USA > Texas > The history and geography of Texas as told in county names > Part 11
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THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
Colonel Crockett, I suppose the Legislature will make some change in the judiciary?"
"I suppose so," said Crockett, and got out of the way as soon as possible.
"For," said he afterward, "I did not know what in the thun- der the 'judiciary' was."
In 1827, 1829 and 1831 he was successively elected to the United States Congress. Colonel Bailey Peyton, then a mem- ber of the lower house, gave the writer the following account of the opening paragraph of his first speech in that body :
"Mr. Speaker, I am skeered, but I don't know what about; I know I can lick any man in this house, and I ain't afeared of none of 'em ; still I'm skeered."
He afterwards made a tour of the principal cities of the North, where he was the object of much attention, as a repre- sentative of the hardy frontiersmen of the Southwest. As was the case with many frontiersmen of that day, he was an ex- pert with his rifle; was a great hunter and was often called upon by duelists for instructions in marksmanship. In his fourth canvass for Congress he was defeated by a small ma- jority through the influence of the Jackson Democracy. Cha- grined over his defeat, and disgusted with political conditions in Tennessee, he picked up his trusty rifle, bade farewell to his family and came to Texas; took the oath of allegiance at Nac- ogdoches and hurried on to the theater of war, He arrived at San Antonio too late to take part in the battle of Concepcion and the storming of Bexar, but joined the forces of Travis in the Alamo, and March 6, 1836, yielded up his life. He left a most interesting autobiography.
TRAVIS.
William Barrett Travis was born in Edgefield District, South Carolina, August 1, 1809. The place of his birth was near old Red Banks Baptist Church, and in what is now Saluda County. A postoffice at this place has been named Travis. His paternal and maternal ancestors were among the earliest settlers of that region. His grandparents were Barrett and Elizabeth de Loach
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AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
Travis, and resided in Chester District during the revolution, where Barrett Travis died. The widow, with her four chil- dren, moved to Abbeville District and Mark, the father of Wil- liam Barrett, moved to Edgefield and married Jemima Stalls- worth, the mother of William Barrett.
William Barrett was the oldest of eleven children. The pa- rents moved to Conecuh County, Alabama, when William Bar- rett was about six years old, settling on a farm about six miles above Evergreen, the county site, and young Travis was reared there. An uncle, a Baptist minister, had previously moved there, as did also one of the Stallsworth families, and one of the Stallsworths represented that district in the United States Congress about 1822.
After attending the schools of the neighborhood, William Barrett was sent to the academy of Prof. McCurdy, in Monroe County, a school of considerable reputation in its day.
After attending this school he obtained employment to teach school near Monroeville, county site of Monroe County, and while thus engaged studied law under Dillett and Parsons. In the meantime he became infatuated with Lucinda Cato, one of his pupils, and was married to her. He then obtained a license and began to practice law, but both soon found that they were not suited to each other and they separated. Travis came to Texas, leaving her and their two children in Alabama. Arriving in Texas he located at Anahuac and began the practice of law in the winter of 1831-2. It was during the administration of the tyrant Bustamente, under whose orders Bradburn had been sta- tioned at Anahuac in command of a company of soldier-con- victs, with the ostensible purpose of enforcing the collection of duties on imports.
Patrick C. Jack, a young lawyer, was also a practicing law- yer there at that time. They, with other citizens, were ar- rested and thrown into prison. There are several accounts of the circumstances leading to their arrest. One (Texas Alman- ac, 1859, page 32) is to the effect that an anonymous letter to Bradburn telling him that a company of one hundred men was being organized on the Sabine to cross the river and forcibly take the runaway slaves he had refused to deliver up to the
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THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
owners. He investigated, but found no basis for the rumor. Supposing Travis, Jack and others anxious to incite the Tex- ans to a revolt, and of playing a trick on him, he had them ar- rested.
Another account (Filisola) says: "Early in May, 1832, some of Bradburn's soldiers made an attack upon a woman and that an American being in the neighborhood failed to respond to her cries or come to her assistance, that Bradburn was called upon to punish the culprit, and upon his refusal, they formed a mob, seized the American, tarred and feathered him and drove him through the town with a great noise.
