User:Karanacs/Reid
Reid, Stuart (2007). The Secret War for Texas. Elma Dill Russell Spencer Series in the West and Southwest. College Station, Texas: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN 978-1-58544-565-3.
Introduction and Chapter 1: Gone to Texas
[edit]p 2
With the LA purchase, only 2 things stopping US from reaching Pacific - Mexican province of Texas and British claim to Oregon country
"The prospect of Texas being swallowed up by the United States and thereby upsetting the balance of power and trade in both North America and the Caribbean Basin was therefore viewed with almost as much concern in London as it was in Mexico City"
p 7
Between 1822 and 1824, Britain exported about $30 million (5.883 million pounds) of goods to former Spanish colonies, most to Mexico
British had lots of investment in Mexico and its silver mines -- excess of 70 million pounds by 1836
p 10
Britain recognized Mexican independence Dec 26, 1826
British hoped to be friendly with Mexico to be a barrier to US influence
Britain concerned about US plans to extend their influence to the Pacific
p 11
when empresarios began settling Americans in Texas, Britain wanted agents there to monitor what was going on
p 13
Dr. James Grant was born on July 28, 1793 in Milton of Redcastle in Ross-shire in Scotland grandfather Alexander Grant had fought at Culloden in 1746, escaped and joined the east India Company and went to India - last man on last boat, literally, fleeing from Black Hole of Calcutta
fought at Plassey under Clive; won himself a decent fortune and had an illegitimate son William
p 14
James was William's son he went to medical school then in 1812 entered East India Company's service
should have been a surgeon's mate but was actually the surgeon of the General Stuart ship got the higher positioin because his cousin Charles was a director of the company and pretty powerful
1813-1819 Grant made 3 voyages to India and China for the East India Company
did a little trading of his own, as most of the men did
in 1812 he married Margaret Urquhart, daughter of another East India official; marriage took place in London 2 kids - Stewart Majoribanks, b 1817 and Jamesina, b 1822 not a happy marriage - lots of separation
1823, he was in New Orleans
did not resign from E India Company to go - "this omission may be significant, for he must have sailed in about July at precisely the time" that the British foreign minister, Canning, was writing up instructions for an agent to go to Mexico to see about recognizing the country
from NO, Grant went to Texas and met SFA, ostensibly to investigate whether to get land for himself in that colony
p 15
late Mar 1824, back in NO, but didn't stay
Jan 1825, he was in Camargo, 100 mi up the Rio Grande
attempting to trade, buying wool to send to the settlements overland
unsuccessful in establishing trade routes for himself, but able to visit a lot of Texas
p 16
settlers to Texas "had neither the opportunity nor the inclination to assimilate themselves into Mexican society and culture. They still thought of themselves as Americans."
this concerned the British
Henry Ward, British ambassador, kept trying to undercut the influence of Joel Poinsett, the American ambassador to Mexico
p 19
In late 1820s, Ward had a book printed, called United States Designs on Texas. Possible that Grant helped to monitor developments in Texas
pp 20-21
The Fredonian Rebellion, Edwards negotiated with John Dunn Hunter, who had been adopted by the Cherokee, a treaty between those two groups
colonist James Kerry's spies told him that Hunter had hopes that the British would come to the assistance of the fredonians by May, with several hundred Englishmen under Arthur Wavell, and land at the Brazos; spies said a Dr Somebody was acting as a British spy in the interior and he spoke English, French, and Spanish
Reid believes that this dr was James Grant, who was in the interior trying to buy half a league of land at Matagorda family sources say he was involved wth the Edwards brothers
this was consistent with a scheme that the British ambassador Ward had tried to get backing for, for a British colony along the Sabine to be a buffer between Texas and the US
when the British support didn't show up early enough, the rebellion collapsed - Edwards and the others may have been depending on this
p 21
"Had the proposed alliance with Wavell and Hunter actually come to fruition, the Republic of Texas (or Fredonia) might have been born ten years early as a British client state with an 'effective' government hostiale to any notion of American annexation."
p 22
Hunter killed by the Cherokees after the debacle; the Edwards' escaped to US
Ward recalled to London, likely for interfering with Mexico's internal affairs
"In fact the Fredonian business effectively marked the end of active British attempts to curb the Americans for the time being."
p 26
Grant settled in Coahuila at Parras; lived with Mexican woman, Maria Guadalupe Reyes and fathered 7 more kids
p 203 the kids' names were Gregor, Marcos, Antonio, William, Guadeloupe (sic), Cristina, and the last is unknown
Chapter 2: Revolution
[edit]p 27
John Linn described Grant as "the resident agent of an English mining company"
he also bought Hacienda los Hornos (Hacienda of the Furnaces) near Parras grew wheat, had vineyards and manufactured furnaces, cotton, and wool
1833, he partnered with Dr. John Charles Beales to settle 800 European families between the Rio Grande and Nueces Rivers (part of Coahuila) settlement would be called Dolores and be located near the Presidio del Rio Grande
called himself Don Diego Grant
formally became a Mexican citizen on Sep 21, 1830
p 28
1832 elected to state legislature as one of 3 deputies from department of Parras
p 29
Austin went to Mexico City in Nov 1833 to help colonists get their grievances resolved and to get statehood
didn't get statehood, so he wrote home saying Texas should go ahead and form a state govt anyway officials in Bexar forwarded the letter to Mexican authorities and SFA was arrested
p 30
Grant lent Austin $200 Grant then helped get a lot of laws passed in state legislature to pacify the colonits -3 depts rather than 1, so Texans had more representation English an official language trial by jury
Grant got a reputation as an advocate for Texians
Tx still lacked the 80k residents the constitution required for independent statehood
p 31
Coahuila legislature decided to sell off public land in Texas, starting in Mar 26, 1834
lots auctioned 177 acres (1 labor) at a time at minimum of $10/labor
if didn't sell at auction, could be sold at the reserve price by private treaty
Texans denounced the sales are corrupt a small group of speculators working with the governor to buy up lots
legislature needed money to fight against the centralists, and this is how they chose to do it
Mar 1833, legislature moved to Monclova from Saltillo; Saltillo had a lot of centralists
Jul 1834, Saltillo centralists formed rival legislature and annulled all the stuff decided in Monclova
Federalists began to form militias - grant named the chief of the civic militia of Parras
Santa Anna said new elections necessary and the new legislature could meet in Monclova
Grant was elected in Mar 1835
Mar 14, 1835, another act to sell 400 leagues more of land
p 33
no limits on how much land one person could buy; no auction
Centralists and Texians both said this was corrupt
