USA > Texas > Tarrant County > Fort Worth > History of Texas : Fort Worth and the Texas northwest edition, Volume I > Part 35
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"So soon as I was made acquainted with the nature of his 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 the individuals. I had but one course left for me to pursue (the report of your being deposed had also reached mne), which was to return and report myself to you in person-inasmuch as the objects intended by your order were, by the extraordinary con- duct of the council, rendered useless to the country ; and, by remaining with the army, the council would have had the pleasure of ascribing to me the evils which their own conduct and acts will, in all probability, produce. I consider the acts of the council calculated to protract the war for years to come; and the field which they have opened to insubordination and to agencies with- out limit (unknown to military usage) will cost the country more useless expenditure than the necessary expense of the whole war would have been, had they not transcended their proper duties. Without integrity of purpose and well devised measures, our whole frontier must be exposed to the enemy. All the available resources of Texas are directed, through special as well as general agencies, against Matamoras; and must in all probability, prove as unavailing to the interests as they will to the honor of Texas. The regulars at Goliad cannot long be detained at that station unless they should get supplies, and now all the resources of Texas are placed in the hands of agents unknown to the govern- ment in its formation, and existing by the mere will of the council ; and will leave all other objects necessary for the defense of the country, neglected for the want of means, until the meeting of the convention in March next.
"It was my wish, if it had been possible, to avoid for the present the expression of any opinion which might be suppressed in the present crisis. But since I reported to your Excellency. having the leisure to peruse all the documents of a controversial nature growing out of the relative duties of yourself and the general council to the people of Texas, a resolution of the council requiring of me an act of insubordination and disobedience to your orders, demands of me that I should inquire into the nature of that authority which would stimulate me to an act of treason or an attempt to subvert the government which I have sworn to support. The only constitution which Texas has is the organic
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law. Then any violation of that law, which would destroy the basis of government, must be treason. Has treason been com- mitted? If so, by whom and for what purpose? The history of the last few weeks will be the best answer that can be rendered. "After the capitulation of Bexar, it was understood at head- quarters that there was much discontent among the troops then at that point, and that it might be necessary to employ them in some acive enterprise, or the force would dissolve. With this information was suggested the expediency of an attack on Mata- moras. For the purpose of improving whatever advantages might have been gained at Bexar, I applied to your Excellency for orders, which I obtained, directing the adoption of such measures as might be deemed best for the protection of the frontier and the reduction of Matamoras. This order was dated 17th of December, and on the same day I wrote to Col. James Bowie, directing him, in the event that he could obtain a sufficient num- ber of volunteers for the purpose, to make a descent on Mata- moras; and, if his force would not justify that measure, he was directed to occupy the most advanced post, so as to check the enemy, and by all means to place himself in a position to com- mand Copano. Colonel Bowie did not receive the order. Having left Goliad for Bexar, he was not apprised of it until his arrival at San Felipe, about the 1st of January, inst. My reason for ordering Colonel Bowie on the service was his familiar acquain- tance with the country, as well as the nature of the population through which he must pass, as also their resources ; and to this I freely add there is no man on whose forecast, prudence and valor I place a higher estimate than Colonel Bowie.
"Previous to this time the general council had adopted a reso- lution requiring the governor to direct the removal of the head - quarters of the army, and I had been ordered to Washington for their establishment until further orders. I had been detained awaiting copies of the ordinances relative to the army. Their design was manifest, nor could their objects be misapprehended, though the extent to which they were carrying them was not then known. Messrs. Hanks and Clements (members of the council) were engaged in writing letters to individuals in Bexar, urging and authorizing a campaign against Matamoras, and. that their recommendations might bear the stamp of authority and mislead those who are unwilling to embark in an expedition not sanctioned by government and led by private individuals. thev took the liberty of signing themselves members of the military committee; thereby deceiving the volunteers, and assuming a character which they could only use or employ in the general council in proposing business for the action of that body. They could not be altogether ignorant of the impropriety of such con- duct, but doubtless could easily find a solid justification in the bullion of their patriotism and the ore of their integrity. Be their motive whatever it might, many brave and honorable men were deluded by it, and the campaign was commenced upon Mata-
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moras under Doctor Grant as acting commander-in-chief of the volunteer army-a title and designation unknown to the world. But the general council, in their address of the people of Texas, dated January 11th, state that 'they never recognized in Doctor Grant any authority whatever as an officer of the government or army, at the time.' They will not, I presume, deny that they did acknowledge a draft or order drawn by him as acting commander- in-chief, amounting to $750. But this they will doubtless justify on the ground that your Excellency commissioned General Burle- son, and, of course, the appointment of Doctor Grant as his aide- de-camp, would authorize him to act in the absence of General Burleson. It is an established principle in all armies that a staff officer can claim no command in the line of the army, nor exercise any command in the absence of the general, unless he holds a commission in the line. In the absence of General Burleson, the senior colonel, in the absence of the colonel, the major, or in his absence the senior captain, would have the command; but in no event can the aide or staff officer, unless he holds a commission in the line of the army, have any command; and his existence must cease, unless he should be continued or reappointed by the officer of the line who succeeds to the command in the absence of his superior. When General Burleson left the army his aide had no command but the field officer next in rank to himself.
