New Orleans and the Texas Revolution

7. San Antonio de B

On November 21, after the disastrous defeat at Tampico, General Mexía’s men continued to languish at the fort near the mouth of the Pánuco River. On the same day, Captain Robert Morris’s company of the New Orleans Greys finally arrived in San Antonio de Béxar, with Captain Breece’s company a few days behind. The company commanders reported to General Austin at his headquarters on the northeast side.1 The American volunteers discovered a military camp filled with discontented and poorly disciplined citizen-soldiers. William G. Cooke recalled“We found the Texian Army in a state of insubordination caused by frequent orders from the Commanding General to make a night attack on the town, which were as often countermanded.”2 The volunteers from New Orleans were astounded at the lack of military discipline.Hermann Ehrenberg recalls the comical scene of morning roll call of one nearby company: The company that lay opposite was,like the others,called out of its pleasant occupation of roasting its meat on the spits furnished by nature. But soon a small number of not fully clad warriors stood in front of their sergeant , who was waiting with the list in his hand waiting for the arrival of the others. They were without firearms, and most of them had in one hand a friendly wooden frying spit ornamented with good smelling roast and in the other the famous Bowie knife. Several did not fall in line, as their partially roasted meat did not permit them to leave it to its own fate, or possibly the threatening condition of the coffee did not allow them to leave the campfire. These certainly were important reasons and the sergeant decided to begin even if all the men of the company were not altogether . Alternatingly, now from the ranks and then from the fires, sounded the sonorous voice of a backwoodsman. Once a muffled“Here!” broke forth from under a bundle of woolen blankets in a tent,followed by a general laughing of the company.3 7 § san antonio de béxar, la bahía, and the texas navy General Martín Perfecto de Cós arrived in San Antonio on October 9.His forces consisted of more than 640 men,including 400 cavalry.Upon hearing of the capture of Goliad by the Texians, Cós centered his troops at San Antonio, garrisoning his command at the deserted and dilapidated mission called Mission SanAntonio deValero,also known as theAlamo.One of five Spanish missions built along the San Antonio River, San Antonio de Valero was the earliest , built in 1718. The presidio (or Spanish fort), San Antonio de Béxar, was built west of the mission across the river. Canary Islanders between Presidio San Antonio de Béxar and the west side of the river founded the first civil municipality inTexas,theVilla de San Fernando,in 1731.Various barrios,or neighborhoods , of the settlement continued to develop between San Pedro Creek to the west and the river to the east on into the early nineteenth century.Travelers described the settlement as a mixture of jacales, or huts, and flat-topped stone and adobe buildings.Two plazas were laid out with the parish church,San Fernando ,located on the west side of Plaza de las Islas.Directly west of the church was the Plaza de Armas, which was originally used as a military parade ground for the Spanish soldiers, later Mexican, garrisoned at Presidio San Antonio de Béxar. By 1819 the governmental amalgamation of the Villa de San Fernando, Presidio San Antonio de Béxar,the Pueblo deValero,and the surrounding barrios established the city of San Fernando de Béjar. Residents continued to call san antonio de béxar, la bahía, and the texas navy § 109 The Texas-Louisiana Frontier. Map by Gary Foreman. their village San Fernando de Béjar, or simply Béjar. By 1835 Anglos referred to the settlement as San Antonio de Béxar, San Antonio, Béjar, or Béxar.4 Mission San Antonio de Valero was secularized by 1794. Mission lands were granted to mission Indian families, Spanish soldiers, and civilians, and some stone from the mission walls and buildings were scavenged to build new buildings nearby. Spanish soldiers occupied the compound in the early 1800s, and the site became known as the“Alamo,” the same name as the hometown of a company...