a. June 4. garded by the Texans, and the governor was compelled to 1835. seek safety in flight; and although once arrested" with all his party, and condemned to the dungeons of the castle of San Juan d'Ulloa, he escaped from his guards, and eventually reached Texas in safety. The state authorities' Overthrow were deposed by the general congress of Mexico, and government. those refractory members of the legislature who remained in Coahuila, were arrested by military order, imprisoned, and ultimately banished. of the state in Texas-by what in creased. 37. The excitement and confusion produced in Texas 2. Excitement by these proceedings, together with the alarming encroachments of the military, were increased by disturbances arising out of opposition to the oppressive amount of custom-house duties, and the vexatious mode of collecting them. 'In the autumn of 1934 a revenue officer and 3 Disturban guard had been stationed at Anahuac. These were as saulted by a number of disaffected persons, disarmed, and obliged to withdraw for a time to San Felipe. In the summer of the following year the malcontents again assailed the collector at Anahuac, and having accomplished their object, withdrew before the authorities could take measures to repel or arrest them. ces at Anahuac. 4 The actors turbances. in these dis How regard nists generally. 38. The actors in these high-handed measures were principally a few disappointed land speculators, and ambitious adventurers, who clamored for an open and imme-ed by the colo diate rupture with the general government; yet a great majority of the colonists condemned the aggressions in the strongest language; and the inhabitants of the Brazos hospitably entertained the ejected officer and his men, and when they could not prevail upon them to return to their post, assisted them to proceed to Bexar. officer sent to inquire into ings at And the proceed. huac. 39. 'An exaggerated account of the proceedings at 5 A Mexican Anahuac having reached General Cos, he despatched an officer and an armed schooner to Galveston, to inquire into the affair; but the captain, altogether unfit for his mission, attacked and captured a vessel engaged in the Texan trade, and committed other lawless acts, under the pretext of protecting the revenue. "This schooner was 6. The result. soon after captured by an armed merchant vessel from New Orleans, whither it was sent with its commander, on a charge of piratically interrupting the trade of Mexico. and the United states. The insolent assumption of authority on the one hand, and the insulting seizure of a Mexican vessel on the other, greatly widened the breach already existing, and imparted greater boldness to those who desired an open rupture. 40. When intelligence of the "Plan of Toluca" reached Texas, together with the favor it received from b. (See p 606.) 7 Relations of Texas with Merico, as affected by the Plan of Toluca. ANALYSIS. the usurping authorities of Mexico, it became evident 1. The views and declara tions of the vious to this Texans pre period. Sept., 1835. 2 Determina tion of the adhere to the Texans to the people of Texas that the federal system of 1824 ww to be dissolved by military force; that the vested rights of Texas under the constitution were to be disregarded and violated; and that the liberties of the people were to have no better guarantee than the capricious will of their most bitter enemies. 'Hitherto, the great majority of the Texans had opposed violent measures; they had repeatedly declared themselves ready to discharge their duties as faithful citizens of Mexico,-attached by inclination and interest to the federal compact; and they consoled themselves under the many evils which they suffered, with the hope that they would ere long obtain the benefits of good local government, by the acknowledgment of Texas as an independent member of the Mexican Union; nor was it until the course of events demonstrated the fallacy of this hope, that they yielded to despondency, or dreamed of resistance. 41. 'Immediately on the return of Stephen Austin to Texas, after his imprisonment and detention in Mexico, in accordance with his advice committees of safety and vigil. ance were appointed throughout the country; and the 2. Prepara people resolved to insist on their rights under the federal co For the sub constitution of 1824. In the meantime, intelligence of ugation of the threatened invasion of Texas by the forces of Santa Constitution of 1824. ttons or Meri 4. The state governor deposed. Military orders. Sept. 19. the Texan Anna was receiving daily confirmation; troops were or dered to Texas both by land and by water; magazines 01 arms and ammunition were collecting on the western frontier; and the old barracks, at Matamoras, Goliad, and Bexar, were undergoing repairs to receive larger forces. 