 1st, 1836.
The breach between the Governor and the Council con- tinued to widen, and after a long and bitter personal con- troversy, finally, on the 11th of January, 1836, the Council, by a unanimous vote, deposed the Governor, preferred formal charges against him, and installed Lieutenant Gov- ernor Robinson. The Governor issued a proclamation dissolving the Council, and retained the Archives, and continued to exercise the functions of his office. General Houston and some other officers recognized Governor Smith, and the Council, which continued to hold its sessions, recognized Governor Robinson. A week after the deposi- tion of Governor Smith, the Council failed for want of a quorum. On the 8th of February a quorum was present, and again on the 15th. On the 16th it adjourned to meet in the town of Washington, on the 22d of February, but a quorum never again met.
While the Governor and his intractible Council were wrangling over questions of privilege and authority, the
231
GENERAL AUSTIN'S COMMUNICATION.
people were canvassing the great question of Texan inde- pendence. *
On the last of November, Stephen F. Austin, having resigned the command of the army, reported to the Council at San Felipe, preparatory to starting to the United States as Commissioner. On the question of the relation of Texas to the Mexican government, General Austin said :
" It may be out of place to speak of myself in such a communication as this, but I deem it right to say that I have faithfully labored for years to unite Texas permanently to the Mexican Confederation, by separating its local government and internal administration, so far as practicable, from every other part of Mexico, and placing it in the hands of the people of Texas, who are certainly best acquainted with their local wants, and could best harmonize in legislation for them. There was but one way to effect this union, with any hope of permanency or harmony, which was by erect- ing Texas into a State of the Mexican Confederation. Sound policy, and the true interest of the Mexican Republic, evidently required that this should be done.
" The people of Texas desired it; and if proofs were wanting (but they are not) of their fidelity to their obligation as Mexican citizens, this effort to erect Texas into a State affords one which is conclusive to every man of judgment who knows anything about this country; for all such are con- vinced that Texas could not, and would not, remain united to Mexico with- out the right of self-government as a separate State."
In another portion of his communication, Austin says:
" At the time of the former elections, the people did not, and could not, fully understand their true situation ; for it was not known then, to a cer- tainty, what changes would take place in Mexico ; what kind of government would be established ; or what course would be pursued towards Texas. It was only known then that the Central party was in power; that all its measures tended to the destruction of the Federal system, and that prepa- rations were making to invade Texas.
" But, at the present time, the people know that the government is changed-that Centralism is established by the decree of the 3d of October last, and that they are threatened with annihilation. In short, the whole
* As early as July 19th, 1835, a meeting of citizens was held on the Navidad, in Jackson County, James Kerr, Chairman, and Samuel Rogers, Secretary, which declared for independence. And on the 20th of December, the troops, under Captain Dimmit, and the citizens of Goliad, passed similar resolutions, and the people in the different portions of the province expressed their acquiescence.
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
picture is now clearly before their view, and they see the dangers that are hanging over them. Can these dangers be averted by a provisional organ- ization, which is based upon a declaration that is equivocal, liable to differ- ent constructions? Does not the situation of the country require a more fixed and stable state of things? In short, is it not necessary that Texas should now say in plain, and positive, and unequivocal language, what is the position she occupies, and will occupy; and can such a declaration be made without a new and direct resort to the people, by calling, as speedily as possible, a convention, with plenary power, based upon the principle of equal representation, in proportion to the population ?
" These are questions of the most vital importance. I respectfully sub- mit them to the calm deliberation of the Provisional Government, in the full confidence that all the attention will be given to the subject which its importance demands.
" Without expressing any individual opinion of my own, as to the time or day when the new election ought to take place, which would, perhaps, be indecorous in such a communication as this; the object of which is to lay the facts before the Provisional Government, I deem it my duty to say, that so far as I could judge of the opinions and wishes of the citizens who were in the volunteer army when I left them on the 25th ult., they were in favor of an immediate election of a Convention with plenary power."
