USA > Texas > History of Texas : from 1685 to 1892, volume 2 > Part 7
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He said that their desire to retaliate was natural, and " had Santa Anna never been received as a prisoner, and had no
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treaty been made and actually ratified, he might, on the clear- est principles of retribution, have been made the victim of his own vindictive and barbarous policy," but under existing circumstances " it would have been a gross violation of every principle of honor, and every rule of war, to have visited such retribution upon him."
Nothing in our history, not excepting San Jacinto, so won the respect and admiration of the civilized world as sparing the lives of Santa Anna and his chief lieutenants. That honor belongs primarily to Sam Houston and Thomas J. Rusk ; secondarily to David G. Burnet, who, as President of the Republic, hazarded his life by opposing mob violence in an hour of popular frenzy.
SANTA ANNA'S PROTEST.
On the 9th of June, following his re-imprisonment, Santa Anna addressed a protest to President Burnet in the following terms:
" I protest against the violation of the faith engaged in the agreement made between myself and the government of Texas, signed the 14th of May, ult., and commenced verbally with the General-in-Chief of the army of Texas, Sam Houston, and Thomas J. Rusk, Secretary of. War :
" 1st. For having been treated more like an ordinary criminal than as a prisoner of war, the head of a respectable nation, even after the agreements had been commenced :
" 2nd. For the treatment as a prisoner of war and ill-usage received by the Mexican General Adrian Woll, who had come into the Texian camp with a flag of truce ; under the safeguard and word of honor of General Houston, and with the consent of the members of the cabinet.
" 3rd. Against the non-fulfillment of the exchange of pris- oners, stipulated in the 9th article, inasmuch as up to the
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present time, not even one Mexican prisoner of war has been set at liberty, notwithstanding the liberty given to all the Texians in possession of the army under my command.
" 4th. Because the sine qua non of the 10th article, as fol- lows, bas not been carried into effect ; which is, that I shall be sent to Vera Cruz, when the government shall deem it proper: whereas the President himself and the cabinet of Texas, being convinced that I had fulfilled all my engagements, viz., that the Mexican army, four thousand strong, should retreat from the position it occupied on the Brazos to beyond the Rio Grande; that all the property should be given up, also the prisoners of war - had determined on my embarking on the Texian schooner of war, the ' Invincible,' in which I finally did embark on the 1st of June inst., after address- ing a short farewell to the Texians, wherein I thank them for their generous behavior, and offered my eternal grati- tude.
" 5th. For the act of violence committed on my person, and abuse to which I have been exposed, in compelling me to come again on shore, on the 4th inst., merely because 130 volunteers, under the command of General Thomas J. Green recently landed on the beach at Velasco from New Orleans, had, with tumults and with threats, requested that my person should be placed at their disposal.
" Finally, I protest against the violence kept up towards me, by being placed in a narrow prison, surrounded with sentinels, and suffering privations which absolutely render life insupportable, or tend to hasten death ; and finally, for being uncertain in regard to my future fate, and that of the other prisoners, notwithstanding a solemn treaty."
President Burnet replied on the 10th. He frankly ex- pressed his mortification at the causes which had required a change in the time at which the government deemed it proper to send him to Vera Cruz, but found an apology in " the deep, intense and righteous indignation," which the citizen
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soldiers felt in the atrocities which had been committed on their friends " by his Excellency's command."
With regard to Santa Anna's lack of personal comforts the President replied : " I have cheerfully subjected my own sick family to many hardships, in order to render your excel- lency the best accomodations in our power. That we are at present destitute of the necessaries of life, is mainly attrib- utable to your Excellency's visit to our new country, and on this account we feel less regret that you should partake of our privations." It would not have been irrelevant to have reminded his Excellency of the unjustifiable incarceration and close confinement of Stephen Austin in a filthy Mexican dun- geon without pen, paper, book or light, and his " torturing uncertainty " for two years. Austin's only crime consisted in conveying to the civil government of Mexico a petition couched in respectful language, the acceptance or rejection of which could not have hazarded in the least degree its domestic interests.
