Life and select literary remains of Sam Houston of Texas/Part 5
PART V.
LAST STATE PAPERS AS GOVERNOR OF TEXAS.
MESSAGE TO THE LEGISLATURE OF TEXAS.
Austin, January 13, 1860
Gentlemen of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:
APRESS of public business, which has not allowed time for the preparation of this communication, has prevented me from presenting at an earlier period, to the Representatives of the people, that information respecting the condition of our State affairs and the policy which will actuate my administration, expected at my hands.
In the short period which has elapsed since my inauguration it is not to be supposed that I have been able to obtain a critical knowledge of the workings of the different departments of government, so as to recommend such modifications and improvements as may be necessary to effect the purposes of economy and reform, and I can therefore but commend the application of those principles, which should extend to and influence all the avenues of government, affecting the discharge of official duty, of whatever grade, and controlling the operations of government, legislative and administrative.
The office of the Executive falls into my hands at a peculiar period in our history as a State. Contemplating alone the vastness of its extent, the diversified interests of its people, and the character of its resources, yet undeveloped, there is enough to demand continued labor and attention, in order to apply the benefits of government with sound discretion, and a proper regard to the relative demands of each interest; but apart from these, a considerable portion of our State bordering on the Rio Grande River is in a state of tumult and war, our frontier is unprotected and harassed by Indians, and our Treasury, which we have hitherto regarded as of exhaustless capacity, considering the probable expenses of government, is without a dollar subject to appropriation, beyond the amount necessary to defray the current expenses of government for the present year.
Difficulties like these impelled immediate action. The peace and security of the State being a paramount object, my attention has first been directed toward quieting the disorders upon the Rio Grande, and providing for the defense of our settlements against Indian depredations. With a due regard for the dignity of the State, should be united a desire to maintain peace within our limits. The bloodshed, the ravages, the desolation of an intestine war are to be considered; nor should we lose sight of the immense cost of prosecuting it. If, by the use of those means known to humanity and the laws of nations, such disturbances can be quelled, all the considerations mentioned demand their exercise.
Possessed of no information going to show the cause of the disorders existing upon the Rio Grande, the Executive could but act upon the fact of their existence; and accordingly on the 28th of December I issued a proclamation, which was printed in the English and Spanish languages, for circulation in that region; and a copy of the same is herewith submitted. This course is not only justified by precedent, but it is founded upon the principles of justice and humanity. Without assuming to know the origin of the disorders, it warns the offenders against the law of consequences of further rebellion, and exhorts a return to duty. If productive of the desired end, the saving of blood and treasure which would accrue would be considerations which should far outweigh the promptings of revenge, or the appeals of hostility against a race already degenerate from oppression. If such means fail, the law must be vindicated, and the offenders taught subordination by force.
The first official information received by the Executive from the seat of these disorders was the communication of Capt. W. G. Tobine, herewith submitted, bearing date at Ramireno, near Brownsville, December 16, 1859, and received by hands of Capt. A. C. Hill. I was gratified to learn from that dispatch that the Federal Government had interposed to restore order in that region, and that Major Hientzleman, an officer of discretion and valor, had assumed the control of military operations. Whatever complaints may be made against the Federal Government on account of the removal of the troops from that portion of our border, its promptitude in affording relief at this time is deserving of consideration. Satisfied from the report of Capt. Tobin that a sufficient force was on the spot to quell the disturbance, and that the Federal arm would be still further extended at the call of its officer commanding the troops there, I dispatched Capt. Hill with an escort of twenty men, with instructions to Major John S. Ford, acting as commander of the Texas forces, by virtue of an order from my predecessor. In that communication I stated that, "as the management of military operations has been assigned by the Federal Government to its officers, if troops are desired from Texas, it is proper that a requisition should be made by an officer of the Federal Government in command of the United States forces at that station." Should such a requisition be made, I am satisfied that citizen soldiery of the country will respond with alacrity to the call. On the loth of January the report of Major John S. Ford was received, dated at Ringgold barracks, December 29, 1859, giving an account of the engagement at Rio Grande City, in which the followers of Cortinas were completely routed and dispersed. The entire forces on this occasion were under the command of Major Hientzleman, to whom great credit is given for the disposition made of the troops. Our rangers behaved on this occasion, as on the former occasion, with that bravery which is a part of the Texan character, and the Federal troops likewise acted with great gallantry. So signal was the rout of the opposing forces that I think their uniting again is improbable. The report of Major Ford is herewith submitted.