In the above report, General Austin used very cautious language, and though he declared for a Convention with plenary powers, he did not explicitly commit himself to a declaration of independence. He, perhaps, then thought such a declaration premature. But after his arrival in New Orleans, he received additional information from Mexico, and found that, in order to secure the loan so necessary for Texas, a declaration of independence must be immediately put forth. And he accordingly wrote to the Provisional Government, advocating such a declaration.
The general election was held on the 1st of February, 1836, and the Convention met on the 1st of March, 1836. Its official journal opens thus: "Convention of all the people of Texas, through their delegates elect."
On motion of Mr. Geo. C. Childress, Mr. James Collings- worth, of Brazoria, was called to the chair, and Wm. A. Faris appointed secretary pro tem. After the roll of mem- bers was completed, on motion of Mr. Robert Potter, the Convention proceeded to elect a president, when Stephen
RUINS OF THE SAN JOSE MISSION.
1
235
DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE.
H. Everitt, of Jasper, nominated Richard Ellis, of Red River, who was unanimously elected. H. S. Kimble was elected secretary ; E. M. Pease, assistant secretary ; Iram Palmer, sergeant at arms ; John A. Hizer, doorkeeper, and M. Saul, engrossing clerk.
Mr. George C. Childress offered the following :
Resolved, That the president appoint a committee, to consist of five dele- gates, to draft a Declaration of Independence.
Adopted. Whereupon the president appointed as the committee, Mr. Geo. C. Childress, of Collin, James Gaines, of Sabine, Edward Conrad, of Refugio, Collin Mckinney, of Red River, and Bailey Hardeman, of Matagorda.
On the second day, March 2d, Mr. Robert Potter moved the appointment of a committee of one from each municipality. to draft a constitution for the (contemplated) Republic of Texas, which was carried, and Messrs. Martin Parmer, chairman ; Robert Potter, Chas. B. Stewart, Edwin Waller, Jesse Grimes, Robert M. Coleman, John Fisher, John W. Bunton, James Gaines, Lorenzo de Zavala, Stephen H. Everitt, Bailey Hardeman, Elijah Stapp, Wil- liam C. Crawford, Claiborne West, James Power, Jose Antonio Navarro, Collin Mckinney, William Menifee, William Motley and Michael B. Menard were appointed the committee.
On the same day, March 2d, Mr. Childress, chairman of the committee, reported the draft of a Declaration of Inde- pendence. Mr. Houston moved that the report be received by the Convention, which was done. Gen. Sam Houston introduced the following resolution :
Resolved, That the Declaration of Independence, reported by the commit- tee, be adopted, that the same be engrossed and signed by the delegates of this Convention.
And the question being put, the resolution was unan- imously adopted.
15
236
HISTORY OF TEXAS.
After the Declaration of Independence, the Convention* was engaged until the 15th in preparing the Constitution. On the 17th of March the Constitution was adopted, and a Government, ad interim, inaugurated, with David G. Burnet, President ; Lorenzo De Zavalla, Vice-President, and Sam Houston, Commander-in-Chief of the army in the field. The news of the stirring events in the west, prob- ably hastened the adjournment of the Convention; and soon afterward the President and his Cabinet removed from Washington to Harrisburg.+
* The Convention was composed of the following members :
Municipality of Austin-Charles B. Stewart and Thomas Barnett; of Brazoria-James Collingsworth, Edwin Waller, Asa Brigham and J. S. D. Byrom; of Bexar-Francis Ruis, J. Antonio Navarro, Jesse B. Badgett and William Motley ; of Colorado-William Menifee and William D. Lacey ; of Gonzales -John Fisher and Matthew Caldwell; of Nacogdoches-John S. Roberts, Robert Potter, Charles S. Taylor and Thomas J. Rusk; of Refugio-James Power and Sam Houston; of Shelby-Martin Parmer and Sidney O. Pennington ; of Subine-James Gaines and William Clark, Jr .; of Harrisburg-Lorenzo de Zavala and Andrew Briscoe; of Jasper- George W. Smyth and S. H. Everett; of Jackson-Elijah Stepp; of Jeffer- son-Claiborne West and William B. Scates; of Liberty -- M. B. Menard, A. B. Harden and J. B. Wood; of Bastrop -- John W. Bunton, Thomas J. Gazley and Robert M. Coleman; of Milam-Sterling C. Robertson and George C. Childress; of Matagorda -- Bailey Hardeman and S. Rhodes Fisher; of San Patricio-John Turner and John W. Bower; of Washing- ton-Benjamin B. Goodrich, James G. Swisher, George W. Barnett and Jesse Grimes ; of San Augustine-E. O. Legrand and Stephen W. Blount; of Red River-Robert Hamilton, Collin McKinney, A. H. Latimer, Samuel P. Carson, Richard Ellis and William C. Crawford; of Goliad-David Thomas and Edward Conrad.