Another account (Yoakum) says: "On one occasion a soldier having committed an outrage, the indignant citizens arrested him and inflicted severe punishment upon him. That Bradburn was harboring runaway slaves from both Texas and Louisiana there seems to be little doubt. This, with the infamies of his convict soldiers, was a constant source of irritation. Travis, Jack and other prisoners were released later after Bustamente was overthrown by Santa Anna. Both Travis and Jack then removed to San Felipe, where they became prominent lawyers. Santa Anna soon threw off his republican mask, and early in 1835 another Mexican officer, Tenorio, in charge of a com- pany, was stationed at Anahuac. His company was also made up of convicts. Smarting under past outrages, Travis organ- ized a company and captured Tenorio and his command, but his act was disapproved by the authorities at San Felipe and Tenorio was released. For this he was ordered to be arrested by the Mexican authorities, but he was never arrested.
Events were now rapidly leading up to the revolution of Texas against Mexico, and Travis was one of the first to join the army. He was in the campaign from Gonzales up to the capture of Bexar on detached service, and made some captures from the Mexicans which were of great service to the Texans. After the capture of Bexar he was detached on scouting ser- vice, but in January, 1836, was ordered to take command of the Alamo. Getting news that Santa Anna was on his way to Texas with a large army he began to appeal for reinforce- ments, there being at that time only one hundred and fifty men
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AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
at the Alamo. He dispatched J. B. Bonham and two others to Fannin at Goliad. The siege of the Alamo, according to Travis' own statement began on the 23rd of February and continued the 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th and 29th of February, and 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th of March, and on the 6th of March the fortress was stormed and every man put to the sword.
GOLIAD.
Fannin, in command of about four hundred men, found him- self almost surrounded by a large force of Mexicans under the command of the Mexican General, Urrea, on the 18th of March, and began his retreat to Victoria, but was overtaken near Colito Creek, about nine miles east of Goliad, and a hotly con- tested battle took place. On the morning of the 19th a white flag was raised and Fannin surren- dered. The prisoners were marched back to Goliad. In the meantime the command of Ma- jor Ward was brought in as prisoners and on the 27th of March all who were able to walk, except about a dozen, were marched out and shot.
Of those participating in the struggle at Colito on the 19th, our county map shows the fol- lowing : Callahan Haskell
Duval
Shackelford
Fannin
F AN
Monument to Fannin and his Men, Goliad, Tex.
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THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
CALLAHAN.
This county was named for James H. Callahan, who was born near Marion, Ga., in 1812; came to Texas with the Geor- gia Battalion in December, 1835; was taken prisoner of war with Fannin's men at Colito and carried back to Goliad, but his life was spared, as he was a mechanic, and it was thought by the Mexicans that his services as such might be utilized by them. After his release he joined the Ranger force and became a Captain of the Rangers. In 1856 he became involved in a personal difficulty in Guadalupe County and was killed.
DUVAL.
This county was named for Captain Burr H. Duval, who was massacred with Fannin's command at Goliad, March 27, 1836. He came from a distinguished Kentucky family, his father having been a Representative in the United States Congress from 1813 to 1815, and having previously served as Captain of mounted volunteers in the War of 1812. In 1822 he was appointed Provisional Governor of Florida.
Burr H. Duval, the subject of this sketch, was born in Nel- son County, Kentucky, in 1809, and educated at St. Joseph's College, at Bardstown. Late in the year of 1835 he gathered a company of volunteers and took passage down the river to New Orleans, and from there sailed first to Quintana, at the mouth of the Brazos, where the company formally organized. The company proceeded from there by water to Copano, from which place they marched first to Refugio and then to Goliad. There they joined Fannin's command, where, after the sur- render, he was cruelly murdered on the 27th day of March, 1836.
FANNIN.