On the 11th inst. I received dispatches from Major Wm. G. Tobin, dated Ringgold barracks, January 3d, 1860, showing the organization of the Texas forces, and the result of the elections held accordingly; also a letter from Major Hientzleman, in reply to Major Tobin, in which it is shown that in the opinion of that officer the forces of Cortinas "entirely dispersed," and that a force of the United States troops were on the march. All of these documents are respectfully submitted.
I have every reason to hope that ere this time the disorders have been quelled, and that the emergency which has called our citizens from their homes no longer exists.
Unable to form any correct conclusion as to the origin of these disorder.-, it has been impossible for me to lay before your honorable body the information which would otherwise be expected at my hands. Not only the Legislature, but the people of our entire State, on whom may fall the burthen of taxation to meet the cost of sustaining troops in the field, have a right to know the entire facts connected with the disturbance. If the causes are local in their nature, as I have supposed, or if a premeditated invasion was contemplated, it is equally important for our peace and safety that the truth should be placed before the country. Actuated by this motive, I determined to send commissioners without delay to Brownsville, and accordingly, on the 2d of January, Messrs. Angel Navarro, of Bexar, and Robert H. Taylor, of Fannin County, were commissioned for that purpose, and proceeded at once on their mission. These gentlemen both possess a knowledge of the Spanish language, and represent different sections of the State. From the tenor of their instructions, herewith submitted, it will be seen that all necessary discretion is given to them with reference to the State troops in that vicinity. If, after a conference with the Federal officer commanding, their services are deemed necessary, as soon as their report reaches the Executive it will be submitted to the Legislature for its consideration.
In whatever light we may view these disorders upon the Rio Grande, they may readily be traced to the insecure condition of our border arising from the withdrawal of the Federal troops. Mexico is in a continued state of anarchy; her population feel none of the influences of a stable government. Lawless chieftains plunder them with impunity, and light the torch of civil war at pleasure. Riot, murder, and revolution reign above law and order. Separated from Mexico as we are by a narrow river alone, and a continual intercourse going on between its people and ours, it is but natural that the unhappy influences of her condition should extend to our border. To prevent these influences operating upon the turbulent portion of our own population, as well as to check any effort on the part of the citizens of Mexico to aid them in setting the laws at defiance, the presence of the Federal troops is absolutely necessary; and in my opinion the disturbances may be attributed to the insecurity arising from their removal, which left no check against the influences of civil war in Mexico. I have full confidence that the Federal Government will not only guard against such exigencies in the future, but will, as it should, recognize as valid the acts of its military officer on the Rio Grande in assuming the control of our State troops, and reimburse Texas for the cost of pay and subsistence.
Notwithstanding the fact that no appropriation had been made by the Legislature to provide for the defense of our frontier, and the condition of the Treasury warranted but little hope of relief from that quarter, I could not disregard the claims of our frontier citizens to protection from marauding bands of Indians which infest our border, and accordingly at once took steps to call into the field a sufficient force to meet the present emergency. By virtue of the constitutional power vested in the Executive to resist invasion, I felt fully authorized to pursue this course, believing that the Legislature would provide the means of pay and subsistence for the troops. Instructions have been issued to Captains W. C. Dalrymple, Ed. Burleson, and John H. Connor, to raise each sixty men for immediate service. Since the initiative steps to effect this purpose were taken, the bill entitled "An act for the protection of the frontier," came into my hands. Inasmuch as the Legislature has thrown upon the Executive the entire responsibility of defending the frontier, it is but just to him and to the people of the State, that the Legislature should provide him with the means of meeting that responsibility, as the exigency before him requires. The bill in question but affirms a constitutional power already existing in the Executive. It provides the manner in which the troops shall be organized, and the rates at which they shall be paid; but the money by which they are to be paid and sustained in the field is unprovided for. Without a dollar at his command, it is impossible for the Executive to sustain rangers on the frontier, or accomplish much for the defense of the State; and although numbers of our citizens are ready to go to the scene of danger, relying upon the justice of the State to pay them for their services, yet they can not be expected to enter upon the dangerous service before them without necessary subsistence. The Executive is determined to use all the constitutional means in his power to give security to our border.