To the protest with regard to the treatment of Gen. Adrian Woll, President Burnet made reply: " It involves some facts which I do sincerly deplore, but for which this government is not strictly responsible." It has been shown that the constraint upon his movements was due to his own indiscre- tion in arousing the anger of the soldiers and the suspicion that he was a spy. This was imposed by the military, as President Burnet alleged. He said: "Your Excellency is sensible that we have done all in our power to guarantee the safe return of General Woll to the Mexican camp ; but our orders have been contravened by the commander of the Texian army, at a remote distance from the seat of govern- ment."
As to the non-exchange of prisoners, of which Santa Anna complains, the Texians who were captured at Copano and taken to Matamoros had made their own escape, and Drs. Barnard and Shackleford, at San Antonio, were not consid-
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ered in the treaty. The President informed Santa Anna that he had no official information of a single Texian prisoner hav- ing been given up under the treaty.
The Mexicans had no prisoners - the reasons for which should have forever silenced his complaints on that score. The President said " This government has gratuitously dis- charged several Mexican captives and defrayed their expen ses to New Orleans, the destination which they selected."
It may be added that so far from having " given up prop- erty," on its retreat the Mexican army drove before it large herds of cattle and thereby reduced the Texian army to the point bordering on starvation, to say nothing of families the gov- ernment found it difficult to protect from a similar fate. The situation was most distressing. Even from the mothers came petitions asking that the Mexican prisoners be sent away in order that Texian children might not perish of hunger. The wanton destruction of the walls of the Alamo, mingling their ruins with the ashes of the victims who had fallen there, was a poor fulfill- ment of Santa Anna's pledge of protection to property dur- ing the retrograde movement of the Mexican army and, added to this, was carrying off the guns belonging to that fortress, or melting, or otherwise destroying them.
President Burnet deeply felt the humiliation inflicted upon him by being compelled by force to order the disembarkation and re-imprisonment of Santa Anna.
He possessed the coolness as well as the capacity and patri- otism to look beyond the hour and to so shape his course as to merit the approbation of posterity. To Santa Anna he at the time could only say : " It were superfluous to repeat the causes which induced the government to vary its discretion in regard to the time they should deem the departure of your Excellency to be proper," and disclaim any knowledge of the harsh treatment complained of except knowledge of the fact that Santa Anna had been compelled to return ashore under a threat that if he refused to quietly obey, force would be used. As to Santa Anna's complaint of narrow quarters and the
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watchfulness of his guard, it was without just foundation, as . houses were few and small, and many Texians were com- pelled to live in tents and huts, and it was the duty of the guards to be vigilant, as it was reported that the Mexican con- sul at New Orleans, was intriguing for the prisoner's escape.
In July, Santa Anna and his suite were placed in charge of Capt. William H. Patton, an honorable gentleman and gallant soldier, with a competent guard, and taken to the plantation of Dr. James A. E. Phelps, called Orozimbo, a few miles above Columbia, on the Brazos, where they remained under military surveillance.
Early in August the small schooner Passaic ascended the river, having on board one Pages, an emissary of the Mexican consul at New Orleans. Acting under orders to effect the release of the prisoners, Pages pretended that he was engaged in a trading expedition, but the plot was discovered, and the prisoners put in irons, in which condition they remained till Congress met on the 3rd of October, and the civil govern- ment assumed control; President Burnet then had them immediately unshackled.
The reply of the President was not satisfactory to the more refractory element in the army. A plan was formed and Lieutenant-Colonel Millard, with a guard, actually sent to arrest and convey him to the army for trial. On arriving at Quintana that officer speedily found that the executive would be defended to the death, not only by the volunteers then at and near Velasco, but also by the citizens and many civil- lans then in that place. Col. Millard did not even cross the river, but returned, having been made sensible of the wrong against the dearest rights and hopes of the country into which he had been seduced. His success would have destroyed every semblance of government. The constitution of the Republic was not yet ratified. Burnet and his cabinet con- stituted, until the ratification of that instrument by the people and organization under it, the government, and his deposi- tion would have inaugurated a fearful state of things.