¡The following were the principal officers in President Burnet's Cabinet, appointed at the organization of the Government: Samuel P. Carson, Secretary of State; Thomas J. Rusk, Secretary of War; Bailey Harde- man, Secretary of the Treasury; Robert Potter Secretary of the Navy ; David Thomas, Attorney-General. During this Government, which con- tinued until the 22d of October, 1836, there were many changes, and the following named persons were, for a time, members of the Cabinet, viz :-- James Collingsworth and Wm. H. Jack, Secretaries of State; M. B. Lamar, F. A. Sawyer, A. Somervil snd John A. Wharton, Secretaries of War; Peter W. Grayson, Attorney-Generel; Barnard E. Boe, Secretary of the Treasury ; John R. Jones, Post-Master General. The following persons were also in office under the Government ad interim :-- Asa Brigham, Auditor; H. C. Hudson, Comptroller; Benjamin C. Franklin, Judge for the District of Brazos.
237
MILITARY OPERATIONS.
We will now return to military operations. After the capture of San Antonio, many of the soldiers in Burleson's command, especially the Texans, returned to their homes. Others, encouraged by the success of the first essay at arms, were anxious for other enterprises. Captain Dim- mit, at Goliad, was, perhaps, the first to suggest the cap- ture of Matamoras, on the right bank of the lower Rio Grande. This was cordially seconded by Colonel Grant, who had assisted in the capture of San Antonio, and who had large landed possessions in Coahuila, and was a mem- ber of the Legislature dispersed by Cos. Johnson, Fannin and many others, were ready to enlist in the projected enter- prise. The Executive Council, acting independently of the Governor, authorized Fannin to act as agent in getting up and commanding a force for the capture of Matamoras; and, at the same time gave similar authority to Johnson and Grant, and for the same purpose. Not to be outdone in such a movement, Governor Smith ordered General Hous- ton to establish his headquarters in the west, and prepare for a descent upon the same place. Grant and Johnson en- listed many of the men who had come with the New Or- leans Grays, and with such horses and munitions of war as could be collected around San Antonio, started for the south-west. They found Fannin in command at Goliad, and proceeded to the Nueces river, and Grant, with a party, went still further, to secure horses for Fannin's command. When Houston reached Goliad and learned of the organi- zation of these independent expeditions, he gave up all pretensions to the command, and was elected a member of the Convention from Refugio. Dimmit, at Houston's sug- gestion, retired to Victoria. Neil, who succeeded Johnson at San Antonio, had left that place in command of Wm. B. Travis.
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CHAPTER IV.
SANTA ANNA'S TEXAS PROGRAMME-FALL OF THE ALAMO, AND FATE OF ITS BRAVE GARRISON-URREA IN THE SOUTH-WEST-DEATH OF GRANT, MORRIS, &C-WARD AND KING AT REFUGIO-GOLIAD EVACUATED-BATTLE OF COLITA-THE FANNIN MASSACRE -- REFLECTIONS ON THE CONDUCT OF THE CAMPAIGN.
