626 1813. Feb. 10. ANALYSIS. cessfully repelled. On the tenth of February following the Americans under Kemper sallied out and met the enemy on the open plain, although outnumbered by them After a desperate conflict 1. The be in the proportion of two to one. and rout the of several hours, the Spaniards were routed and driven from the field, with a loss of three or four hundred in killed and wounded, while the total loss of the victors was less than forty. sieged attack Spanish furces. 2. Second defeat of the Spaniards. of Bexar, and of the royalist troops. 15. On the retreat of the Spaniards towards Bexar, they were attacked near the Salado Creek* and defeated, a. March 29. with a result similar to that of the battle of Goliad, and with a farther loss of their military stores, and several 'Resuming his 3. Surrender, thousand head of mules and horses. capitulation march, Kemper moved on to Bexar, and demanded an unconditional surrender of the town, which met with b. April 1. prompt compliance. The royalist generals, Salcedo and Herrera, and twelve other Spaniards of distinction, made a formal surrender; which was quickly followed by the capitulation of all the royalist troops, then reduced to 'The latter were allowed to depart, but the former were condemned to death by a Mexican junto headed by Guttierez, and afterwards massacred in secret, in order to conceal their fate from the Americans. 5 Withdrawal "When the truth, however, became known, a great proporfrom the ex- tion of the Americans, with Kemper at their head, immediately abandoned the Mexican service, disgusted with a cause stained by such enormities. 4. Massacre of eight hundred men. Spanish officers. of Kemper ican cause. 6. Approach of a royalist force. c. June 16. Ross, and his 16. The invading force, much reduced in numbers by the withdrawal of Kemper and his friends, remained inactive at Bexar until the approach, in June, of a royalist 7. Advice of army of four thousand men. 'Suspicious that the Mexiabandonment cans were about to abandon their allies, and unite with of the army. the Spaniards, Ross urged the necessity of an immediate retreat; but the majority of his officers, rejecting the advice of their superior, determined, at every risk, to abide the issue on the spot. On the same night, Colonel Ross, deserting his men, left the town; and early on the followd. June 17. ing morning Colonel Perry was chosen to the command. 8. Attempted negotiations. 17. A communication from the royalist general, Elisondo, being received, giving the Americans permission to retire unmolested from Texas, on condition that they would deliver up Guttierez and the other Mexicans who were implicated in the massacre of the Spanish prisoners, a contemptuous answer was returned, and all capable of bearing arms, both Mexicans and Americans, prepared *The Salado, a small but beautiful stream which issues from a spring about twelve miles north from Bexar, and passes within three miles east of that place, joins the San Antonio river about fifteen miles below Bexar. (See Map, p. 624.) a. June 18. for battle. 'Early on the following morning they advanced 1813. against the enemy, whom they found celebrating matins on the eastern bank of the Alesan, four miles west from Bexar. In the conflict which ensued the Spaniards were routed, with the loss of their baggage and artillery, and with a number of killed and wounded nearly equal to the entire force brought against them. 1. The Spanattacked and ish forces defeated. Removal of Guttierez, ment of Toledo to the command of tionary force. Kemper. The numbers 18. The odium that fell upon Guttierez, who was 2. deemed the prime abettor of the massacre of the Spanish and appointprisoners before mentioned, led to his removal from the supreme command of the revolutionary force in Texas, and to the appointment of General Toledo in his place. "On the removal of Guttierez, Kemper returned from the 3 Return of United States, and took post at Bexar at the head of about four hundred Americans, who, with seven hundred Mexi- of the oppos ing forces. cans under Manchaca, a bold, but rude and uneducated native partizan, constituted the only force that could be brought against a royalist army of several thousand men, already advancing under the command of Arredondo, captain-general of the eastern internal provinces. Aug. 18. 4. Attack upon the Spanish forces. 19. At the head of his small force, Toledo, as commander-in-chief, advanced against the enemy, whom he met on the 18th of August, on the western bank of the river Medina.* Kemper and Manchaca, crossing the stream, pressed on with their usual intrepidity; the enemy yielding ground and retreating in good order. In this 5. Their first manner the royalists fell back three miles, when a vigorous onset caused them to break and abandon their cannon. "Toledo, fearing that his men were proceeding too far, & Conduct of Kemper and endeavored to call them from the pursuit; but he was Manchaca. opposed by the fiery valor of Kemper and Manchaca, who issued contrary orders, declaring that there should be no retreat. 