42. The constitutional governor of the state of Coahuila and Texas was deposed by the military, and a new one appointed by Santa Anna; the commandant at Bexar was oruered to march into Texas, and take Zavala and other proscribed Mexicans, be the consequences what they might; and an order was issued by General Cos, requiring the citizens of Brazoria, Columbia,* Velasco, and other places, to surrender their arms; thus providing for their complete prostration to military sway. 43. 'Satisfied that the moment for decisive action had 5. Circular of arrived, the central committee of safety issued a circular, Central Com dated Sept. 19, and signed by their chairman, Stephen Austin, recommending the organization of the militia, the formation of volunteer companies, and an immediate appeal to arms to repel invasion, as the only alternative left mittee of Safety. *Brazoria and Columbia are towns on the west side of the Brazos, a short distance above its mouth. (See Map, p. 620.) 1835. 1. March of upon Texas. them to defend their rights, themselves, and their country. "The arrival of General Cos at Copano,* about the same time, and his march to Bexar, verified the anticipations General Cos of the Texans. His soldiers boasted that they would 2. The boasts visit the colonists and help themselves to their property; and Cos himself openly declared his intention to overrun Texas, and establish custom-houses, and detachments of his army, where he thought proper. of his soldiers. ment of Mexi can troops sent against Gonzalez 44. The first hostile movement of the Mexican troops 3 Detachwas directed against the town of Gonzalez,† on the east bank of the Guadalupe. Colonel Ugartechea, the commandant at Bexar, in conformity with his instructions to disarm the colonists, having demanded of the municipality a piece of cannon in their possession, which they refused to surrender, sent a detachment of two hundred Mexican cavalry to enforce the requisition. This force arrived on 4. Opposed by the west bank of the Guadalupe on the 28th of September, and attempted the passage of the river, but was repulsed by eighteen men under Captain Albert Martin, the whole of the available force then at Gonzalez. "The Mexicans then encamped on a mound where they remained until the first of October, when they removed and took a strong position seven miles above the town. the Texans. Sept. 23. 5. Positions taken by the Mexican troops. tion to attack Oct. 1. 7. March to- 45. The Texan force at Gonzalez, having been increas- 6. Determinaed to 168 men by volunteers from Matagorda,§ Galveston, the Mexicans. and other places, and suspecting that the object of the Mexicans was to await a reenforcement from Bexar, determined on an immediate attack. On the evening of the first the Texans crossed the river, taking with them the cannon demanded by Ugartechea, and commenced their march towards the Mexican camp. $About four o'clock on the following morning they were fired upon by the enemy's pickets, and some skirmishing ensued, when the Mexican commander demanded a conference, which was granted. Having inquired the reason of the attack by the colonists, he was referred to his orders, which commanded him to take by force the cannon in possession of the citizens of Gonzalez. 8. ence. *Copano is at the northern extremity of Copano Bay, which may be considered a western branch of Aransas Bay. (See Map, next page.) † Gonzalez is a town on the Guadalupe river above Victoria. The Guadalupe River enters the Bay of Espiritu Santo from the northwest. (See Map, next page.) It is generally about 150 yards wide, and from five to six feet deep, with remarkably pure waters and very steep banks; but owing to its winding course and the shallowness of Espiritu Santo Bay, it is of little utility as a medium of communication. The town of Matagorda is on the north side of Matagorda Bay, and on the east side of the mouth of the Colorado River. (See Map.) Matagorda Bay, which is about 60 miles in length, and from six to ten in width, is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by a peninsula varying in breadth from one to two miles. The Bay has from eight to twenty feet depth of water, with a soft muddy bottom, and vessels once within the Bay are as secure as if they were in a dock. Paso Cavallo, the entrance into the Bay, has from eight to nine feet depth 1. Represen by the Texans. ANALYSIS. 46. 