this crisis not engineered by Grant or other speculators - perhaps a different way of doing empresario system
Texians mostly mad because they wanted to use this land to secure loans from bankes in NO
not easy to tell how involved Grant was in all of this purchased 50 leagues from John T. Mason in Jun 1834
Grant mortgaged Hacienda los Hornos in April 1835 to buy 300 leagues of land
p 34
Centralists again tried to form a rival legislature in Saltillo, and had Cos's troops in support
A[r 7 the legislature in Monclova, incl Grant, authorized Viesca to call out the militia
confrontation between Grant and militia and the soldiers outside Monclova - Cos outnumbered and backed off
Mar 1835, SA said militias could only have 1 recruit for every 500 citizens; lots of opposition
Zacatecas ordered governor to use the state militia against any aggression
SA began preparing military
Coahuila protested to govt that the militias were no threat to political stability
May 2nd Grant got his land certificates
p 35
and then not in the records for 2 weeks; some believed grant may have been sent by Viesca to meet with the people in Zacatecas but no proof
war began Apr 18 - SA marched 4k regulars from Mexico City arrived Guadalupe on May 8
Zacatecan militia had about 4k men too
SA gave him 8 hours to disband and put down their weapons Francisco Garcia, militia commander, said no, he was standing for the Const of 1824
SA attacked early the next morning took a few hours; 1200 Federalist casualties (died and wounded), and 2273 prisoners
2 days of pillage
Grant, if there, escaped SA ordered execution of all North Americans among the prisoners
o 36
May 20, Coahuila legislature voted to adjourn and reestablish wherever the governor thought it prudent everyone knew that meant Bexar
Viesca delayed departing until May 25 - captured with the state archives and 150 militia (likely Grant's men)
Cos ordered Viesca not to go to Texxas, so he went back to Monclova
gov decided to leave, and Grant and a lot of Texians accompanied him all arrested Jun 5 by Cos at Gigedo
Cos said the crisis caused by "two or three designing and naturally turbulent foreigners, somewhat crafty in their machinations" definitely meant Grant, and probably Ben Milam
Grant was, at this time, deputy president of the legislature
p 37
Grant under arrest with Viesca in Monterrey
he had paid $30k to Coahuila treasury for the land certificates
when he was arrested, Cos had his properties siezed
Grant never saw his youngest child
p 38
Mexicans had bad gunpowder, mixed with too much charcoal their weapons had a range of about 50 yards - for Napoleonic warfare, this was fine if you were standing in a line at close-range firefight, where aiming not as important
p 39
Texians rarely had any kind of recognizable military formation; instead too k cover and fired from a distance
Gonzales a "rather petty fight over a worn-out little cannon"
Oct 3, Supreme Govt said Const of 1824 was void
p 40
from prison, Grant and Viesca involved in planning a revolt to stretch across Mexico - a full-scale civil war
exiles in NO would initiate the revolt, incl Gen Jose Antonio MExia, Col Jorge Fisher, and former VP Valentin Gomez Farias
Oct 13 - NO Greys established, the first companies of American volunteers to go to Texas
the plan was to take Tampico and Matamoros
p 41
Dimitt had already written to Austin, proposing an expedition like this - to capture Lipantitlan (near San Pat), then go to Matamoros
Austin supported Mexia's plan to take Tampico,s aying on Nov 5 "nothing will aid Texas as much as an expedition to Matamoros und General Mexia - it is all important. I recommend that every possible effort be made to fit out such an expedition if it has not already been done, as I hope it has been"
Milam escaped, probably with the blessing of his jailer - and old friend - in early Oct the jailer, Col Basadre, used theat escape as excuse for Grant and Viesca to be placed under stronger guard; he sent them to Vera Cruz to be imprisoned at San Juan de Uloa
instead, they all escaped on the journey
Grant was "shrewd and forceful"
they had a 20-man cavalry escort under Col Jose Maria Gonzales, a federalist
p 42
Mexia sailed from NO on Nov 6 aboard the Mary Jane, with a crew of 50, 3 cannon, 150 men
some of the men thought they were going to Texas; didn't find out otherwise until already out at sea 3 companies of men, under John M. Allen, George Dedrick, and Capt Lamber or Octave Blache
the filibusters ran aground off mouth of Panuco River Nov 14 the garrison nearby, under Capt Luis Guerra, decided to join them
federalists locally were supposed to also stage a revolt
p 43
but they had already done so and it was quickly suppressed
Mexia decided to march on Tampico attack suppressed quickly the next morning
filibusters had only 8 rounds each, and quickly ran out
4 of the Mexican garrison killed, and 2 or 3 of Mexi's men
Mexia went back to the fort and waited to see if local federalist would join them
Mexia finally chartered an American schooner, the Halcyon, and the attackers fled on Nov 26 31 of Mexia's men were prisoners; 3 died, the rest shot on Dec 14
Nov 8 James Grant and the rest reached San Pat - the border between TAmaulipas and Texas on the Nueces
Viesca borrowed money
moved on to Goliad's garrison
p 44
Texians had already elected a provisional governor for their new state
Dimitt refused to recognize Viesca's authority
Grant angry at Dimitt
Austin asked Grant for a summary of what was going on in Mexico; he said that Zacatecas oppressed but still ready to fight, Durango would fight if they could get help, Tamaulipas and Nuevo Leon to fight if an attach made on Matamoros, and San Luis Potosi prob would too
he pretty much assured Austin that if Matamoros was taken, the rest of the country would rise up and help them
p 46
Dimitt the next day said no, he didn't think so. He thought the rest of the country wouldn't do much
Viesca decided to go directly to the General Council
Grant got himself elected as the Goliad Delegate to the council- "how he achieved this in the face of Dimitt's hostility is one of the minor mysteries of the affair", although people could have voted him just because Dimitt din't like him, and they didn't like Dimitt
grant decided not to take this seat, and instead rode to Bexar to join Austin in the siege
p 48
Grant arrived at the Texian camp on Nov 17, 1835
Chapter 3: Bexar
[edit]p 49
within the first few days that he was at the siege, Grant made himself useful - Col William T. Austin wrote that "Dr. James Grant, who was a very skilful (sic) man and scientific engineer, had lately joined our army, and rendered very important service in devising the plan of attack"
SFA said on Nov 21 that Grant was an engineer helping Capt Cheshire build fortifications
attack was supposed to begin Nov 22, but just before, many of the units decided they didn't want to fight right now
some historian blame Grant; others William Wharton (who was Houston's friend and Houston didn't want Austin getting the credit)
p 50
Grant not mentioned in reports of the Grass Fight
p 51
but Reid says it was "inconceivable" that Grant "should have attained the degree of influence he afterwards enjoyed had he remained behind in the camp"
p 52
Grant was busily trying to convince men to go south with him to Matamoros
p 53
Nov 29, Grant's friend Robert C. Morris, who was the highest-ranking volunteer officer, declined a transfer to the regular army