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Fortunately a reaction took place. The army became recon- ciled -order was restored and no more was heard of the unfortunate movement. President Burnet was too magnan- imous to ever make public the names subscribed to the doc- ument addressed to him. Reflection and a realization of the actual facts surrounding the President - his inadequate means, immense responsibilities and herculean labors -caused general regret among those who had participated in preferring the unjust and unwise allegations made against him. A respect- able portion of the officers and men, be it said to their credit, had refused to take part in them. The army was composed of patriotic, and in the main, unusually intelligent men, whose condition in camp, with inadequate food and largely without tents, was deplorable and well calculated to arouse dissatisfac- tion, of which a few ambitious and excitable men took advan- tage to create a mutinous feeling.1
" The executive government have been ignorantly charged with reposing an undue confidence in the promises of Santa Anna ; whereas, our rule of action has been that no confidence could be safely reposed in a Mexicano. We acted under a firm persuasion, which nothing that has since transpired has shaken in my mind, that Santa Anna was fully and deeply convinced by evidence which no after suggestions of his own vanity, and no pompous sophistry of his less experienced compatriots in Mexico could disturb, that his own highest political interests, and the best interests of Mexico, too, would be advanced by a prompt and decisive ratification of the treaty. We were, therefore, confident that, so far as he was person- ally concerned, there was little reason to apprehend a breach of promise."
1 In justice to President Burnet, as well as in explanation of the grounds upon which the members of the cabinet acted in making the treaty, and the reasons that led them to desire to send Santa Anna home in fulfillment of its stipulations, the above extract is made from the President's Address No. 2, to the people of Texas, published in September, 1836.
CHAPTER VII.
The Infant Navy - A Judge of Admiralty Appointed - False Alarm of another Invasion - Felix Huston succeeds Rusk in Command - Changes in the Cabinet - Indian troubles in East Texas - Important service of Gen. Austin - Gen. Gaines of the U. S. Army - First Elections in the Republic - The " Horse Marines " - Commissioner from the United States.
On the 27th of November, 1835, under the Provisional Gov- ernment, Governor Smith approved two ordinances - one for granting letters of marque and reprisal, and one for estab- lishing a navy. Under this authority, aided by friends in and out of Texas, Governor Smith first, and President Burnet later, succeeded early in 1836, in securing three armed vessels for the navy of the Republic - the schooner Invincible, Captain Jeremiah Brown; the schooner Brutus, Captain Norman Hurd (each carrying eight guns), and the schooner Independ- ence, Commodore Charles E. Hawkins, with eight guns and a nine-pounder pivot gun. These vessels cruised in the gulf and did valuable service in preventing supplies reaching the Mexican army at the western ports. Early in April, off Bra- zos Santiago, the Invincible fell in with and attacked the armed Mexican schooner, Montezuma, Captain Thompson (the Englishman who figured at Anahuac in 1835, and who, in 1837, became a friend of Texas). After two hours fight the Mon- tezuma was driven ashore and became a wreck. Captain Brown, after repairing his damage, which was confined to the rigging, stood out to sea and captured the brig Pocket, from New Orleans to Matamoros, freighted with flour, lard, rice, biscuits and other supplies for the Mexican army. The Pocket, with her valuable cargo, was conveyed into Galveston harbor.
(85)
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Soon afterwards the schooner Liberty with three guns, was added to the little fleet. Some time later the Champion, a schooner, with supplies for the Texian army, was captured by the enemy. But other prizes continued to be brought in. This created a necessity for a court of Admiralty to adjudicate all questions arising under these captures. To meet this emergency President Burnet took from among the private soldiers at San Jacinto an eminently qualified lawyer, in the person of Benjamin C. Franklin, and commissioned him as judge of the district of Brazos, including Galveston Island, and clothed him with Admiralty jurisdiction. This gentleman, therefore, was the first to hold a judicial commission under the Republic. He was also elected to the bench by the first Con- gress and long held his judicial office as he did other positions to which he was called by the voice of the people. At the time of his death in Galveston, in 1873, he was a State sena- tor. His selection, under the circumstances, reflected honor on President Burnet.
