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 15
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Q. A breach in the north barrier.
R. An intrenchment running from the south-west angle of the chapel to the gate.
S. Represents a porte cochere, or wide passage through the centre of the house F, with but one room on each side. The dotted lines repre- sent a projecting stockade which covered a four-gun battery in front of the outer door.
O
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SIEGE OF THE ALAMO.
village of Lavilleta. Two guns protected the stockade be- tween the church and the prison ; two protected the prison, and an eighteen-pounder was planted at the south-west angle of the main square. A twelve-pound carronade pro- tected the centre of the west wall, and an eight-pounder was planted upon the north-west angle. Two guns were planted on the north wall of the plaza; in all fourteen in position. Over the church floated the flag of the Provis- ional Government of Texas, the Mexican tri-color, with the numerals 1824 in place of the eagle in the white stripe.
THE SIEGE-First day, February 23. Travis secured eighty bushels of corn and twenty or thirty beeves. About noon Santa Anna arrived in person, and sent a summons to the Texans to surrender. It was answered by a cannon shot.
Second day .- Mexicans bombarded the fort without ef- fect. Travis sent out couriers to Goliad and to Washing- ington for reinforcements. In his dispatches he said: "I shall never surrender or retreat."
Third day .- Santa Anna removed his headquarters across the river, and made a personal reconnoissance. The Texans opened their batteries, killing two Mexicans and wounding six others. Late at night some of the Texans sallied out and burned some wooden buildings, behind which the Mexicans had taken a position.
Fourth day .- The Mexicans made an unsuccessful at- tempt to cut off the garrison from water. At night the Texans burned some buildings north of the walls.
Sixth day .- Travis sent out John N. Seguin and a corp- oral to hurry up reinforcements from Goliad.
Eighth day, March 1st .- Thirty-two citizen soldiers of Gonzales entered the fort. In the afternoon a twelve-pound shot from the fort struck the house occupied by Santa Anna.
Tenth day .- Colonel Bonham, who had been sent to Go- liad for reinforcements, re-entered the fortress. Travis
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
dispatched a courier to the Convention. He wrote: "I am still here and well-to-do, with one hundred and forty-five men. I have held this place ten days against a force vari- ously estimated at from 1500 to 6000, and I shall continue to hold it till I get relief from my countrymen, or I will perish in its defense. We have had a shower of cannon balls continually falling among us the whole time, yet none of us have fallen. We have been miraculously preserved. * We are completely surrounded by the enemy, who have batteries in Bexar, only 400 yards to the west; one at Lavilleta, 300 yards south ; at the Powder House, 1000 yards east by south ; on the ditch, 800 yards north- east, and at the old mill, 800 yards north." Travis now despaired of succor, and according to an account published in 1860 by a Mr. Rose, announced to his companions their desperate situation. After declaring his determination to sell his life as dearly as possible, and drawing a line with his sword, Travis exhorted all who were willing to fight with him to form on the line. With one exception, all fell into the ranks, and even Bowie, who was dying with the consumption, had his cot carried to the line. The man who declined to enter the ranks, that night made his es- cape. [This tale is incredible, since he reported large pools of blood in the ditch, close to the wall, when no Mexican had then approached within rifle shot.]
Eleventh day .- The Mexicans continued to bombard the fort. The Texans, being short of ammunition, seldom fired. In the evening Santa Anna called a council of offi- cers, and in spite of the remonstrance of some of his gen- erals, resolved to storm the fortress. His orders were pre- pared very carefully, and given with great minuteness. There were to be four columns of attack, led by his most experienced generals. Each column was supplied with axes, crowbars and scaling ladders. His entire cavalry force was paraded in the rear, to prevent the desertion of his own troops, and to intercept any Texans who might attempt to escape.
STORMING OF THE ALAMO.
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THE FALL OF THE ALAMO.