He will endeavor to send to the frontier efficient and reliable protection, and will call into the field no more men than appears absolutely necessary; but beyond this he has no power. The Legislature can alone provide and appropriate the money.
Our frontier people have long been harassed by Indians. They have been compelled, from time to time, to leave their homes in pursuit of them, to punish their aggressions, and recover property stolen. A feeling of insecurity exists which nothing but an active force, continually on the alert, can dispel. Scattered along the border, they are unable to get together in sufficient numbers to punish the enemy, without endangering their firesides. I have therefore determined to send them protection from the interior. If an emergency arise, or the Indians appear in force, they may then be called into service as minute men, without leaving their families long unprotected.
The defense of our settlements properly belongs to the Federal Government, and it is only in cases where protection is not extended by it, that we may resort to our own means of defense. It has been my belief for years that mounted rangers are the only species of troops calculated to afford efficient protection against roving bands of Indians. Thus far the Federal Government has not acted upon such a policy as respects our frontier. I shall at an early period urge upon the President of the United States, and the War Department, the necessity for such a force, as well as the propriety of mustering into the service of the United States the troops now being raised for the protection of our frontier.
I shall also urge upon the proper department, the importance of authorizing a treaty with all the Indian tribes on our border, and the payment of annuities directly to them, through a Texas agency, instead of by way of Arkansas as at present. The fact that these tribes respect the laws of Arkansas, and the civilized nations of Indians, and that no depredations are committed on that frontier, but altogether upon that of Texas, is a sufficient reason for believing that a change of policy in this respect would be beneficial.
In view of the continued depredations upon our frontier and the insecurity arising from the anarchical condition of Mexico, I shall take immediate steps for the organization of the militia, in accordance with the act of April 21, 1846. As our settlements widen, and the people of the interior become strangers to the incidents of border life, the use of arms and the knowledge of all that pertains to military duties, will not be kept up to that degree which will insure efficiency in the hour of danger. Military discipline is an important item in the education of a free people. Familiar with the use of arms, they can be made available at any moment to repel invasion or crush rebellion. I would commend to your honorable body, the propriety of making such appropriation as will be necessary to put our militia system into operation.
The Report of the State Comptroller, already laid before the Legislature, shows that we have very little to congratulate ourselves upon, on account of the condition of the Treasury. There remained in the Treasury at the expiration of the last fiscal year, ending on the 31st of August, 1859, the sum of $411,402.69, in U. S. bonds and specie.
The $2,000,000 set apart for the School Fund yet remains, but the balance of the $5,000,000 received from the sale of our Santa Fe territory to the United States, is exhausted, except the amount set apart for the University Fund, amounting to $106,972.26, and the balance mentioned of $411,402.69 belonging to the General Fund. Notwithstanding a continued revenue arising from taxation and the interest on our United States bonds, has flowed in a continued stream into the Treasury, the money has gone out in a ceaseless stream, until, instead of seeking, as has formerly been the case, for modes of emptying the public Treasury, we have to seek for modes of replenishing it. Added to the revenue of the fiscal year, the balance in the Treasury on the ist of August, 1859, will but little more than meet the ordinary expenses of Government; and to make it do this, economy is necessary.