In June, 1836, rumors of a second invasion came from Mexico, and spread over the country, causing great excite- ment and re-arousing the martial spirit of the army and the people. Carro, who had succeeded Barragan as acting president during the absence of Santa Anna, made strong demonstrations in favor of a new and more formidable invasion. Filisola was superseded in command by Urrea, who was ordered to halt in his retrogade movement and await re-inforcements, then being raised. Captains Henry W. Karnes, and Henry Teal, who had been sent to Matamoros, under a flag of truce, to see if all the Texian prisoners had been released, were held in custody in violation of the flag and the treaty, to prevent their giving notice of the new movement on foot. These gentlemen were completely misled by the boasting and vaunted preparations said to be in progress. On the 9th of June they dispatched a letter to Texas, through a confidential channel, saying: " They will
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soon be down on you in great numbers. Four thousand will leave here in four to eight days for Goliad, and as many more by water in fifteen or twenty days, from Vera Cruz, to land at Copano or Velasco. They will wage a war of extermination and show no quarter."
Major William P. Miller, who, with his eighty men, was spared at Goliad, but who was still held in duress in Mata- moros, though allowed the limits of the town, wrote a similar letter. All of these gentlemen succeeded in reaching home soon afterwards.
President Burnet, on the 20th of June, 1836, issued a proclamation, teeming with patriotism, calling the people to arms. In it occurred this among other appeals: " It is the peculiar property of true courage to rise in dignity and in spirit, as the pressure of adverse circumstances increases ; to brighten in cheerfulness and resolution, as the storm lowers and gathers in darkness. Let us exemplify as a peo- ple this glorious property of the highest military attribute. Let every citizen of Texas repair with alacrity to his post."
Just before this General Rusk, in command of the army, had requested the President to appoint a new commander with the rank of Major-General and recommended for that position General Felix Huston, who had recently arrived from Natchez, Mississippi, in command of four or five hundred men. Instead of appointing General Huston the President, with the sanction of the cabinet, bestowed the commission on Colonel Mirabeau B. Lamar, who at once repaired to the army. . That the President committed a blunder soon became manifest. While the soldiery held Col. Lamar in the highest esteem for chivalry and all the attributes of a gallant soldier, his appointment had not been requested. The army almost idolized Rusk and desired him to remain in command; and after him, Huston was doubtless their second choice. Advised of this state of feeling, on arriving in camp, Colonel Lamar promptly declared his unwillingness to serve unless it
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was the wish of the army. He asked, however, to address them and explain his position. They were paraded, his speech was made and a vote fairly taken, with the utmost good feeling, and showed a great majority for General Rusk, whereupon Lamar gracefully retired.
William H. Jack succeeded James Collinsworth as Secre- tary of State, but resigned in a short time. The position of Attorney-General, vacated by Commissioner Grayson, re- mained vacant for a considerable time. John A. Wharton, who succeeded Robert Potter, during his absence, as Secretary of the Navy, resigned to become a candidate for the first Con- gress, to which he was elected from Brazoria. Colonel Alex- ander Somervell resigned his position in the army to accept the post of Secretary of War, vacated by Lamar. Bailey Hardeman, Secretary of the Treasury, suddenly died, after rendering many important services, and was succeeded for a time by Barnard E. Bee, recently from South Carolina. Later Mr. Bee took charge of the State department. Not one of the original cabinet served through the term. David Thomas, the first Attorney-General, was accidentally killed by a gun-shot at Galveston. Samuel P. Carson died in search of health in the United States. Rusk went into the army. Numerous other changes sprung from transfers from one field of service to another. There was never a serious difference in the cabinet, save on the question of releasing Santa Anna.
In June, at the time of these new alarms, President Bur- net, acting for the government, entered into a contract with Mr. Memucan Hunt, just arrived from his home in Mississippi, under which the later was " to introduce into Texas a division of four thousand men fully armed and equipped, to serve dur- ing the war." " His success, " says the President, " was but partial, but it involved a large sacrifice and expenditure of his private property." His failure was a blessing in disguise, for there in fact arose no necessity for such an additional force. The two thousand five hundred men then in the ranks were
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sufficient to deter from coming or defeat any force likely to invade the country. Mr. Hunt was wholly without experience in military affairs. Had he succeeded he would have acquired the title of " General." The war debt of the country would have been doubled.