THE FALL .- Sunday March 6. A little after midnight, the different divisions of the Mexican army silently march- ed to their assigned positions. At four o'clock the bugle sounded, and the whole line advanced to the final assault. Santa Anna, with all the bands, was behind an adobe house, about 500 yards south of the church. The Texans were ready, and, according to Filisola, "poured upon the ad- vancing columns a shower of grape and musket and rifle balls." Twice the assailants reeled and fell back in dis- may. Rallied again by the heroic Castrellon (who fell at San Jacinto), they approached the walls the third time. We again quote from Filisola : "The columns of the west- ern and eastern attacks meeting with some difficulty in reaching the tops of small houses forming the wall of the fort, did, by a simultaneous movement, to the right and to the left, swing northward until the three columns formed one dense mass, which, under the guidance of their officers, finally succeeded in effecting an entrance into the enclosed yard. About the same time the column on the south made a breach in the wall and captured one of the guns." This gun, the eighteen-pounder, was immediately turned upon the convent, to which some of the Texans had retreated. The carronade on the center of the west wall was still manned by the Texans, and did fearful execution upon the Mexicans who had ventured into the yard. But the feeble garrison could not long hold out against such overwhelm- ing numbers. Travis fell early in the action, shot with a rifle ball in the head. After being shot he had sufficient strength to kill a Mexican who attempted to spear him. The bodies of most of the Texans were found in the build- ing, where a hand-to-hand fight took place. The body of Crockett, however, was in the yard, with a number of Mexicans lying neer him. Bowie was slain in his bed, though it is said he killed two or three of the Mexicans with his pistol as they broke into his room. The church was the last place entered by the foe. It had been agreed
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
that when further resistance seemed useless, any surviving Texan should blow up the magazine. Major Evans was applying the torch when he was killed in time to prevent the explosion. It was reported that two or three Texans, found in a room, appealed in vain for quarter. The sacrifice was complete. Every soldier had fallen in defense of the fort.
Three non-combatants were spared-a negro servant of Col. Travis, and Mrs. Alsbury and Mrs. Dickinson. Lieut- enant Dickinson, with a child on his back, leaped from an upper window in the east end of the church ; but their life- less bodies fell to the ground riddled with bullets. One hundred and eighty bodies of the Texans were collected together in a pile and partially burned. Well-informed Texans put the loss of the Mexicans at twice that number. The official report of the Mexican Adjutant General left in command at San Antonio, puts their loss at 60 killed and 251 wounded. On the 25th of February, 1837, the bones of their victims were collected by Col. John N. Seguin, then in command at the place, and decently and honorably interred.
Simultaneously with the advance of Santa Anna, General Urrea had proceeded along the Texas coast, reaching San Patricio on the 28th of February. It seems incredible that the Texan's should have been kept in ignorance of this movement; but so it was. Major Morris, Dr. Grant and about forty Texans were out hunting horses, when Urrea's party passed them undiscovered. Colonel F. W. Johnson and a few others were in the village of San Patricio when the Mexicans reached the neighborhood. The Mexican citizens had notice of the approach of Urrea, and were told to keep lights burning in their houses, so that their friends might know them. It so happened that Colonel Johnson was writing until a late hour, and before his light was extin- guished, learned that the town was in the possession of Urrea, and he and four companions-Messrs. Tone, Beck, Toler and Miller-made their escape.
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MEXICAN INVASION.
Colonel Grant, with about forty men, had been absent some ten days on a scout for horses. They had followed a party of Mexicans to the Rio Grande, and secured a num- ber of horses and some prisoners, and were returning to Col. Johnson's headquarters at San Patricio. On the night in which Urrea captured the town, Grant and his party camped on the Agua Dulce creek, twenty-six miles to the south-west. From prisoners captured, the Mexicans learned that Grant's party were expected back, and Urrea sent out a strong cavalry force for their capture. When they were discovered, Grant, Morris, Benevedes and Brown were riding considerably in advance of the cavallado of horses driven by their companions. At Grant's request, Benevedes made his escape, and hastened to Goliad to give Fannin notice of the Mexican invasion. Grant and Morris were killed, and Brown taken a prisoner, by being las- soed. The other Texans were all killed. (See Brown, Grant, etc.)