James Walker Fannin was born in Georgia in 1805. He was left an orphan at a tender age and was taken in charge by an uncle, James Walker, and under this name registered as a cadet at West Point Military Academy. He was for a
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AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
short time after he left there in the United States Army, but resigned and returned to Georgia. He retained his uncle's name and added to it the family name, becoming James Walker Fan- nin. In 1834 he came to Texas and engaged in planting on the Brazos. As soon as the war broke out at Gonzales he or- ganized the Brazos Guards and hastened to the west. It was Fannin's company and a few others who were sent forward to select a suitable camping ground for the army near San Antonio, and which fought the battle of Concepcion, in which fight Fannin won the title of "The Hero of Concepcion." When the army was reorganized after Austin's resignation as com- mander-in-chief, Fannin was sent East to enlist and procure ammunition. The Council at San Felipe, contrary to Hous- ton's orders, ordered him to collect forces at Copano for a de- scent upon Matamoros. In January, 1836, he announced that an expedition had been ordered by the Council to Matamoros, and ordered all volunteers to report at San Patricio. The Civil Government at San Felipe was in confusion, with General Hous- ton recognizing the authority of Governor Smith, and Fannin recognizing the authority of the Council. Fannin arrived at Goliad about the 1st of February and the troops were organ- ized there, with Fannin as Colonel and Ward as Lieutenant Colonel. After several intervening contests with the Mexican Army he collected what troops he could (about 400 men) at Goliad and prepared for defense, but learning that there was a large force of the enemy near he evacuated the town. After stopping at a small creek nine miles east of Goliad to give the teams an opportunity to graze, he resumed his march, and when within two miles of Colita was overtaken by the Mexican cav- alry. Colonel Fannin was wounded in the fight. A white flag was raised in the morning. The accounts of what occurred are contradictory, some to the effect that terms were agreed upon, providing for the safety of Fannin's army, others that the surrender was unconditional, but all agreeing that there was a surrender. It matters not what the real facts may be, the horrors of the cruelty of the massacre that followed are in nowise mitigated. Fannin's troops were then marched back to Goliad and shot on March 27th.
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THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
HASKELL.
This county was named for Charles Ready Haskell, who was born near Nashville, Tenn., September 12, 1817. He was the son of Joshua Haskell and was attending school when the company of Captain Burr H. Duval was organized in Kentucky. He joined the company on its way down the Mississippi and followed its fortunes to that fateful Sunday, March 27, 1836, when he with his entire command was murdered.
SHACKLEFORD.
This county was named for Dr. John (Jack) Shackleford, who was born in Richmond, Virginia, March 20, 1790. His father, Richard Shackleford, was married three times, his last wife being the mother of the subject of this sketch. Upon arriving at the age of twenty-one he left Virginia to seek a new home. He located in Winnsboro, S. C., where he married Miss Maria Young, daughter of a Presbyterian minister, and practiced his profession as physician and surgeon. He serv- ed for a time in the war of 1812-1815, and in 1818 moved to Shelby County, Alabama, where he was a successful practi- tioner accumulating considerable land and slaves and engag- ing in planting. In 1822-3-4, he was elected to the State Sen- ate from Bibb and Shelby Counties, and being a man of large means, lived and entertained sumptuously. Becoming surety for a cousin who engaged in merchandising, and afterward failed, Dr. Shackleford, was compelled to sell his lands and slaves to satisfy the debt. In 1829 he was appointed receiver of the Land Office at Courtland, Ala. In the late fall of 1835, when he learned that the revolution in Texas had begun, he organized a military company, composed of the best young men in that section, among whom were his oldest son, and two of his nephews. The company was armed and equipped at private expense, and being uniformed in red jeans, was called the "Red Rovers." Commanding the company as Captain, Shackleford carried it down to New Orleans and from there by water around to the coast of Texas, landing on the shores
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AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
of Copano Bay. After a short campaign, the company was surrendered as part of Fannin's command, and after surrender were murdered by the Mexicans. Dr. Shackleford himself was spared in order that the Mexicans might utilize his services as a physician and surgeon among their sick and wounded. He managed to make his escape in the following June, and as the result of the Battle of San Jacinto rendered his further services unnecessary, he hastened back to his home in Ala- bama to carry the news of the Goliad massacre to the parents and friends of the young men murdered. He remained in Ala- bama and practiced medicine. His wife died in 1854, and he married a second time. He died on the 22nd of January, 1857. His widow survived him many years. The pathetic welcome he received upon his return home is most graphically pictured in Foote's Texas and Texans, Mr. Foote having been an eye witness.