In fact there was no danger of another Mexican invasion. As predicted by President Burnet, the absence of Santa Anna opened the way for renewed internal strife and revolution in Mexico. Too many military chieftains were more than will- ing, despite their protestations, to have his captivity pro- longed. This is proven by numerous publications, official and unofficial, one of which in pamphlet form, issued in the city of Mexico, arraigned him for crimes committed in Mexico such as to stamp him with eternal infamy even had his course in Texas been blameless.
At the time of this second threatened invasion it became known that Manuel Flores and other Mexican emissaries were among the Cherokees endeavoring to secure their co-opera- tion against Texas. There was more or less popular distrust of a portion of the Mexican population around Nacogdoches, who were on friendly terms and much in intercourse with the Indians. The gravest apprehensions were entertained by the people of East Texas and, indeed, the entire country. Many believed, despite the denial of Colonel Bowles, chief of the Cherokees, that the Indians had been held in restraint in March and April solely by the presence of United States troops on the east side of the Sabine and the halting of several hundred volunteers around Nacogdoches; volunteers who otherwise would have been with General Houston at San Jacinto.
And now, with a larger invasion in prospect, both by land and water, whereby fresh and well-equipped troops might be landed at Copano, Matamoros, Velasco or Galveston, an alliance between the Mexicans and these Indians it was thought might reasonably be expected. In this state of
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affairs, General Stephen F. Austin performed an important service to the country. He arrived by schooner from the United States on the 27th of June. On the next day he sug- gested to President Burnet the wisdom and necessity of again calling upon General Gaines at Fort Jessup. The President wrote an earnest letter on the same day and in consideration of these Indians belonging to United States tribes, he urged General Gaines to station a force at Nacogdoches to prevent them from joining in a war on Texas, in which the lives of a large number of unprotected families would be at their mercy. General Austin also wrote him on the 4th of July. The same courier, George P. Digges, furnished by Austin with means for the trip, carried both letters; also two letters from Santa Anna and one from Austin to President Jackson - Santa Anna inclosing a copy of the treaty of May 14th. Among other things General Austin wrote in his letter to General Gaines :
" The President of Mexico, General Santa Anna, who is now a prisoner in this place, assures me, in the most decided and unequivocal terms, of his desire to end this Texas war on a basis of a recognition of our independence, and he has writ- ten to General Jackson requesting the mediation of the United States to terminate the war on that basis.
" I have no hesitation in saying that I believe that General Santa Anna is sincere and in good faith in the promises and offers he has made to the government to acknowledge our independence and admit the mediation of the United States ; but he can do nothing as a prisoner, or until he returns to Mexico and re-assumes the government, or to the Mexican army and re-assumes command ; and such is the state of public opinion here and in our army that he cannot be released until he gives such guarantees as will satisfy both the army and people of his sincerity. Now the guarantee of General Jack- son will be sufficient, and I believe that your guarantee, in conjunction with the establishment of your headquarters at
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Nacogdoches, would be sufficient. I mean in the event of your guaranteeing, in the name of the United States, the ful- fillment of the treaty made by Santa Anna with the govern- ment of Texas."
General Gaines answered on the 4th of August that his instructions did not confer sufficient power on him to give the guarantee; but he did send Colonel Whistler, with a body of dragoons, to take post at Nacogdoches. This was sufficient notification to the Indians to insure their neutrality, even if the Mexicans had invaded the country, which they failed to do, and that source of anxiety was dissipated in a few weeks.
Austin's private memorandum on July 20th, says : " I went to Velasco to meet Messrs. William H. Wharton and Branch T. Archer (who had returned a few days before), for the purpose of making a report of our mission to the United States as commissioners. We made our report and rendered an account of all the moneys we had received and disbursed for Texas, and accompanied the account with all the original vouchers which were passed to the auditor for examination."
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