"Then who is Doctor Grant? Is he not a Scotchman who has resided in Mexico for the last ten years? Does he not own large possessions in the interior? Has he ever taken the oath to sup- port the organic law? Is he not deeply interested in the hundred league claims of land which hang like a murky cloud over the people of Texas? Is he not the man who impressed the property of the people of Bexar? Is he not the man who took from Bexar without authority or knowledge of the government cannon and other munitions of war, together with supplies necessary for the troops at that station, leaving the wounded and sick destitute of needed comforts? Yet this is the man whose outrages and oppressions upon the rights of the people of Texas are sustained and justified by the acts and conduct of the general council.
"Several members of that body are aware that the interests and feelings of Doctor Grant are opposed to the independence and true interests of the people of Texas. While every facility has been offered to the meditated campaign against Matamoras. no aid has been rendered for raising a regular force for the defense of the country, nor one cent advanced to an officer or soldier of the regular army, but every hindrance thrown in the way. The council had no right to project a campaign against any point or place. It was the province of the governor, by his proper officers, to do so. The council has the right of consenting or objecting, but not of projecting. The means ought to be placed at the disposition of the governor, and if he, by himself or his officers, failed in their application, he would be responsible for the success of the armies of Texas, and could be held respon-
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sible to the government and punished ; but what recourse has the country upon agents who have taken no oath and given no bond to comply with the powers granted by the council?
"The organic law declares, in article third, 'that the governor and general council shall have power to organize, reduce or increase the regular forces,' but it delegates no power to create army agents to supersede the commander-in-chief, as will be seen by reference to the second article of 'military' basis of that law. After declaring that there shall be a regular army for the pro- tection of Texas during the present war, in the first article, it proceeds in the second to state the constituence of the army : 'The regular army of Texas shall consist of one major-general, who shall be commander-in-chief of all the forces called into public service during the war.' This, it will be remembered, is a law from which the council derived their power; and, of course all troops in service, since the adoption of this law, and all that have been accepted, or to be accepted, during my continuance in office, are under my command. Consequently the council could not create an agency that could assume any command of troops, so as to supersede my powers, without a plain and palpa- ble violation of their oaths. New names given could not change the nature of their obligations ; they had violated the organic law. "I will now advert to an ordinance of their own body, entitled, 'An Ordinance and Decree to Organize and Establish an Auxil- iary Volunteer Corps of the Army of Texas,' etc., passed Decem- ber 5th. 1835. The ordinance throughout recognizes the compe- tency of the governor and commander-in-chief as the only persons authorized to accept the services of volunteers and makes it their especial duty to do so. It also gives the discretion to the com- mander-in-chief to accept the services of volunteers for such tern as 'he shall think the defense of the country and the good of service require.' It is specified that muster-rolls shall accompany the reports of the volunteers, and, when reported by the com- mander-in-chief to the governor, that commissions shall issue accordingly.
"Where elections take place in the volunteer corps, the ordi- nance declares that they shall be certified to the commander-in- chief, and by him forwarded to the governor. The third section of the law declares that when controversies arise in relation to the rank of officers of the same grade, they shall be determined by drawing numbers, which shall be done by order of the com- mander-in-chief of the army. This law was enacted by the gen- eral council, and they cannot allege that any misconstruction could arise out of it. for it plainly points out the duties of the governor and commander-in-chief as defined by themselves. Yet. without the repeal of this law, they have proceeded to appoint agents to exercise the very powers declared by them to belong to the governor and commander-in-chief. This they have done under the impression that a change of name would enable them to put down the governor and commander-in-chief, not subject
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to them for their places, but created by the consultation, and both of whom are as independent of the council as the council is of them-the commander-in-chief being subject to the organic law, and all laws conformable thereto, under the orders of the gov- ernor. I have obeyed the orders of your Excellency as promptly as they have met my knowledge; and had not the council, by acts as outrageous to my feelings as they are manifestly against law, adopted a course that must destroy all hopes of an army, I should yet have been on the frontier, and by all possible means would at least have sought to place it in a state of defense.