Colonel Fannin had been ordered first to Velasco, on recruiting service, and subsequently to the West, and invested with authority (as agent) to prepare for a descent upon Matamoras. He was in command at Goliad, with about 400 men, mostly of the Georgia battalion, preparing for the expedition to the Rio Grande, when he heard of the invasion of the country by Santa Anna. Col. Bonham, from San Antonio, reached Goliad on the day that Urrea took San Patricio. Fannin at first resolved to go to the relief of Travis in the Alamo. But his gun-carriage broke down, and he lacked the means of transportation. During the delay caused by the accident, he heard of the advance of Urrea and the capture of San Patricio. He then re-entered Goliad, and put the place in a thorough state of defence. He at once dispatched Captain King, with twenty-eight men, to remove some families from Refugio. This was March 3d. King, instead of hastening back, as ordered, remained at Refugio, and sent to Goliad for more troops, as he was
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
threatened with an attack. To Fannin this delay was vexatious, as he wished to fall back across the Guadalupe river, to which point he had been ordered by General Houston. But he immediately sent Lieutenant-Colonel Ward with 112 men to King's relief. Before Ward reached Refugio, King had been attacked by a party of cavalry. The enemy was repulsed with severe loss. Ward joined King in the old Mission on the evening of the 13th. That night they were attacked by a superior force of Mexicans, who were again repulsed with heavy loss, and as they retreated, they were pursued by the companies of Ward and King. In the darkness the two were separated. Ward made his way back to the Mission. King and his men became bewildered, and finally got lost, and were the next day captured and put to death by order of Urrea. *
Unwilling to leave Ward and King, Fannin successively sent four couriers to hurry them back to join him in the retreat. These all fell into the hands of the Mexicans and were put to death. On the 16th of March Fannin was reinforced by a company of twenty-eight cavalry, under Captain A. C. Horton. He prepared for a retreat the same day, and a portion of the cannon were thrown into the river ; but just at night, while Horton was out reconnoitering, he discovered a large force of the enemy in the immediate neighborhood. Apprehending an attack during the night, the cannon were hastily remounted, and preparations made for defence.
* The above is the common version of this unfortunate affair. Mr. S. T. Brown, one of Ward's men, who escaped the massacre, gives a different account. He says, that, on the morning of the 16th, Ward and King differed as to who should command, when King with forty-six men withdrew from the fort, and was captured and all his men shot. In the fight, three of Ward's men were wounded. As Ward had positive orders to fall back and join Fannin at Victoria, he supplied the wounded with water, and left them in the Mission and fell back to the Guadalupe river; but before he reached Victoria, the disastrous battle of Coleta had been fought, and he and most of his men were captured, and shared the fate of their companions under Fannin. The three wounded left in the Mission were taken out and shot, at Refugio, with King's men.
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249
BATTLE OF COLITA.
BATTLE OF COLITA .- The morning of the 17th was foggy, and no enemy appearing in sight, about ten o'clock the army evacuated the fort, and took up the line of march for Victoria. After crossing the Menawhila creek, about eight miles from Goliad, they halted to permit the oxen to graze. They had resumed the march and were within about two miles of the Colita creek, when a company of Urrea's cavalry was discovered in front and a little to their left, issuing from a point of timber. During the morning fog the Mexicans had passed around and in front of Fannin to intercept his march. Horton and his cavalry had gone forward to make arrangements for crossing the river, and, if possible, to secure reinforcements. They were unable to join their companions. The Texans halted and made hasty preparations for a fight. A charge of Urrea's cavalry was gallantly repulsed by Fannin's artillery, which also poured a deadly fire upon the Mexican infantry. In a second charge the Mexicans suffered a still heavier loss. The fight con- tinued until dark, when the Mexicans retired out of gun- shot, and the Texans improved the time throwing up tem- porary breastworks. Fourteen of their number had been either killed or mortally wounded. Sixty others, including Colonel Fannin, were wounded. Before daylight Urrea received heavy reinforcements, including a park of artillery. With no adequate protection against the enemy's cannon ; in an open prairie, without water, for which the wounded, especially, were suffering, surrounded by an enemy of five times their number, the Texans were in a desperate condi- tion. What could they do but surrender as prisoners of war? A white flag was raised and the following terms of surrender agreed upon : 1. That the Texans should be treated as prisoners of war according to the usages of civilized nations. 2. That private property should be respected and restored, but the side arms of the officers should be given up. 3. The men should be sent to Copano, and thence in eight days to the United States, or as soon as vessels could be pro-
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
cured to take them. 4. The officers should be paroled and returned to the United States in like manner.
The prisoners were taken back to Goliad and confined in the old Mission. They were joined by the men captured with Ward on the 25th. All were cheerful in the prospect of a speedy liberation. While they were enlivening their prison on the evening of the 26th in singing " Home, Sweet Home," an order arrived from Santa Anna for their imme- diate execution !