'He was told that this cannon had been presented to them by the authorities under the Federal compact fr tations made the defence of the constitution, for which purpose they were then using it; and that they were determined to fight to the last for the constitutional rights of Texas against the 2 Renewal of usurpations of Santa Anna. "The conference terminated and disper without any adjustment, and the action was renewed. The Gonzalez six-pounder was brought to bear upon the Mexicans; the Texans, at the same time, advancing rapidly, until within about two hundred yards of the enemy, when the latter retreated precipitately on the road to Bexar, having sustained a considerable loss in killed and wounded. The colonists, of whom not a man was injured, remained masters of the field, and having collected the spoils of victory returned to Gonzalez. the action, sion of the Mexican force. 47. Inspirited by this success, the colonists resolved to attack the Mexicans in their strong holds of Goliad and Bexar; and on the 8th of October the former of these posts was attacked at midnight, and captured by a detachment of fifty men under Captain Collinsworth; and with it were taken stores to the amount of $10,000, with two brass cannon and 300 stand of arms. The garrison, which was commanded by Colonel Sandoval, surrendered after a slight resistance. of water. The pass east of Pelican Island is rapidly closing, and other important changes are taking place by the combined action of the wind and the waves. Southwest of the main pass lies Matagorda Island. Cavallo Island intervenes between the bays of Matagorda and Espiritu Santo, which are connected by two narrow passes of shoal water. Matagorda Bay is surrounded by a fertile prairie country, interspersed with groves of live oak, cedar ash, &c. 1. Interesting account of Colonel Milam. 48. 'In this enterprise the colonists were unexpectedly 1835. joined by Colonel Milam, who had been taken prisoner with the governor of the state of Coahuila and Texas, at the time of the dispersion of the state authorities in the June previous. After having made his escape, he had wandered alone nearly 600 miles through the wilderness, and, having arrived in the vicinity of Goliad, had thrown himself, faint from the want of food, and almost exhausted, among the tall grass of the prairies, when the approach of armed men arrested his attention. Presuming them to be his Mexican pursuers, he determined to defend himself to the last; but, to his astonishment and joy, he discovered the advancing force to be his fellow colonists, whom he joined in their successful assault on Goliad. "On the Oct. 20. 2. March of towards Bexar. Oct. 27. 49. On the 20th of October, about 300 Texan troops, commanded by Stephen Austin, reached the Salado Creek, Teran troops about five miles from Bexar, where they took up a secure position to await the arrival of reenforcements. 27th of the same month, Colonel James Bowie and Captain 3 Detachment Fannin, with a detachment of ninety-two men, proceeded and Fannin. to examine the country below Bexar, for the purpose of selecting a favorable situation for the encampment of the main army. 'Having obtained a position a mile and a half below, early on the morning of the 28th they were attacked by about 400 Mexican troops, which, after a short engagement, were repulsed with the loss of nearly one hundred men in killed and wounded, while the Texans had but one man killed and none wounded. One cannon and a number of muskets were abandoned to the victors. Oct. 28. 4. Engagement with a superior Mexican force. colonists at this period. Nov. 3. 50. While the forces of the hostile armies at Bexar 5. The Texan continued their positions, each apparently fearing to commit its fate to the hazard of a general engagement, the Texan colonists were actively engaged in preparations to sustain the position which they had taken, of unyielding opposition to the existing government of Mexico. "On the 3d of November a general convention of delegates assembled at San Felipe, and, on the 7th, adopted a Declaration of Rights, setting forth the reasons which had impelled Texas to take up arms, and the objects for which she contended. 51. After setting forth, as causes of the present hostile position of Texas the overthrow of the Federal institutions of Mexico, and the dissolution of the social compact which had existed between Texas and the other members of the confederacy, the Declaration asserted that the people "had taken up arms in defence of their rights and liberties, which were threatened by the encroachments of military despots, and in defence of the republican principles of the 6. Convention at San Felipe, and a decla 7. ration of rights adopted. Nov. 7. The causes assigned for taking up arms against Mexico. |