20. 'The pursuit, therefore, continued, until, to the surprise of the Americans and Mexicans, the enemy reached their intrenchments, where half their army had been kept in reserve. A most destructive fire was now opened by the entire Spanish force. The Mexicans fled at the first volley, and the Americans, left to sustain the contest alone, were soon beaten back, with greatly diminished numbers, and finally compelled to seek safety in flight. The Mexicans, who basely deserted their standard in the hour of peril, and when victory might still have been secured, suffered but little loss; but nearly all the repulse. 7. Continu pursuit, and of the com ance of the final defeat bined Mexican and American forces. On the Presidio road, eight or nine miles west from Bexar. The Medina River enters the San Antonio about 16 miles below Bexar. (See Map) It is a handsome stream of clear water, about 80 feet wide, its bed lying about 12 feet below the surface, and its current flowing at the rate of three miles an hour. It has its source in a large fountain, in an extensive valley of the highlands, about 80 miles N.W. from Bexar. ANALYSIS Americans who escaped from the battle field were slain or captured in their flight towards Louisiana. Thus ter minated, in total defeat to the insurgents, the battle of the Medina ; and with it was suspended, during the five subsequent years, the Mexican revolutionary struggle in Texas. 1. Conduct of the United towards the parties in led to a more accurate knowledge 21. 'After the defeat of the force under Toledo, the States more guarded vigilance of the authorities of the United contending States, acting upon principles of strict neutrality towards Mexico. the contending parties in Mexico, prevented expeditions 2. Causes that on a large scale from crossing the frontiers. Adventurers in small parties, however, occasionally visited Texas, of Texas. disseminating, on their return, more accurate knowledge of its climate, soil, and natural resources, than had previously been obtained; but the unsettled state of the country, and the doubtful result of the Mexican revoluRecent pe tion, prevented emigration, and it was not until the colonization achievement of Mexican independence, in 1821, that any substantial advances were made towards the colonization of Texas. riod of Texan 3. Temporary establish coast of Texas. and piratical 22. 'In the meantime, however, the principal bays and ments on the harbors of the coast had been explored, and some temporary establishments had been made where flourishing set 4. Privateers, tlements have since been formed. For the purpose of establish accommodating privateers sailing under the Mexican flag, the agents and partisans of the revolutionists had selected stations at Matagorda, Galveston,* and other places; most of which became piratical establishments, that were eventually broken up by the government of the United States. menis. a See Map, p 644) 5. Mina at Galveston. 1816. b. See. p. 587. The fate of Perry and his band. 7. Perry's history. 23. 'It was at Galveston, then containing only a rude mud fort and a few cabins, that Mina passed the winter of 1816 on his unfortunate expedition against Mexico. "The fate of the small band of Americans, under Colonel Perry, who accompanied Mina, and who abandoned the expedition at Soto la Marina, deserves to be mentioned. Perry had served in the army of the United States; he was with Kemper in the Texan campaign of 1813; he had a hair-breadth escape at the battle of the Medina, and after his return, he was present at the battle of New Orleans. *The town of Galveston is situated at the northeastern extremity of Galveston Island, on the south side of the entrance into Galveston Bay. (See Map, p. 659.) The island, which is destitute of timber, with the exception of two or three live oaks near its centre, is about 30 miles in length, with an average breadth of three or four miles. It runs parallel to the coast, and is separated from the main land by a sound or bay about four miles wide, and from four to eight feet deep. The harbor of Galveston, which is between the town and Pelican Island on the west, is spacious and secure, affording firm anchorage, and has a general depth of from 18 to 30 feet of water. Pelican Island is a level, sandy tract, embracing several hun. dred acres. 1. His march through Texas. 2. He demands the Goliad 24. 'After leaving Mina, as before mentioned, he at- 1817. tempted to return to the United States through Texas. Harassed by royalist troops and hostile Indians, the small but intrepid band fought their way to Goliad, near the Bay of Matagorda. 'Resolved on attacking this strong position, Perry summoned the garrison to surrender, but surrender while the Spanish commandant was deliberating on the summons, a party of two hundred royalist cavalry appeared. 