he said that he and his men were ready to go Matamoros
just before the final Bexar attack to begin, Robert Morris said his sentry had seen a man go from the camp into the Alamo said the mission was compromised Burleson called a meeting of the troops and told them they had to break camp and go to Gonzales for the winter
p 54
Grant helped stir up dismay over the choice
p 55
and may have convinced Ben Milam to go through the camp to drum up volunteers to attack
210 took part in the assault
one division commanded by Ben Milan and Robert Morris the other by Frank Johnson and Grant
p 56
Grant had already become a Colonel, Burleson appointed him, not sure when
Grant's men took the Veramendi house first
p 57
the Mexican fortress, the Alamo, was separated from much of town by the San antonio River, with only one street linking it to the other Mexican positions - two side-by-side plazas, the Plaza de Armas (Military Plaza) and the Plaza de la Yslas
the plazas had been barricaded well by Mexican soldiers
not enough Mexican troops to cover the whole town
Col Nicolas Condelle had about 200 men from the Morelos Battalion and maybe 200 men from the local militia to hold the plazas and the streets leading to them
the Texans not in the two columns were the reserves under Burleson, they were to do a diversionary attack on the Alamo
the others to move from the north along parallel streets to get as far into town as possible
p 58
Milam's group trying to get to Plaza de las Yslas, which wasn't as fortified
Johnson and Grant going down Portrero Street (now Commerce St) at the east end of the pkaza
Portrero was the only st to connect the plazas and the Alamo
during the night, a storm blew in, very cold
Texians began agathering at about 2 am
p 59
first cannon shot came at 5 am - Neill firing on the Alamo, in the hopes that men would rush there and leave the plazas undefended
Cos sent up rockets to get assistance from Condelle, but Condelle didn't send anyone
p 60
Johnson and Grant's men spotted by sentries who called the alarm
lots of firing at them
a Mexican defector, Lt Jesus Cuellar, led Johnson and Grant as they tried to go up Soledad St took cover in houses bc of all the firing at them
they took cover in the Veramendi house - where Bowie had lived with his wife
Milam's division advancing up Acequia Street
also under artillery fire, they entered the de la Garza house disoriented, and they ran into Johnson and Grant's division, and the two sides shot at each other for some time
too dangerous on the street
one of the two cannon Milam's men had was disabled very quickly after assault started (it was 12 pounder)
the other, after a few shots, the gunners had to take cover in a house
p 61
difficult for Texians to get a shot at the Mexicans without going into the streets
Mexican sharpshooters were in the church with rifles ready to pick off any Texians who tried to get up on the roof 10 men from Johnson's division tried that, and 5, including Deaf Smith, wounded at once; everyone else went back inside
it is possible that Grant also one of those men - he was noted by Johnson as being severely wounded the first day
although it is also possible that he was wounded later
Milam shot dead 2 days later while in the garden of the Veramendi house
p 62
house to house combat sometimes burrowing through walls rather than going outside
fighting on north side of town; Ugartachea came in on the south side with reinforcements on Dec 8 600 men with him, but 2/3 were raw conscripts, some still in chains
Dec 8 evening, Capt William Cooke captured the Priest's House, on the main plaza
Cos ordered town evacuated
intended to continue fighting from the Alamo
Col Jose Maria Gonzales - the man who had helped Viesca escape, came to Bexar and made contact with the garrison, asking them to change sides
a number of cavalry and 2 or 3 complete companies and their officers defected
Cos ordered Sanchez Navarro to do the surrender
Condelle argued that "el Battalon Morelos has never surrendered"
but they did this time
p 63
Dec 15, Burleson handed over the army to Frank Johnson and went home Smith didn't know this yet, and on the same day he named Burleson commander-in-chief of the volunteers (without asking the Council)
also on the 15th, Smith ordered Houston to figure out the plan to attack Matamoros although Mexia had failed, Jorge Fisher telling the Council that there was a plan for revolt within Mexico in Feb, and just waiting for Matamoros to be captured
p 64
Bowie ordered by Houston to go to Goliad, gather troops, march to Matamoros and hold it; if not possible, at least go to Copano
Dec 17, Grant's condition now noted as slightly wounded
more volunteers from US
Grant kept talking up Matamoros to them
p 65
the new volunteers were enthralled with the idea of the wealth they could get
p 66
Houston ordered Neill to take command of Bexar and its security; his ordered prob arrived there around Dec 26
p 67
Neill thus ordered to take care of all the troops Johnson and Grant had authority from General Council to march to Matamoros
neither man acknowledged the other's authority so soldiers had to take sides
Grant wrote out his will on Dec 29
Johnson decided to go San Felipe to figure out what was going on from the Council; he left on the 30th
as soon as he was out of sight, Neill said he was now in charge of the garrison and all the troops at Bexar
p 68
Grant then said he was marching to Matamoros and asked for volunteers
6 of the companies wanted to go with him Neill left with less than 1/3 of the garrison
the others set out on Jan 1, 1836 with 200 men, all the horses he could find and all the supplies
Chapter 4: Contending Chieftans
[edit]p 69
"Texan historians have not been kind to either James Grant or to the expedition he now led, and most have taken their cue from Sam Houston"
Houston pointed out that Grant not a Texan Grant had a financial and political stake in having the federalist govt restored and lived in Coahuila
p 70
"however, to charge that his self interest was the real or sole motivation for the Matamoros expedition overlooks the true complexity of his motives and ignores the wider political context in which the expedition had first been conceived and planned by the Mexican liberals and only later taken up by all parties in the Texian ranks"
after Texas declared independence, the British foreign secretary, Lors Palmerston said: "we must see whether the Band of outlaws who occupy Texas will be able to constitute themselves into such a community as it would be decent for us to make a Treaty with" and then "At all events it would not do for us to make a Treaty with a self-dominated State, till events had proved such a state could permanently maintain its independence"
p 71
as long as Texians claimed to be for the Const of 1824, they could look for support from other federalists
in Texas, both governor and council seemed content with the idea of taking Matamoros; didn't want to go further
Grant advocating that federalists would rise up and Tx would become a new country with TAmaulipas, Nuevo Leon, Chihauhua, Coahuila and New Mexico
p 72
"Grant was in effect promoting a republic of Greater Texas" - others would join us, not us join them
this area, which later became SW US and northern Mexico, had lots of silver mines
but others in Texas didn't like the idea - didn't want to be involved in a civil war further away
plus others wanted annexation by the US