We have a force in the field upon the Rio Grande, and the frontier is to be protected from the Indians. We can not expect our citizens to wait the delay to be experienced in our endeavors to obtain the recognition of our State forces by the United States. They must be provisioned and paid. Common justice demands that the State should recompense them, and not force them to wait until the General Government shall make the necessary appropriation. To meet these extraordinary expenditures by means most prudent, is an object which I especially enjoin on your attention. Every avenue of extravagance should be closed, every proper means of retrenchment should be adopted. The keys of the Treasury should be held with an honest grasp, and no appropriation be made which is not necessary and strictly in accordance with law. Every disbursing officer of the Government should be held to strict accountability, and no stretch of authority be permitted in the exercise of the power confided to him. What economy will not accomplish can, in my opinion, be best supplied by taxation. Texas has learned some experience from going into debt, which she will do well to remember, and I trust she will guard against its consequences in future.
The various departments of Government should, in my opinion, be made, as far as possible, self-sustaining, and where it is impossible, from their nature, to make them so, a rigid exaction of duty at the hands of all those who are in the employ of the Government should be required. No free Government can afford to establish sinecures, or to support idleness. The money which comes from the pockets of the people, should be economized for their good, and all who are the recipients of it should render a fair recompense of time and labor. The subjects are within the province of the Legislature. The Executive is powerless, and if reform is needed in any of these respects, it falls upon the Legislature to inquire into abuses, if there be any, and provide an immediate remedy.
The deficit in the revenue of the Land Office, added to the fact that the business of that department does not keep pace with the demands upon it, furnish subjects for your consideration.
The interests of the State demand that it should be self-supporting, and the interests of the people demand that its business should be brought up at the earliest possible period. A large force is already employed in that department, but the issuance of patents has been delayed, and it remains for the Legislature to discover whether this is to be attributed to the amount of labor performed by the employés of the Government, or the fact that the force is inadequate to the demands of business. If the latter, it is false economy to allow a further accumulation of business, and thus cause a still greater delay. The holders of our land certificates are entitled to their patents, and if an additional force is necessary, it should at once be provided. The deficit in the operations of that department, estimated for the present fiscal year, ending August 31, 1860, at $24,000, shows the necessity of prompt legislation to bring its affairs up to a proper standard. If the fees paid by those who have business with that department do not meet its expenses, they should be increased; if, on the other hand, the deficit arises from the fact that a part of the time of that department is occupied by business for which no fees are provided by law, those who consume the time of the employés in the transaction of their business should be compelled to pay for the same. In my opinion, the affairs of that office can best be brought to a self-supporting standard, by providing an entire system of fees, covering the entire ground of its operations, and providing at the same time for payment of its employés, wherever the same is practicable, in proportion to the labor they perform.
I can not press too earnestly upon the Legislature the subject of common school education. The success of the system already in operation is established beyond a doubt. Its application is general, and its defects as few as any system which could be applied to a population as scattered as ours. The nucleus of a complete system exists already; and we have in our public domain the means of strengthening it until its capacity will equal the demands made upon it as our population increases. No better use can be made of the proceeds of the sale of the alternate sections of land reserved to the State for any cause, than to apply the same to this fund.
I would also commend to your consideration the importance of extending a reasonable aid to institutions of learning, now in operation in our State, supported by private enterprise, and encourage by a general law the establishment of others. Our citizens have already displayed much zeal and enterprise in rearing up in our midst institutions which are accomplishing great good. To sustain these is difficult, and as the benefits arising from these are to be felt in the general prosperity of the State, and the intelligence of its entire people, a proper encouragement at the hands of the Legislature should be extended. Surrounded by proper guards, a measure of this character would be productive of great good.
The establishment of a university is, in my opinion, a matter alone for the future. At this time it is neither expedient nor is it good policy to provide for the sale of those lands set apart for the university fund. If at some future period it should be deemed expedient or in keeping with a more enlarged policy to devote our entire energies to a more general diffusion of knowledge than a university would afford, or even if the voice of the State should demand the establishment of one, these lands will then provide the means of advancing the cause of education. When that period arrives their value will be greatly increased. If sold now but little will be realized from them, and before the expiration of twenty years, the time upon which over fifty thousand acres have already been sold, the lands will be worth more than three-fold the amount they should bring now, with accumulated interest.