"It now becomes my duty to advert to the powers granted by the general council to J. W. Fannin, Jr., on the 7th of January. 1836, and at a time when two members of the military committee. and other members of the council were advised that I had received orders from your Excellency to repair forthwith to the frontier of Texas, and to concentrate the troops for the very purpose avowed in the resolutions referred to. The powers are as clearly illegal as they were unnecessary. By reference to the resolution it will be perceived that the powers given to J. W. Fannin, Jr., are as comprehensive in their nature, and as much at variance with the organic law and the decrees of the general council, as the decrees of the general congress of Mexico are at variance with the Federal constitution of 1824, and really delegate to J. W. Fannin, Jr., as extensive powers as those conferred by that congress upon General Santa Anna; yet the cant is kept up, even by J. W. Fannin, Jr., against the danger of a regular army, while he is exercising powers which he must be satisfied are in open violation of the organic law. J. W. Fannin, Jr., is a colonel in the regular army. and was sworn in and received his commission on the very day that the resolutions were adopted by the council. By his oath he was subject to the orders of the commander-in-chief, and as a subaltern could not, without an act of mutiny, interfere with the general command of the forces of Texas; yet I find in the Tele- graph of the 9th inst. a proclamation of his, dated on the 8th. addressed, 'Attention, Volunteers!' and requiring them to ren dezvous at San Patricio. No official character is pretended by him, as his signature is private. This he did with the knowledge that I had ordered the troops from the mouth of the Brazos to Copano, and had repaired to that point to concentrate them. On the 10th inst. F. W. Johnson issued a similar proclamation, announcing Matamoras as the point of attack. The powers of these gentlemen were derived, if derived at all, from the general council in opposition to the will of the governor, because certain purposes were to be answered, or the safety and harmony of Texas should be destroyed.
"Colonel Fannin, in a letter addressed to the general council dated on the 21st of January, at Velasco, and to which he sub- scribes himself, 'J. W. Fannin, Jr., Agent Provisional Govern- ment,' when speaking of anticipating difficulties with the com- mander-in-chief, allays the fears of the council by assuring them,
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'I shall never make any myself,' and then adds: 'The object in view will be the governing principle, and should General Houston be ready and willing to take command, and march direct ahead, and execute your orders, and the volunteers to submit to it, or a reasonable part of them, I shall not say nay, but will do all in my power to produce harmony.'
"How was I to become acquainted with the orders of the council? Was it through my subaltern? It must have been so designed, as the council have not, up to the present moment, given me official notice of the orders to which Colonel Fannin refers. This modesty and subordination on his part is truly commenda- ble in a subaltern, and would imply that he had a right to say 'nay.' If he has this power, whence is it derived? Not from any law, and contrary to his sworn duty as my subaltern, whose duty is obedience to my lawful commands, agreeably to the rules and regulations of the United States army, adopted by the consulta- tion of all Texas. If he accepted any appointment incompatible with his obligation as a colonel in the regular army, it certainly increases his moral responsibilities to an extent which is truly to be regretted.
"In another paragraph of his letter he states: 'You will allow that we have too much division, and one cause of complaint is this very expedition, and that it is intended to remove General Hous- ton.'
"He then assures the council that no blame shall attach to him, but most dutifully says: 'I will go where you have sent me, and will do what you have ordered me, if possible.' The order of the council, as set forth in the resolutions appointing Colonel Fannin agent, and authorizing him to appoint as many agents as he might think proper, did most certainly place him above the governor and commander-in-chief of the army. Nor is he responsible to the council or the people of Texas. He is required to report but he is not required to obey the council. His powers are as unlimited and absolute as Cromwell's ever were. I regard the expedition, as now ordered. as an individual and not a national measure. The resolutions passed in favor of J. W. Fannin, Jr., and F. W. Johnson, and their proclamations, with its original start-Doctor Grant-absolve the country fron all responsibility for its consequences. If I had any doubt on the subject previous to having seen at Goliad a proclamation of J. W. Fannin, Jr., sent by him to the volunteers, I could no longer entertain one as to the campaign so far as certain persons are interested in forwarding it. After appealing to the volunteers, he concluded with the assurance 'that the troops should be paid out of the first spoils taken from the enemy.' This, in my opin- ion, connected with the extraordinary powers granted him by the council, divests the campaign of any character save that of a piratical or predatory war.
"The people of Texas have declared to the world that the war in which they are now engaged is a war of principle, in defense of their civil and political rights. What effect will the declara-
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tion, above referred to, have on the civilized world-when they learn that the individual who made it has since been clothed with absolute powers by the general council of Texas, and that, because you (as governor and commander-in-chief) refuse to ratify their acts, they have declared you no longer governor of Texas. It was stated by way of inducement to the advance on Matamoras, that the citizens of that place were friendly to the advance of the troops of Texas upon that city. They, no doubt, ere this, have J. W. Fannin's proclamation (though it was in manuscript), and, if originally true, what will now be their feel- ings towards men, who 'are to be paid out of the first spoils taken from the enemy.' The idea which must present itself to the enemy, will be if the city is taken it will be given up to pillage, and when the spoils are collected, a division will take place. In war, when spoil is the object, friends and enemies share one common destiny. This rule will govern the citizens of Mata- moras in their conclusions and render their resistance desperate. A city containing 12,000 inhabitants will not be taken by a hand- ful of men who have marched twenty days without breadstuffs or necessary supplies for an army.