p 73
Mexican agents did make complaints to the US about the militia companies going to Texas to join the fight - nothing was done to arrest them
Nuetrality Act of Apr 24, 1800 said that there could be fines up $1k and jail for up to 3 yrs if an American enlisted under a foreign power; and more if they mounted the expedition
but could only be prosecuted after it happened
"the cynical might well argue that the neutrality laws acted only to punish those who failed"
p 74
this was a repeat of what had happened in West Florida Spain was preoccupied with a war with France American filibusters declared an independent republic in West Florida in 1810 armed volunteers flocked from the US to support them when Spain complained, US sent regulars to protect the volunteers from the Seminoles (yeah, right)
p 76
Lord Palmerston, in London, was preoccupied with affairs in Europe and didn't want to get involved in the Texas matter
expressed confidence that Mexico could deal with the rebelliion
p 79
Johnson approached the council only when he got to San Felipe, not the governor
Johnson described grant as "a gentleman, scholar, patriot, and gallant soldier"
p 80
Bowie had already briefed the council on Houston's plan for Matamoros, and he had been given authority to raise a volunteer corps to go there
Jan 3rd, the Military Committee told the rest of the Council that going to Matamoros was "an expedition of the utmost importance at this time. It will give employment to the volunteers, until a regular army, sufficient for the protection of our country, can be raised and organized."
wanted Johnson to have command
p 81
authorization to raise troops doesn't mean being given command
while in San Felipe, Johnson also trying to get a commission for Grant and for Johnson's adjutant, Nathaniel Brister
Jan 6, Bowie presented to the council written orders he had from Houston to go to Matamoros
Councl suprised
Neill on Jan 1 had sent a courier to Houston to let him know that Grnat had taken the army
p 82
Smith got the message and told Houston to get to Goliad
Johnson told the Council he didn't want to lead the Matamoros expedition -- to much confusion at this time
so the council appointed Fannin, who had been commissioned a colonel in the regular army after Concepcion; would have been 2nd in command if Houston had an army
Jan 7 he accepted the duty of raise troops to go to Matamoros
p 83
then the resolution said he should take those troops on to Matamoros
p 84
Neill's letter to the council:
"You will doubtless have learned that we have no Provisions nor clothing in this garrison Since Johnson and Grant left, If there has Ever been a dollar Since I have no knowledge of it. The clothing Sent here by the aid, and patriotic operations of the Hounourable Council, was taken form us by the arbitrary Measures of Johnson and Grant."
p 85
Smith used this letter to call the council into an emergency meeting on a Sunday
he accused them of trying to ruin the country by sanctioning Grant's plan and his taking of all the supplies
Council members - and probably Johnson - didn't know that Grant would take everything
p 86
Smith threatened to dissolve the council the following day (Jan 11) if they didn't fix their "error"
They voted to impeach him instead and named Robinson acting governor
p 87
Jan 12, Council issued a proclamation denouncing Smith and tried to blame Smith for the problems at Bexar, including saying Grant got his authority from Smith - b/c Smith apointed Burleson without notifying the Council, and Burleson appointed Grant as his aid-de-camp, thus making him a colonel
Council then repudiated Grant
p 88
Jan 14, Johnson authorized to take over the Matamoros volunteers who had come from Bexar
Chapter 5: High Noon at Goliad
[edit]p 89
La Bahia was where the Atascosita Road crossed San Antonio River
90 mi downstream from Bexar 40 mi inland from Company Bay
Americans often wrote it as Labadee
Graant and his men road in on Jan 5, 1836 had been abt 1k Tejano inhabitants; most fleed
about 70 houses in the town of Goliad
p 90
Dimitt was married to Maria Luisa Laso, who was related to the de Leons
p 91
Dimitt said Matamoros campaign "would be putting the war in the hands of its lawful and proper owners .... It originated int he interior of the country, in a contest for power, and there it belongs"
Nov 18, schooner Hannah Elizabeth ran agranound at Matagorda Bay and was captures by Mexican Montezuma
Hanna E had supplies for the rebels and volunteers from New Orleans
one of the passengers was Dimitt's father in law, Carlos Laso he escaped from where they had been imprisoned in Matamoros and told Dimitt that Mexicans were planning to execute all the prisoners who weren't Tejanos
two days after hearing this, they declared independence in Goliad
pp 93-94
Dimitt refused to give Grant's men supplies, particularly flour and coffee Dimitt's men then issued their independence decree, and he ran up a flag of independence at the presidio - either a bloody arm and sword on a white ground or blue background with a single star and the word independence
Grant ordered the flag taken down because he and his men were federalists
both sides expeced a fight
Dimitt backed down - many of his own men didn't like him, and they were outnumbered
he gave them 3 months' worth of coffee and sugar
p 95
Dimitt resigned; Bowie hurried over
Grant rode to Tamaulipas to find Col Gonzales and his federalist cavalry; he left the volunteers under command of Robert Morris
these volunteers didn't recognize that Bowie had the authority over them, even though he'd been charged with leading the Matamoros expedition
most assumed Grant was acting according to Houston's orders
p 96
More men left hte Alamo, and Neill begging for people Neill reported that Sesma hadd 3k men in Laredo, and was intending to march 2k to Matamoros and 1k to Bexar
p 97
Houston sent Bowie to demolish the Alamo and remove the cannon
Houston having 2nd thoughts about Matamoros
p 98
Grant's 209 men were organized as an infantry battalion of 5 companies under Mjr Robert Morris cavalry under Capt Benjamin L. Lawrence
Morris the only one with a commission
the men were not properly enlisted in either the regular or the volunteer army
Grant had said they were working for the Federal Service of Mexico...but there wasn't one
essentially, they were Grant's private army
p 99
Houston got to Refugio, where Grant's men had marched, and ordered the regulars back to Goliad; he had authority over them
p 100
these were about 40 men; Ira Westover had 14 men he had recruited from the Irish settlers at San Pat and Refugio like Grant, they weren't Americans, and Houston was probably suspicious of their loyalties others commanded by Lt Francis W. Thornton were survivors of Mexia's Tampico expedition
they eventually left
Johnson caught up with the men on Jan 21 a.m., just before the men were supposed to parade so that Houston could reogranize them
now messy
p 101
Johnson's instructions didn't necessarily mean he was in charge - he and Fannin were likely intended to be subordinate to Houston
Johnson disliked Houston and had no intention of cooperating with him
Houston learned from Johnson that Henry Smith had been deposed and impeached
Houston now "politically isolated but also completely undermined his authority"
p 102
some of the volunteers believed Houston was against the Matamoros expedition only because Fannin had been asked to take charge of it