N the 11th of May, 1835, Santa Anna gained a decisive victory over Governor Garcia, near Zacatecas, com- pleting the total destruction of the Republican party in Mexico. Texas was now the only State in which his au- thority was disputed; and that able general immediately commenced his preparations for the subjugation of Texas. He proposed to send two columns into the province. Gen- eral Urrea was ordered to Matamoras, to take one division along the coast to Goliad, Victoria, &c., while the Presi- dent-General, himself with the main division, was to enter the province via Presidio, and thence to San Antonio, San Felipe, et cetera. Toward the last of January, 1836, Santa Anna reached Saltillo, and Guerrero, by the middle of February. From this place he wrote to Senior Tornel, Minister of War, giving the outlines of his programme in reference to Texas. It was "to drive from the province all who had taken part in the revolution, together with all the foreigners who lived near the sea coast, or the borders of the United States; to remove far into the interior those who had not taken part in the war; to vacate all lands and grants of land owned by non-residents ; to remove from Texas all who had come to the province, and were not en- tered as colonists under Mexican rules; to divide among the officers and soldiers of the army the best lands, pro- vided they would occupy them ; to permit no Anglo-Amer-
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THE ALAMO AND ITS ARMAMENT.
ican to settle in Texas ; to sell the remaining vacant lands at one dollar per acre, allowing those speaking the French language to purchase five million acres, those speaking English the same, and those speaking the Spanish without limit ; to satisfy the claims of civilized Indians ; to make the Texans pay the expense of the war; and to liberate and to declare free the negroes introduced into the colony."
To cut off from Texas the hope of aid from the United States, Tornel issued a general order to all commanders, to treat all foreigners (meaning volunteers from the United States), as pirates. This order was subsequently plead in justification of the massacre of the garrison of the Alamo, and of Fannin's men at Goliad.
On the 22d of February, a portion of the invading army reached the Alazan creek, a little west of the city of San Antonio, when Colonel Travis, with 145 effective men, re- tired to the fortress of the Alamo, on the East side of the river.
THE ALAMO AND ITS ARMAMENT .- The main chapel is 75x62 feet; walls of solid masonry, four feet thick and twenty-two and a half feet high: then roofless. It fronts to the west toward the city, one-half a mile distant. From the northwest corner a wall extended fifty feet to the con- vent building, now occupied by the Quartermaster's De- partment. The convent was a two-story building, with a flat roof 186x18 feet. From the northeast corner of the chapel a wall extended 186 feet north ; thence 102 feet west to the convent, inclosing the convent yard. From the southwest corner of the chapel a strongly built stockade extended 75 feet to a building called the prison. The prison was one story, 115x17 feet, and joined a part of the south wall of the main Alamo plaza, of which the convent formed a part of the east wall, and some low buildings, used as barracks, formed a part of the west wall. The main plaza, inclosed with walls, was 154x54 yards. The different inclosures occupied between two and three acres ;
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
ample accommodations for 1000 men. The outer walls were two and a half feet thick and eight feet high, though, as they were planned against the Indians, the fortress was destitute of salient and dominant points in case of a bom- bardment. A ditch, used for irrigation, passed immedi- ately in the rear of the church, another touched the north- west angle of the main square.
ITS ARMAMENT .- Three heavy guns were planted upon the walls of the church ; one pointed north, toward the old mill; one west, toward the city, and one south, toward the
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GROUND PLAN OF THE ALAMO.
A. Chapel of the Fortress. 1
B. Upper window.
C. Front door of the Church.
D. A wall 50 feet long, connecting Church with the long Barrack, E E.
F. A low stone barrack, 114 feet long, and 17 wide.
G, H, I and K. Rooms built against the west barrier, and demolished with it.
L. Barrier wall trom 6 to 8 feet high and 234 thick.
M. Gate of the area.
n n. Doors of houses opening upon area.
OO. A wall from 5 to 6 feet high, and 234 thick, which inclosed a smaller area east of the long barrack and north of the church.
P. An upper room in the south-east angle of said barrack.
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