"If there ever was a time when Matamoras could have been taken by a few men, that time has passed by. The people of that place are not aware of the honorable, high-minded men who fill the ranks of the Texan army. They will look upon them as they would upon Mexican mercenaries, and resist them as such. They too will hear of the impressment of the property of the citizens of Bexar, as reported to your Excellency by Lieutenant-Colonel Neill. when Doctor Grant left that place for Matamoras in command of the volunteer army.
"If the troops advance on Matamoras there ought to be co-op- eration by sea with the land forces, or all will be lost, and the brave men who have come to toil with us in our marches and mingle in our battles for liberty, will fall a sacrifice to the selfish- ness of some who have individual purposes to answer, and whose influence with the council has been such as to impose upon the honest part of its members; while others, who were otherwise. availed themselves of every artifice which they could devise to shield themselves from detection.
"The evil is now done, and I trust sincerely that the first of March may establish a government on some permanent founda- tion, where honest functionaries will regard and execute the known and established laws of the country, agreeably to their oaths. If this state of things cannot be achieved, the country must be lost. I feel, in the state which I hold, that every effort of the council has been to mortify me individually, and. if possi- ble, to compel me to do some act which would enable them to pursue the same measures towards me which they have illegally done towards your Excellency, and thereby remove another obsta- cle to the accomplishments of their plans. In their attempts to embarrass me they were reckless of all prejudice which might result to the public service from their lawless course.
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"While the council was passing her resolutions affecting the army of Texas, and transferring to J. W. Fannin, Jr., and F. W. Johnson the whole control of the army and resources of Texas. they could order them to be furnished with copies of the several resolutions passed by that body, but did not think proper to notify the major-general of the army of their adoption; nor have they yet caused him to be furnished with the acts of the council, rela- tive to the army. True it is they passed a resolution to that effect, but it never was complied with. Their object must have been to conceal, not to promulgate their acts. 'They have loved the darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.'
"I do not consider the council as a constitutional body nor their acts lawful. They have no quorum agreeably to the organic law, and I am therefore compelled to regard all their acts as void. The body has been composed of seventeen members, and I per- ceive the act of 'suspension' passed against your Excellency was by only ten members present; the president pro tem, having no vote, only ten members remain when less than twelve could not form a quorum agreeably to the organic law, which required two- thirds of the whole body. I am not prepared either to violate my duty or my oath, by yielding obedience to an act manifestly unlawful, as it is in my opinion, prejudicial to the welfare of Texas. "SAM HOUSTON, "Commander-in-Chief of the Army."
The following remarks are offered both in explanation and vindica- tion of the character of Dr. James Grant and Col. James W. Fannin. Jr., who were arraigned by the above most extraordinary official docu- ment for offences and crimes which, were they guilty, would, and should stamp their names with infamy for all time.
First, General Houston makes the enquiry, "Then, who is Doctor Grant?" We answer, a gentleman, scholar, patriot, and gallant soldier. Second. "Is he not a Scotchman, who has resided in Mexico for the last ten years?" To this, we answer, if so, what then?
Third, "Does he not hold large possessions in the interior?" He. with others, holds, as we are informed and believe, a large estate in the neighborhood of Parras.
Fourth, "Has he ever taken the oath to support the organic law?" No, he with hundreds of others, who have served Texas faithfully, ably. have never been required to do so.
Fifth, "Is he not deeply interested in the hundred league claims of land which hang like a murky cloud over the people of Texas?" That he was one, of many others, who bought land of the state of Coahuila and Texas, is matter of fact and has not, so far as we know, ever been denied by him or others.
Sixth, "Is he not the man who impressed the property of the people of Bexar?" To this, we answer. no. There was neither the necessity nor occasion for so doing. Whatever was taken for the use of the army was authorized, and the property receipted for.
Seventh, "Is he not the man that took from Bexar, without author- ity, or knowledge of the government, cannon and other munitions of
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war, together with supplies necessary for the troops at that station, leav- ing the wounded and the sick destitute of needful comforts?" To this we have only to say that he took, by authority of the proper officer, one six-pounder-gun, and one six or eight-inch mortar, with suitable am- munition for the same. As to supplies and comforts, there were none to take, the quartermaster's department being as empty as the treasury of Texas. The government did the best it could under the circum- stances, and would no doubt have furnished both necessaries and sent comforts as the sick and wounded required, had it been able to do so. Hence the necessity of drawing on the citizens for such supplies as were absolutely necessary and indispensable, and receipt for the same. Not a thing was taken from Colonel Neill in the shape of supplies. He was left in possession of a full proportion of what had been surrendered by the enemy.
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