now it wouldn't be as easy for Houston to just muster the men into his army and take over; now they had a choice
he warned the men that Matamoros was outside the scope - their battle would be here, not a town outside our territory let the Mexicans come here, 'fatigued by long marches and privations'
didn't convince the men, so he said maybe we should just wait until reinforcements expected from Georgia and Alabama arrived
Capt Thomas Pearson gave a speech saying they had already waited a long time and no reinforcements or supplies had shown up, so why wait anymore
he said if you are ready to go to Matamoros, we're leaving at noon
p 103
Houston then spoke again: "Our proclamations to the other states of the Mexican confederation, asking them to support us in our struggle for the restoration of our former rights and for the protection of the Constitution of 1824, have, as you know, been without results"
in truth, the Mexican states were waiting for the Texans to come help them Houston said the Mexicans in Texas were centralists "Since it is impossible to call forth any sympathy from our fellow Mexican citizens and no support is to be expected from this side and as they let us, thesmallest of the provinces, struggle without any aid, let us then, comrades, sever that link that binds us to that rusty chain of the Mexican federation"
lots of cheers Houston still failed to get control of the army
he left and went to talk to the Cherokee until the end of Feb
the cavalrymen probably weren't there to listen to the speech; they may have been with Grant or were scouting
p 104
a few days after Houston left, only 60 of the men were willing to go to Matamoros Grant had returned by then
half of them decided to stay at Refugio until Fannin arrived; these men had now enlisted in the volunteers
p 106
of the men left with Grant, one group, under Tom Pearson, had come from New Orleans and dragged an 18-pounder cannon to Bexar; missed the siege by a few days
the other group, under Tom Lewellen, was some Texians from near San Augustine who had been in the seige in Milam's division; the others were from Mississippi
p 107
the men who decided to stay had a lot of foreigners = not Americans - and a lot of men from the northern US (NY and Penn)
Santa Anna was most likely right; the men with grant were adventurers and filibusters
about 64 of them left
hard to tell who was actually in charge Johnson's orders from the council on Jan 14 said he was in charge and Grant had no authority Houston seemed to believe Grant was at least the de facto commander
p 108
"James Grant, the rogue British agent still trying to drag Texas irrevocably into a Mexican civil war that would keep it out of American hands"
Chapter 6: Rio Grande
[edit]p 109
Fannin had been given orders by the council and by Sam Houston to take charge of the troops at Velasco, then send them Copano to meet up with other troops coming overland
p 110
at Velasco Fannin found Mjr William Ward with his man from Georgia, and a tiny company from Jy under Capt Burr Deval
p 111
also Capt Luis Guerra's artillery company, which had escaped from Tampico
altogether, about 200 men; Fannin was expecting 5-600
others supposedly very close, including 200 estimated to be coming from NY
the New Yorkers, under Col Edwin Morehouse, sailed on the Mattawamkeag on Nov 21. On Dec 2, they stopped at the Bahamas, a British colony, to buy provisions found the owner of one plantation away and helped themselves to all sorts of stuff a Royal Navy ship, HMS Serpent was nearby and chased down the ship
p 112
for 2 months they were heldas pirates by the Brits
p 113
Grant and other British agents in Mexico "were doing all they could to frustrate the Americans, they were doing so without any official sanction, encouragement, or coordination."
with no official word on what to do with the men he held, the Navy officer eventually ordered them released on Jan 23; these men didn't get to NO until Feb 12 and didn't manage to fight for Texas
Fannin waited until Jan 24, hoping they would turn up
p 114
landed at Aransas Pass on Jan 28; took a week to get to Refugio, 15 mi inland
no carts or teams to help cart the baggage
Grant had moved the men from Refugio to San Patricio, where he expected Fannin and the rest to show up shortly
San Pat was on the Nueces, the border with Tamaulipas, just E of where the Atascocita Rd crossed the Nueces and a few miles from Ft Lipantitlan
p 116
Grant and his men had 3 guns with them
came to San Pat at end of January didn't want to stay there long - needed to coordinate with the Tamaulipas federalists, primarily Jose Maria Gonzales or Placido Benavides
Benavides from Victoria and had commanded a company in Bexar turned down a regular commission in the cavalry
instead joined Grant and was a scout
Col Gonzales had about 240 Mexican troops with him somewhere south of the Rio Grande
Benavides had 47 men
about 100 local federalists under a Laredo resident Captain Antonio Canales - El Zorro
no general uprising yet, but Benavides was in contact with the alcalde of Matamoros, who was a go-between with Tamaulipas commanding general Gen Vital Fernandez, who was expected to declare for the 1824 const as soon as Texians attacked; that was another 400 men
Capt Nicolas Rodriguez, former commander of Ft Lipantitlan, said to be camped nearby, who had friends in San Pat
people of Tamaulipas and those on the Rio Grande not happy about the Goliad declaration of independence, and it mad them more hesitant to act
as soon as they reached San Pat, Grant took 20-25 men, prob Capt Tom Lewellen's company, to go find Rodriguez's men their intelligence said there were 24 Mexican soldiers
about 20 mi from San Pat, the Texians found them, captured them with no resistance, and returned to San Pat
p 118
they were also looking for horses to impress; Fannin didn't have any and wanted to mount his men
would be very difficult to march on foot across the Nueces Strip (a semidesert) and the Arroyoa Colorado, a tidal stream difficult to cross, about 30 mi north of the Rio Grande; 60 mi south of San Pat
p 119
the Tx set out on Jan 30 captured the horses from Rodriguez; he had been gathering them up for Urrea's army to use
Johnson estimated that with the capture of Rodriguez and his men, there would be smooth crossing to the Rio Grande; no one to get them
p 120
Johnson wrong
Johnson and Grant knew that Santa Anna was marching north from Saltillo with several thousand men
Rodriguez was simply Urrea's advance force
Santa Anna was aware that the Federalists were planning a larger revolt in Feb and he wanted to prevent it
pp 120-121
at least one of the men who briefed the General Council on the MAtamoros Plan, Don Pedro Miracle, was a Mexican double agent
p 121
the Texians were getting bad intelligence
Jan 15, Urrea sent to secure Matamoros with his Independent Division, then head up the Atascocita road
Urrea had a 180-member cavalry regiment of experienced troops with good arms
the infantry were to join him in Matamoros; 300 men from the Yucatan Activo Battallon, who came from Tampico
Most of these were Maya Indians who could not speak Spanish
p 122
Urrea was a committed federalist
Urrea born in Tucscon in 1795 entered the Spanish Army and fought Indians near Durangoo
Mexican minister in Columbia - left him suspicious of American motives raised troops in Durango in support of Santa Anna in 1832, when SA was a federalist