As an indication of the profound sensation created in the United States by the massacre at Goliad, the following quota- tion is taken from a speech made by Hon. Thomas H. Benton in the United States Senate in 1836: "Goliad has torn Texas from Mexico; Goliad has decreed independence; San Jacinto has sealed it! What the massacre decreed, the victory has sealed; and the day of the martyrdom of prisoners must for- ever be regarded as the day of disunion between Texas and Mexico. *
"Unhappy day, forever to be deplored, that Sunday morning, March 6, 1836, when the undaunted garrison of the Alamo, victorious in so many assaults over twenty times their num- ber perished to the last man by the hands of those, part of whom they had released on parole two months before, leaving not one to tell how they first dealt out to multitudes that death which they themselves finally received. Unhappy day, that Palm Sunday, March 27, when the five hundred and twelve prisoners at Goliad, issuing from the sally port at the dawn of day, one by one, under the cruel delusion of a return to their families, found themselves enveloped in double files of cavalry and in- fantry, marched to a spot fit for the perpetuation of the hor-
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THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
rid deed-and there without an instant to think of parents, country, friends, and God-in the midst of the consternation of terror and surprise, were inhumanly set upon, and pitiless- ly put to death, in spite of those moving cries which reached to heaven and regardless of those supplicating hands, stretched forth for mercy, from which arms had been taken under the perfidious forms of a capitulation. Five hundred and six per- ished that morning-young, vigorous, brave, sons of respect- able families, and the pride of many a parent's heart-and their bleeding bodies, torn with wounds, and many yet alive, were thrown in heaps upon vast fires, for the flames to consume what the steel had mangled. Six only escaped, and not by mercy, but by miracles. And this was the work of man upon his brother; of Christian upon Christian; of those upon those who adore the same God, invoke the same heavenly benedic- tion, and draw precepts of charity and mercy from the same divine fountain. Accursed be the ground on which the dread- ful deed was done! Sterile, and set apart, let it for ever be! No fruitful cultivation should ever enrich it; no joyful edi- fice should ever adorn it; but shut up, and closed by gloomy walls, the mournful cypress, the weeping willow, and the in- scriptive monument, should for ever attest the foul deed of which it was the scene, and invoke from every passer-by the throb of pity for the slain, and the start of horror for the slayer."
THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.
The convention which was in session at Washington on the Brazos elected Sam Houston as commander-in-chief of the army on the 5th of March. He was then a member of the con- vention but left it the next day and hastened to the relief of Travis. On the 13th, he learned of the fall of the Alamo and the destruction of its garrison and stopped at Gonzales where he organized such forces as he could collect. He took steps to aid the fleeing settlers and on the 5th of April learned of the mas- sacre at Goliad. He also reached San Felipe on that day, and from there marched up the Brazos and encamped nearly two weeks in the bottom. On the 13th of April, he crossed the
THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO
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THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
Brazos and continued his march reaching Harrisburg on the 18th of April. Going down Buffalo Bayou, one wing of his army encountered the Mexicans, but withdrew and encamp- ed for the night. On the 21st in command of seven hundred and eighty-three men he attacked Santa Anna's forces, his army rushing into the fray with the battle cry "Remember the Alamo; Remember Goliad," and after eighteen minutes of stout resistance by the Mexicans, they were thrown into con- fusion and panic, and the slaughter began. The result was the killing of six hundred and thirty Mexicans, wounding two hundred and eight, and capturing seven hundred and thirty prisoners, among whom was Santa Anna, himself.
Among the participants whose names are on our county map are:
Briscoe
Deaf Smith
Hockley
McCulloch
Burleson
Eastland
Houston
Motley
Cooke
Erath
Kleberg
Sherman
Dawson
Hale
Lamb
BRISCOE.
This county was named for Andrew Briscoe, who com- manded Company A of the regulars at San Jacinto. He was of English descent; was born November 25, 1810, and reared on the family plantation in Clai- borne County, Mississippi. He was educated at Clinton Academy in Hinds County, and attended Franklin University in Kentucky, and later studied law under Gen. John A. Quitman, at Jackson, Miss. Early in 1835 he shipped a stock of goods to Anahuac, Texas, and re- sisted the collection of duties. For this he was thrown into prison, but was released by W. B. Travis and his volunteer company. For a most interesting detail of this occurence see Vol. XVIII Southwestern Historical Quarterly. In the fall of that year he
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AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
was Captain of the Liberty Volunteers at Concepcion, and was at the storming and capture of Bexar December 5, 1835, and later at the battle of San Jacinto, as mentioned above. After- wards he was Chief Justice of (Harrisburg) Harris County and upon retiring from this office he gave his time to the promo- tion of a railroad from Harrisburg to the Brazos River, and this survey was later adopted by the line which is a part of the Southern Pacific Railroad system. After a mile or two of road had been graded and the ties placed, the enterprise was abandoned in 1840 as being premature.