THE MASSACRE .- On the morning of the 27th-Palm Sunday-without warning, and under the pretext that they were starting to be sent home, the privates were marched out first, in four companies, strongly guarded. They were taken in different directions, so that no two were close together, and when a short distance from the walls of the mission, the four divisions were halted and shot! The most were instantly killed; some, who were only wounded, were dispatched with sabres, and a few, by lying still and feigning death until dark, escaped. The officers and the wounded were still in the fort, and heard the firing and the shrieks of the wounded and dying. They, too, were immediately marshalled in line and marched out to meet the fate of their companions. Fannin was the last to suffer. (See Fannin and Shackleford.)*
In subsequent years, Santa Anna pleaded the obstinancy of Travis, and their stubborn resistance, after all resistance was useless, as an excuse for putting the last man of the brave garrison of the Alamo to the sword. But for the horrible massacre of Fannin's men, he offered no excuse;
* Reports do not agree as to the exact number put to death. Foote makes the number 330. The names of most of the victims may be found in the Texas Almanac for the year 1860. According to that statement, the whole number killed was 385. Eight physicians and attendants were spared, and twenty-seven of those marched out to be slaughtered made their escape. Major Miller, with eighty volunteers, had just landed at Copano to join the Texas army ; but his men were without arms, and were not included in the order for execution.
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DISASTROUS DISAGREEMENTS.
none could be offered. It was a cold-blooded, deliberate murder of prisoners of war, and should stamp its perpe- trators with eternal infamy.
After the splendid achievement of the raw militia of Texas in the capture of the strongly-fortified city of Bexar, defended by more than twice their number of veteran Mex- ican regulars, it is painful in the extreme, to record the disasters of the opening campaign of 1836. It seems useless now to speculate as to the cause or causes of those disas- ters, which threatened the destruction of the Texas army. In General Houston's last speech in the United States Sen- ate, he reviews these events, and lays a large share of the blame on Colonel Fannin, who, "disregarding the orders of the commander-in-chief, became, by countenance of the Council, a candidate for commander of the volunteers." In that speech, great injustice is done to Fannin, who had been appointed by the Lieutenant-Governor and Council, and who implored orders from Houston himself, or from the Council, but whose only order was from Governor Robinson, " To make no retrograde movement." As we have stated, Houston still recognized Smith as governor, and by virtue of his authority, had ordered Colonel Neil to evacuate San Antonio, and Captain Dimmitt to evacuate Goliad. These officers obeyed Houston, taking such men as chose to fol- low their lead ; and Neil fell back to Gonzales, and Dimmitt to Victoria. But at the same time, Travis, acting under the authority of the Council, remained in command at San Antonio, and Fannin took command at Goliad. But this is not all, nor even the worst. At San Antonio, Bowie con- tended for the right to command over Travis, by virtue of his longer service, if not superior rank; and so sharp was the contest, that Crockett, after reaching the city, threat- ened, with his company, to leave immediately, if the two commanders did not come to terms. Soon afterward, Bowie was taken seriously ill, and this left Travis in com- mand of such troops as chose to submit to his authority.
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Again, at Goliad, it was a question still unsettled, whether, under the Council, Fannin, or Grant, or Johnson was the ranking officer; a question not settled until Grant was killed, and Johnson compelled, with only four companions, to escape for his life, from the cavalry of Urrea. And as if to furnish a still further illustration of this miserable state of affairs, the two officers sent to Refugio quarreled, separated, and were both captured and shot by Urrea. Possibly, by remaining together, they might have rejoined Fannin, and the result have been very different.
We may admire the heroism of Fannin, who wrote to Governor Robinson, that if he did not receive relief he should remain at his post, even if it cost the lives of him- self and his men; and the still more heroic declaration of Travis, that he should never retreat or surrender; but still we cannot but feel that the lives of these brave and patriotic men were sacrificed to the miserable personal squabbles prevailing in both the civil and military departments of the Provisional Government.
SCOUTING.
.
CHAPTER V.
THE MEXICAN MARCH TOWARDS SAN JACINTO-HOUSTON'S RETREAT-CAMPS IN MILL CREEK BOTTOM-THE MEXICANS MEET WITH RESISTANCE AT SAN FELIPE, AND TURN DOWN THE RIVER TO RICHMOND-BOTH ARMIES CROSS THE BRAZOS.