'Encouraged by this reenforcement, the garrison 3. Battle, and sallied out, and in the bloody contest that followed, man of the Americans was killed except the leader. Perry, seeing all his comrades dead or dying around him, retired to a neighboring tree, and, presenting a pistol to his head, fell by his own hand, rather than surrender to the foe. every 25. Two years after the fall of Perry, General Long, at the head of about three hundred men from the southwestern states, entered Texas, and joined the revolutionists against the Spanish authorities. The expedition, however, proved unfortunate, and disastrous to those engaged in it. Although Goliad was once taken, yet Nacogdoches was destroyed, and the inhabitants of the eastern part of Texas were driven across the Sabine. 'Long was defeated on the Brazos* and Trinity† rivers, and finally, by the perfidy of the Spanish commandant at Bexar, he and all his force, then amounting to 180 men, were made prisoners and conveyed to the city of Mexico. 'Here Long was shot by a soldier as he was passing a small band of the military on guard. His men were drafted into the Mexican service, but were finally released and sent home to the United States, through the interference of Mr. Poinsett, the American envoy.‡ 26. To complete the narrative of events Texas, previous to the separation of Mexico from Spain, it is requisite to notice an attempt by a body of French emigrants to form a settlement on the Trinity River. In 1817, a destruction of the entire band of the Americans. The Brazos River, which enters the Gulf about 50 miles S. W. from Galveston Inlet, is a winding stream, the whole extent of which is supposed to be nearly a thousand miles. (See Map, p. 620 and Map, p. 659.) Its waters are often quite red, owing to an earthy deposit of fine red clay. They are also salt, or brackish,-occasioned by one of its branches running through an extensive salt region and a salt lake. When, in the dry season, the water is evaporated, an extensive plain in this salt region, far in the interior, is covered with crystallized salt. Brazos runs through a rich country, and is fringed with valuable timber land. Its banks, to the distance of 200 miles from its mouth, are from 20 to 40 feet in depth, and are seldom overflowed. The ↑ Trinity River, one of the largest rivers in Texas, rises near the Red River, in its great western bend, and running south-eastwardly enters the north-eastern extremity of Galveston Bay. (See Map, p. 620 and Map, p. 659.) It is generally from 60 to 80 yards wide, and eight or ten feet deep, with a rapid current. It is navigable farther than any other river in Texas, Its banks are having been ascended, by steam boats, between three and four hundred miles. lined with the choicest land, and the best of timber. Foote's account of General Long's expedition differs somewhat from the above. We have followed Kennedy. ANALYSIS. number of French officers, soldiers, and laborers, the leaders of whom had been obliged to leave their country on account of the part they had taken in restoring Napo leon to power after his return from Elba, came to the United States, and settled on a tract of land in Alabama, which had been assigned to them on terms almost equiva lent to a gift. 1. They remove to Texas. 2. They are the country driven from 27. 'Dissatisfied, however, with their situation in Alabama, a part of the company, with Generals Lallemand a. (Re-go.) and Rigaud at their head, removed to Texas in the winter of 1818, and north of the Bay of Galveston, on Trinity River, selected a spot for a settlement, to which they gave the name of Champ d'Asile.† 'But scarcely had Lallemand began to fortify his post, to prescribe regula tions, and to invite other emigrants, when he was informed by the Spanish authorities that he must abandon the settlement or acknowledge the authority of Ferdinand. Unable to resist the force sent against it, the little colony was disbanded, and the unfortunate settlers were driven in poverty from the country. by the Spanish authorities. CHAPTER II. Subject of 3. Period at which we have now arrived. 4. Treaty of 1819. EVENTS FROM THE TIME OF THE ESTABLISHMENT [1821 To 1836.] 1. "We have now arrived at the period of the second Mexican revolution, when the power of Spain received its final overthrow in the Mexican provinces, and when Texas began to emerge from that obscurity in which she had so long been retained by Spanish indolence and jealousy. "The treaty of 1819, by which Spain ceded the Floridas b. See p. 471. to the United States, established the Sabine River as the western boundary of Louisiana, and thus gave to Mexico, on the achievement of her independence, an undisputed 5 Coloniza claim to the entire province of Texas. Anxious to protion of Texas mote the settlement of the country, the Mexican govern Mexico. ment adopted the most liberal system of colonization; and emigrants in large numbers, mostly from the United favored by Foote says General Salleman, probably a typographical error. Pronounced shawng da-sele, and signifying literally, the Field of the Asylum,—or Place of Refuge." |