So far as the one hundred thousand dollars of bonds and their interest, taken from the general and applied to the university fund by the last Legislature, are concerned, I believe the condition of the Treasury and our immediate necessities demand that the act be repealed, and the money again placed subject to appropriation. We need money for the protection of our frontier, and to save us from taxation; more than for a fund which promises no immediate benefit. Our common school fund already provides for the education contemplated by the Constitution; and if this amount, thus unnecessarily withdrawn from the general fund, will reduce the burthens of taxation, the people will be better able in the future to bear taxation to support a university, if one should be necessary. I have long regarded our present land system as defective; and believe with the framers of the Constitution of the Republic, that our public domain should be sectionized. The Federal Government has adopted this system with reference to its public lands; and all of the difficulties which surround our titles are obviated. We can not redeem the past, but we can provide for the future. If all of our public domain were surveyed by competent persons, who would be willing to take a portion of our lands as compensation for their labor, it would greatly facilitate the settlement of the country, and give security to our whole land operations. It would also furnish some data upon which to base conclusions as to the value of our lands, and if accompanied by the researches of a geological and agricultural bureau, would vastly tend to the development of the resources of our State. Our lands, if divided into sections, half and quarter sections, would meet a ready sale; whereas, at present, the difficulty attending our land titles makes many persons loth to file their certificates, lest they may conflict with private locations; but if their metes and bounds were declared by the State none of this apprehension would exist.
I believe that the policy of extending our frontier too rapidly has already resulted in great loss of life, owing to the sparse settlements being an easy prey to savages. If a base line were run at the extreme edge of our present settlements, and the territory beyond withdrawn from location and settlement, we could then, by a liberal policy which would give an alternate quarter section of land to every actual settler who would reside upon and cultivate the same for two years, draw to our frontier a host of hardy pioneers, who would not only be able to resist the encroachments of the Indians, but soon acquire strength sufficient to intimidate them. If this plan were adopted, and a force of Texas Rangers, authorized by the United States, kept actively scouting in our territory beyond the settlements, we would cease to hear of those calamities which now continually shock our ears Thus our frontier could be gradually extended, the lives of our citizens spared, and a vast amount of money necessary to protect the present scattered settlements saved to the Treasury. The alternate quarter sections reserved would be increased in value from the occupancy of the settler, while he would be benefited by receiving the land at the bare cost of the fee of patenting and surveying. I believe that the policy of giving land to actual settlers is a good one, but we should at the same time endeavor to make our settlements compact, and should also confine our donation policy alone to the settler and his immediate heirs, and not extend it to his assignees.
As one means of replenishing our exhausted Treasury I would commend the immediate sale of all lands which shall be found to be forfeited to the State for non-payment of taxes; and such legislation should be adopted as will induce the purchase of these lands, and give security to the titles made to the same. A rigid system for the collection of taxes is necessary, so that all branches of business and all classes of property-holders may pay their proportion toward bearing the expenses of government. Some means should also be adopted by which the various assessors and collectors of the State would be able to secure the payment of proper taxes upon lands owned out of their respective counties. It is a notorious fact that but few of the lands upon which taxes are paid in counties distant from their location, afford the State an equitable revenue. While it is not fair that parties should be compelled to pay their taxes on lands in the counties in which the lands lie, it is no more than just that the State should provide some standard for their valuation, where they are not so paid. I can. not too earnestly press upon the Legislature the necessity for economy in reference to the public lands. They are now all that we may draw upon for the education of the people and development of our resources. Every citizen of Texas has an interest in the public domain, and the representatives of the people should regard it as their duty to refuse to squander them in profligate schemes, or to meet the ends of special legislation.