HE length of time required to capture the small garrison of the Alamo had been very vexatious to the President-General of Mexico, whose previous military movements had been conducted with great rapidity. But his victory was complete, and he now had leisure to plan for further operations. On the 11th of March he ordered Generals Sesma and Woll, with 675 infantry, 50 dragoons, two six-pounders and eight days' rations, to march for the interior, intending that they should go, via Columbus, San Felipe and Harrisburg, to Ananuac. He also ordered about 400 men, with three guns, under Colonel Juan Morales, to reinforce Urrea at Goliad. His plan contemplated the invasion of the province by three divisions. One, consisting of about 750 men, under General Gaona, was to go via Bastrop and Washington to Nacogdoches ; the coast division of 1,700 men, under Urrea, to advance via Victoria, Brazoria, and Galveston to Ananuac; and the central division, of about 4,000, under Filisola, was to follow the route taken by Sesma. Santa Anna, when he heard of the capture of Fannin, thought the conquest of Texas was effected, and in the exuberance of his delight gave orders to his subordinates to shoot all prisoners. He intended soon to return to his capital, and leave Filisola and Almonte to complete the reorganization of the government of the conquered province. But having heard from Sesma that a considerable army, under Houston, was encamped on the east bank of the
16
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HISTORY OF TEXAS.
Colorado, he, at the solicitation of Almonte and Filisola, concluded to remain and complete his work.
On the fourth day of the session of the Convention at San Felipe, General Houston was re-elected commander-in-chief of the forces in the field. Two days later, on the 6th, the day the Alamo fell, Houston, with George W. Hockley, chief of staff, and one or two companions, left Washington for the headquarters of the army at Gonzales, arriving there on the 11th. Mr. Yoakum says: "It was Houston's inten- tion to combine the forces of Fannin and Neil and march to the aid of Travis." But Houston, in his last senatorial speech, says he had anticipated that calamity (the fall of the Alamo), and went to Gonzales, intending to fall back. There has been no little controversy as to the number of men at Gonzales when Houston arrived there. Mr. Yoakum fixes the number at 374; other authorities make it twice as large, though no thorough organization had been effected. As our readers will remember, thirty-two of the citizen soldiers from Gonzales entered the Alamo during the siege. The night Houston reached the place, the sad tidings arrived that the Alamo had fallen and its brave defenders were all killed. This produced an indescribable scene of grief in the town, as a dozen women and a large number of children had lost their husbands and fathers. A terrible panic ensued. Twenty-five soldiers, says Houston, deserted that night, and fleeing towards the Sabine, spread the news and the panic throughout the country.
Houston deemed a retreat inevitable, and securing the women and children, the party took up the line of march about midnight, March 12th. As the rear guard left the town, the place was fired, without any orders. The Texans arrived at Peach creek the next day. Here they met a reinforcement of 125 men; but when the news of the mas- sacre of Travis and his companions was told the new troops, twenty-five of them immediately left for their homes. The Texans reached the Navidad on the 14th, and the Colorado,
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at Burnham's, on the 17th, where the river was crossed ; the army now numbering about six hundred men. Descend- ing the stream, they encamped on the west bank, opposite Columbus, until the 25th. In the mean time, the Mexican advance, under Sesma, had reached the right bank of the river. By the 26th, Houston's army had increased to between twelve hundred and fifteen hundred men.
Houston has been severely censured for not making a stand at that place. The river offered a good line of defence; and as soon as he resumed his retrograde movement, many men, whose families would be exposed, had to leave the army to secure their safety. In his last speech in the Sen- ate, he gives the reason for his retreat. When encamped on the Lavaca river, going west, he had dispatched Col. Wm. T. Austin to Velasco for artillery. The guns were shipped up to Columbia, but owing to excessive rains, it was found impossible to transport them to army headquar- ters. Without artillery, and the soldiers depressed by the sad fate of Travis and of Fannin, Houston thought it best to fall back to the Brazos. When he reached the river at San Felipe, instead of crossing the stream and establishing a line of defense, he turned up across Mill creek, and encamped, from the 29th of March until the 12th of April, in the bottom.
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