Urrea, on his march, tried to educate the locals that the Texians were really Americans wanting to secede from Mexico; goal was to appeal to the locals' patriotism (keep our territoty) and make them understand that they could expect to be abandoned by the tExians if that happened
Jan 25, skirmish at Guerrero, and Gonzales' men scattered
Urrea arrived in Matamoros on Jan 31
Feb 4, Johnson and Grant and teir men went across the Nueces
p 123
Grant took a group of 45 men across the Arroyo Colorado and got within 8-10 mi of Matamoros they gathered up horses from the Mexican ranchers in the area and retreated N; a norther came in; 2 men died of the cold;
Grant and about 100 animals reached San Pat again on Feb 8
while Grant was gone, Benavides then came up from Camargo with bad news - that Gonzales' men were scattered, and about 600 Mexican centralist troops now in Matamoros, with more expected; Cos marching to Bejar
believed to be simultaneous attacks on Goliad and Bejar
p 124
also during that absence, Rodriguez escaped and Morris didn't have enough men or horses to follow him probably had help from friends in San Pat
Morris was worried that Rodriguez knew too much and asked Benavides to go find Grant
Fannin thought Morris was about to be attacked now and sent Capt William Cooke with reinforcements to San Pat on Feb 8
the reinforcements arrived the same day Grant got back
p 125
Fannin then sent a letter saying he had been told by Houston to go to Goliad, since Mexican troops on the march
p 126
Fannin wrote to the council about what was going on council didn't have a quorum; Tx essentially leaderless
Rovinson wrote to Fannin that all previous orders he had been given - by Council, by governor, by Houston - were countermanded and he should do what he felt was best
"thus officially marked the end of the Matamoros expedition" - all the orders telling Fannin to march had been overturned
Grant and Johnson argued that they should press on now and Fannin should come to San Pat
p 127
still urging that Vital Fernandez and 800 troops would rise up if texians could only bring 3-400 men in
on his trip close to Matamoros, Grant had contacted General Fernandez and Pedro Lemus, the governor of Nuevo Leon
Johnson insisted that if they attacked Matamoros, the Mexican army would all be diverted there instead of into Texas
p 128
Johnson's assessment "overly optimistic" - ignoring Urrea and the fact that he had already dispersed the Fernandez troops also, Urrea was able to persuade many of the Mexican federalists to come to his side - he was a federalist, he was respected
Lemus was already making peace with Santa Anna
mutual distrust here - federalista nd centralists working together to defeat the Texians
Chapter 7: Go in and Die with the Boys
[edit]p 129
Grant set out without waiting to a reply to Johnson from Fannin; afraid that the reply would order the remaining troops back to Goliad
his expedition wasn't just to go get horses, it was also to link up with his federalist contacts
they needed some show of Mexican support or they wouldn't be able to convince Fannin to come join themselves
thought El Zorro/Antonio Canales might be persuaded to join them now, rather than waiting for the Texians to appear on the Rio Grande he was at Camargo
Feb 9 or 10, Grant rode out of San Pat with 100 cavalry
p 130
a few were recent arrivals also include Placido Benavides's men
a few hours after he left, a Mexican officer in full uniform appeared in San Pat. This was Lt Jesus Cuellar, the one who had guided Johnson and Grant in the siege of Bexar
he had letters from Grant back to Cooke saying that Cuellar had told him that Vital Fernandez had 1800 men and was ready to jonin them. Robert Morris had also sent a letter resigning from the Texian army and saying he was part of Federal service of Mexico
Cooke sent the letters on to Fannin; Grant and hism en were ignoring him by going to the Rio Grande
Fannin sent a third company, under Capt Burr Duval, to san Pat to try to get the guns and ammo back for the rest of the TExian army
p 131
a few days later, Duval and the two companies Fannin had already sent as reinforcements headed back to Goliad
just after crossing the Nueces, a Mexican federalist came up and told them that they could safely take Matamoros the next day, another Mexican came to join them, stating he was also a federalist; he left overnight, and they were sure he was a spy
they continued on to a ranch, Santa Rose, about halfway between Raymondville and Brownsville, about 30 m i NW from Matamoros
about half of the horses gave out Johnson and about 30 men stayed there
here, Grant and Johnson were told by locals that there was no chance they could successfully take Matamoros; they would be killed if they got there and that much of their intelligence was from spies/double agents
they should have gone back to the Nueces, but the horses were exhausted so Grant went to look for more horses
p 132
looks like Grant and his men went for a caballada guarded by about 50 Mexicans initially failed to find it
they managed to purchase about 100 horses and went back to re-unite with Johnson; arrived between Feb 18 and 21 Johnson and the others could now be remounted
but.... the Indians noticed that there were so many good horses
the guards at the one they couldn't find weren't to protect against Texians, but against the Comanche some bands roaming east as far as San Pat
on Feb 19, Comanche surrounded the Texian camp all night, yelling they disappeared by daylight - maybe noticed that the Texians were well armed
Feb 20, a rachero came to the Texians and said there were a lot of horses about 60 miles away (near Camargo)
p 133
he'd take them there - possible the herd they had orgiinally been trying to find
Grant said they should do it, despite the centralists approaching and the Comanches out there
"no obvious justification for plunging deeper into potentially hostile territory; other horses could have been found closer at hand along the Nueces"
likely the horses were an excuse for Grant to try again to contact Canales and his federalists
Johnson disagreed with Grnat going off for more horses Morris sided with Grant and Benavides, so the three of them took their men off
Johnson went north
Johnson got back to San Pat on Feb 24 - day after siege of Alamo started only a few men left to greet him sent the horses he had with him (he took all the extras) to Don Julian de la Garza's ranch 3 miles away with a few of his men to guard them
p 134
the rest of Johnson's men quarrtered in 3 difft houses
Johnson assumed Grant's men would be between him and the centralist forces (which they thought were still at Matamoros)
no precautions against an attack Several Mexicans came in during the day to say they didn't think the enemy was coming, everything okay
on the third day, Urrea's army arrived
Urrea crossed the Rio Grande as early as FFeb 17, leaving only 200 men behind in Matamoros he had 205 infantry and 188 cavalry with him
easily followed Johnson's men - their herd left a trail in its wake
Feb 25, Urrea took 100 infantry and 100 dragoons, and at 4 pm they set out to find Johnson's men
7 pm, cold winds
10 pm, scouts said that there were Texians at San Pat
they continued marching through the night
6 Yucatan soldiers died from exposure
about 11:30 pm, Urrea joined the advance forces in a woods wrote a note to Salvador Cuellar asking for intelligence