In the interim he had married a daughter of John R. Harris, and removed to New Orleans, where he engaged in a banking, brokerage and exchange business. He died there October 4, 1849, and his remains were sent to the old family burying ground on the plantation in Claiborne County, Mississippi, and buried.
BURLESON.
This county was named for General Edward Burleson, Col- onel of the First Regiment of Volunteers at the battle of San Jacinto. He was born in North Carolina in 1798, and when a mere lad went with his father into the Creek War, acting as his secretary, and thus received his first military les- son under the leadership of General Jackson. The family moved to Vir- ginia, where he was elected Lieutenant and Colonel of militia. He next remov- ed to Tennessee and was there elected Colonel of militia. In 1831 he came to Texas and settled in what is now Bastrop County, then on the extreme frontier, and was soon called upon to lead his neighbors against marauding Indians. At Gonzales, when Stephen F. Austin became commander of the forces there, Burleson was elected Colonel of the only regiment then organiz- ed. When Austin resigned Burleson was elected Commander- in-chief, and was holding this position when Bexar was cap-
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THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
tured. At the reorganization of the army in 1836 he was elect- ed Colonel of the first regiment. In 1837 he was elected Brig- iadier General of the militia, and in 1838 was appointed Col- onel in the regular army. In 1841 he was elected Vice Presi- dent of the Republic. In 1842, when it was deemed advisable to invade the border states of Mexico, he was the general choice of the troops for the position of Commander, but President Houston appointed Alexander Somervell to the position. In 1843 he was a candidate for the Presidency, but was defeated by Anson Jones. In 1846 he served on the staff of General Henderson. After his return to Texas he located his home at the beautiful spring which forms the San Marcos River. He was elected to the State Senate and was unanimously chosen president of that body. He died in the city of Austin, December 26, 1851. A detailed biography of General Burleson would embrace a substantial history of Indian warfare in Tex- as from 1831 to his death. A contemporary expresses the opinion that he rendered a larger military service to the State than any other man among the numerous fighters of that per- iod in our history.
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AS TOLD IN COUNTY NAMES
COOKE.
W. G. Cooke was born in Fredericksburg, Va., March 26, 1808, where he was reared and educated. He removed to New Orleans and was in business there in October, 1835. When volunteers for Texas were call- ed for, he immediately stepped forward and enrolled his name. Upon their arrival at San An- tonio he was elected Captain of the "New Orleans Grays," fol- lowed Ben Milam into San An- tonio and led his company in the forefront at the storming of Bexar. Later he was on the staff of General Houston and was with him at the battle of San Jacinto, being appointed as- sistant Inspector General in that battle with the rank of Major. After the battle he accompanied General Houston to New Or- leans and returned with him to Texas. He remained with the army until 1837, when he set- tled in Houston and established a drug store. In 1839 he was appointed Quarter-master General of the army by President Lamar; on March 19, 1840, was in the Blockhouse fight with the Comanches and in May, 1841, was appointed one of the commissioners to accompany the Santa Fe Expedition. He was made a prisoner and carried to Mexico, but he was released in 1842 and returned to Texas. In 1844 he was mar- ried to Angele Navarro, a niece of Juan Antonio Navarro, in San Antonio, Texas. When the State Government was or- ganized, in 1846 he was appointed Adjutant General. In De- cember 1847, he died at Seguin, Texas.
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THE HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY OF TEXAS
DAWSON.
Nicholas Mosby Dawson was born in Woodford County, Ken- tucky, in 1808. His parents removed to White County, Tennes- see, where he was educated. In 1834 he came to Texas and located near his kinsman, W. M. Eastland, in what is now Fay- ette County. When news of Santa Anna's invasion reached his vicinity, he volunteered and was elected Second Lieutenant of Company B of the volunteers and participated in the battle of San Jacinto. A short time after the battle he quit the army and resumed business. He was residing in Fayette County in 1842 when Woll made his raid into Texas and captured San Antonio. As soon as the news reached LaGrange, he organized a company and hastened to the front. On the day of the bat- tle of Salado, while trying to lead his men into the Texans' camp, he was surrounded by an overwhelming force of Mex- icans. When about half of his men had been killed, he raised the white flag. It was fired upon and the fight renewed. He finally surrendered his pistol to a Mexican officer. He was then siezed by the Mexican soldiers and put to death. There were fifty-three men in his company; thirty-three were slain in battle, fifteen surrendered, five of whom were wounded, and two made their escape.
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