Salvador was the brother of Jesus, who was the go-between for Grant and Fernandez
p 135
possible that Jesus had been a double agent; possible the brothers did take different sides
Urrea's infantry joined him at dawn on the 26th
very bad weather
they left the road and went through the woods and creeks until they got to the Nueces River, a league above Lipantitlan about 11 pm
couldn't cross there, so had to backtrack
Cuellar came to tell him there were 70 Americans at San Pat
very, very cold
arrived in San Pat at 3 am and sent 30 men under Capt RFafael Pretalia to go to ranch of Julian de la Garza to attack the 12-15 Texians guarding the horses )said to be 150) there
attacked in San Pat at 3:30 am; rainy
in Johnson's house, still working at 4 am, Johnson, Daniel Toler, James Miller, and John Love
shooting in the street that let Johnson and his men escape came from Capt Tom Pearson and the 8 men with him in a house along the town square
he was asked to surrender, said no, and started firing they killed the Mexican colonel and wounded 2
3 more wounded and another killed in the resulting cross fire
Mexican dragoons decided this wasn't working and started preparing to set fire to the house to smoke them out
some of the Texians in the house said it was time to surrender now, and he said no the men called surrender; as they were leaving the house they were shot or lanced
St Pittman and 7 men with him had surrendered promptly at the 3rd house
p 137
Urrea's official dispatch to SA said the Americans were defending Ft Lipantitlan on the other side of the Nueces
Captain Pretalia led the Mexican assault at Julian de la Garza's house
The Texians and a group of Tejanos that were helping them were supposed to be taking turns to stand sentry, but eveyrone fell asleep in the cold
woke up when the first volley was fired; 2 were injured in that valley
4 men died, 8 were taken prisoner (3 Texians, the rest Tejano), all the horses captures
about 5 or 6 Texians total escaped
p 138
Toler, Miller, and Love stayed together and made their way towards Refugio
Johnson caught up with them in the morning and they stayed together
when they reached the road to refugio that night, they were joined by John F. Beck, who had also escaped
from Refugo, they sent a rider to Goliad, who told Fannin about it at 6 pm on Feb 28
p 139
feb 25, Fannin had learned from a letter from Travis and Bowie that Mexican Army actually in Bexar and asking for Fannin to reinforce
Feb 26, he started to go, but they came backafter 200 yrds
p 140
Frank Johnson arrived on Feb 29; he told fannin that he didn't know where Grant was and his own command was gone, and then he went on to San Felipe with Toler and Love; 3 others who had escaped chose to stay with Fannin; they died in the Goliad Massacre
Urrea taking his time - waiting for reinfrcements to attack the presidio, so in the meantime he went to look for Grant
unclear if Mexicans knew Grant was a British agent
p 141
Urrea posted men along the roads, and after 2 days got news of Grant's location
Grant and his men had left on Feb 20 but when found the Mexican guarding the caballado, they were driving the horses off; Grant's men overtook them at the Rio Grande; several of them drowned crossing the river.
did end up in Camargo, but no one there to meet Grant
Camargo ranchers eager to sell horses, and told him that another division of the MExican army would be entereing Texas in 2 weeks; either old news or a deliberate mistruth; Urrea had been in Texas for a week
false sense of security stayed at Camargo 3 days and then recrossed the Rio Grande Feb 27
p 142
4 days later, reached Rancho los Presenos on San Fernando Creek, 25 mi from San Pat, just a little east from present-day Alice
decided to stay there overnight
believed Johnson still in San Pat and the ranchers there treated them kindly...while at the same time sending word to Urrea where they were
Urrea marched that night, Mar 1, with 80 dragoons
set up an ambush at El Puerto de los Cuates de Agua Dulce, about 10 leagues from San Pat
Los Cuates = the forks; well-known crossing port
creek was 40-50 yds across and really deep, bordered by steep bluffs, except at the crossing point
lots of trees in the area
"Urrea divided his force into 6 groups and concealed them behind two large mottes or thick clumps of oak"
also had infantry under Col Martin Garay - unknown how many
may have even had the Victoriana Guardes
p 143
and the troops under Nicolas Rodriguez; likely up to 150 total
Urrea said Grant had 53 rifleman. American sources say only 26. However, they might not have counted Placido Benavides' men
Grant and his men were not expecting anything to happen; had had a good night, were going to be in San Pat by nightfall, all is good
midday Mar 2 reached Agua Dulce herding the horses, their line really strung out
Brown, Grant, Placido 2-300 yrd ahead of the rest when Urrea's men charged
complete surprise Many of the Texians fled bu were chased down and lanced off their horses
some tried to fight
p 144
much confusion - horses and cattle running loose many men dismounted and ran to the village; with some cover they could use their rifles
Grant and his little party turned back to the fight
Brown wrote "Wheeling around, we discovered our little company surrounded. In this critical situation we did not hesitate But determined to join our little band and sell our lives as dear as possible"
Americans mostly didn't have swords, so natural to try to shoot it out on foot
Urrea had anticipated this, thus the infantry
5 escaped to the little village just off the creek
infantry followed them
most of those men got away
2 were captured - Stillman S. Curtis and Nelson Jones
Reuben Brown also dismounted, either because his horse killed under him, or because he was trying to fight
Grant decided to make a run for it - battle already lost helped Brown up onto Morris's horse (Morris dead), and Grant told him to go
Grant rushed through the melee, shot a Mexican officer of his horse
Placido right behind him
Brown tried twice to get through and was repulsed
horses had had enough and stampeded broke the lines of dragoons
Grant and Brown now followed the horses
dragoons shot at them and wounded their horses, but mildly
p 145
they were headed for timber
dragoons kept coming closer trying to hit them with lances, then the Texians would fire with their pistols and they'd fall back
Mexicans kept attempting to surround them
ran 6-7 miles, toward Banquette
Brown siad Mexicans kept yelling at them to surrender and they wouldnt be killed, but Texians didn't believe it
p 146
Placido had the best horse, and the other two told him to go on, so they separated Brown tried tos hoot a dragoon who was trying to lance him but pistol wouldn't fire. Grant shot that soldier in the shoulder. Brown threw his empty pistol at another officer and hit him in the face, then dismounted and grabbed the lance from the man Grant had shot until another dragoon came up and said no more killing; Grant already dead
Grant tried to surrender by throwing his weapons away and dismounting
regardless, a dragoon rode up and ran Grant through with his lance many other soldiers then speared up - 10-12 officers
"an intriguing determination to make sure that Grant was well and truly dead. While it is possible that his death after having surrendered may simply have been one more random slaying by overexcited men, ...much more suggestive of a deliberate cold-blooded murder."
Urrea and his federalist friends may have wanted to make sure he wasn't taken prisoner and couldn't name names of those participating in the rebellions in the interior
p 147
Brown was roped with a lasso and taken prisoner, then led back to the place of the ambush one of the Texians, Joseph Carpenter, was fatally wounded but not dead; when that was discovered, a dragoon was ordered to dismount and kill him. Carpenter begged for his life but was struck on the head with an escopeta and died
all the bodies left where they fell prisoners taken to Matamoros
Chapter 8: From Sea to Shining Sea
[edit]p 148
Agua Dulce happened on March 2, the day the declaration of independence was issued
p 149
March 4 or 5, Lt Col Ward took half of Fannin's man to Refugio to evacuate the Ayers family and other colonists
caught by Urrea
Mar 14, day-long battle, all Americans killed, captured, or scattered in an escape attempt
Fannin waited for them for 3 days; decided to finally retreat on Mar 19
p 150
Mexicans called the battle of Coleto Creek the battle of Encinal del Perdido -wood of the lost ones. Another battle had taken place there on Jun 19, 1817 between Col Antonio Martinez, Spanish governor of Texas, and Mexican repubilcans under Col Henry Perry and Major JamesH. Gordon
p 152
Jan 23, General Edward Pendelton Gaines got orders to go to the Texas border and prevent "parties" from reaching Mexico...with an emphasis on Indians, not on Americans going in there
no one thought that the Mexicans would invade the US, but they didn't want the Indians to ally with Santa Anna
p 153
was told not to go further west than Nac
Indians, like the settlers, also trying to flee from the battle areas
by early April Gaines had his men in place. at this point, the Texians were losing, badly
Gaines requested that governors of Miss, Ala, La, and Tennessee call out their militias. He didn't have the authority, so they politely declined
April 14, Gaines got inaccurate reports that 1,500-2000 Indians marching with 1000 Mexican cavalry and that Nac had been attacked Not true at all great excuse, and Gaines ordered 13 companies of infantry regulars and 2 cannon to march west
if they ran into Mexican forces, this would likely have sparked a war
if Houston's army had listened to him and gone to Nac, they would have rendezvoused with Gaines
p 154
by sending Santa Anna to Washington, "it underlined to the world that San Jacinto had indeed been an American victory"
diplomatic recognition of Texas by US was hard to come by; passed on narrow margin on Mar 3, 1837, just before Jackson left office
p 155
May 1837, Mexican Congress was debating a proposal to sell Texas to Britain...Britain declined
p 156
Britain in no hurry to recognize Rep of Texas as still thought it was going to end up joining the US, so why antagonize Mexico in the meantime
p 157
as time went on, and Texas not annexed and Mexico not reclaiming it, change of mind; Nov 1840, Britain proposed a treaty recognized Texas and then committed to working as a mediator for a treaty between Texas and Mexico
1842, this was approved by Texas legislature; ratified by both on Jun 28, 1842
p 168
"For the United States the annexation of Texas paved the way for the final stages of the march to the Pacific Ocean"
p 169
Sep 1839, Antonio Canales did lead another federealist rebellion in the area and said they were the Republic of the Rio Grande, just as Grant had predicted Texan filibusters helped with, fighting under the Texas flag unable to capture Matamoros; Canales switched sides again
p 172
Reid concludes that "the Foreign Office knew a lot more about Grant's activities in 1835 and 1836 than it was ever willing to admit publicly"
Grant wrote his will in Bexar on Dec 29, just before he marched out bequest to his younger brother Hugh (who had also moved to Mexico), and then divide the rest bwetween his 9 children 2 executors: his brother and Daniel Toler, until Stewart reached adulthood
Mosely Baker found the will be chance tucked into a desk in San Felipe and pulled it out just before they burned the city
It eventually got to Toler during the Runaway Scrape
Hugh Grant now living in New Orleans, where he fled in 1835 after James had been arrested by Cos
p 175
most of Grant's assets now worthless or taken by Mexican govt
pp 175-178
much controversy over this will, fighting between Hugh Grant and Toler, and issues with whether some of the land certificates Grant had had were valid or not
took 10 years to process it all
p 179
the Scottish kids got nothing unknown if Guadalupe Reyes and her kids got anything
p 180
Reuben Brown spent 10 months in prison in Matamoros and then escaped with Samuel McKneeley
Bios
[edit]p 181
Frank Johnson b Oct 3, 1799 in Leesburg, Va trained as a surveyor came to Texas 1826 and laid out Harrisburg (also 1826)
surveyor in Ayish district, and then in Austin's colony in 1832
alcalde of San Felipe in 1831
delegate to convention of 1832