The Executive would also suggest some change in the mode of collecting the revenue. The amount of labor required at the hands of assessors and collectors, when compared with the compensation they receive, is so great that but few men of competent business talent can be induced to accept the office. The Legislature should, in my opinion, so amend the revenue laws as to secure the services of responsible men, who can not be imposed upon. The task of visiting the domicile of every citizen in order to obtain the valuation of his property is arduous, and it is in but few counties that the officer is even reasonably paid for his labor.
The several railroad charters passed since my induction into office have met my approval. The terms are explicit, and in accordance with the general railroad law of the State. No charter will receive my assent which does not contain those proper guards against fraud, imposition, and reckless speculation which are necessary at once to guard the interests of the State and the pockets of the people. Corporations have so often trampled upon the rights of the private citizen that we should be careful when we grant them privileges that we part with no right belonging to the people. The State has already been generous; and her generosity has in several cases been abused. We can yet afford to be generous in our railroad policy, but we should make such terms as will secure every interest to be affected. It will be my endeavor to exact at the hands of every railroad company in the State, a strict compliance with the terms of the charter. The benefits conferred are so great, and the terms made by the State so easy, that there is little room for excuse in case of a failure to comply with the law.
The improvement of our rivers under the act of August 1, 1856, will receive that attention at my hands which the importance of the subject demands. To many sections of the country these natural channels of transportation are of great utility. It will be my endeavor to employ practical men, acquainted with the nature of our rivers, to superintend their improvement, and report upon the manner in which contractors have performed their duty.
I can see but little utility in the office of State Engineer under our present system of railroad and river improvements. It is impossible for one individual to supervise all of the works in progress in the State, In the immediate locality of our rivers men can be found fully competent to decide upon the proper method of their improvement. The railroad law already provides that the company for whose benefit the examination is made shall pay the expenses of the same. The law should plainly designate what the nature of the expenses shall be, and the manner in which the examination shall be made, in order to prevent corruption; and also establish the fees and duties of the examining board, which can be appointed for the time being, and thus save the State the cost ol a salaried officer.
I would commend the continuance of the geological survey, and would suggest, as an auxiliary, the establishment of an agricultural bureau, with the view of collecting agricultural statistics, and developing our general agricultural interests.
It will be necessary that the Legislature provide further prosecution of the boundary survey for establishing the line between the United States and Texas, in accordance with the act approved January 23, 1858. How far that survey has been prosecuted the Executive has not been able to learn. It remains for the Legislature to inquire into the manner in which the appropriation of $20,000, made by the last Legislature, has been expended, what amount will still be necessary to complete the survey, and make an appropriation for the same.
I would recommend to your consideration the propriety of changing the time for the meeting of the Legislature until the 15th of December, or some early period before the time allotted for the inauguration of Governor. Our experience under the present arrangement has shown that but little legislation of importance is effected before the incoming of the new administration, and I believe the change would result in a great saving of money to the State.
So much trouble has heretofore arisen in reference to our public printing, that it behooves the present Legislature to provide all necessary regulations against fraud and misconstruction of the laws regulating the same. The duties ot the public printer, like all other officers, should be plainly defined. The law should provide against the latitudinous construction, by which thousands of dollars may be swept away from the Treasury upon a plea of custom, and explicitly declare that the work shall not be "leaded," but shall be "solid"; and that no unnecessary blanks be allowed. The various reports of public officers printed for the use of the Legislature should be declared not to be part of the journal, and that they shall not be printed as appendices to them. The present law is defective in these respects, and I commend to the Legislature the propriety of amending it so as to meet not only these, but all other objections.
Upon the action of the Legislature depends to a considerable extent the construction to be given to the present contract lor the public printer. It is for the Legislature to say, after the matter has been fully investigated, whether the charges made by the public printer for the past four years were correct, and in accordance with law. If they are not, and money has been illegally drawn from the Treasury, it is not only in accordance with justice but precedent, that restitution be made.
In providing a means to disseminate the laws it seems to the Executive that a regard should be had to the means most likely to bring them within the reach of the great mass of the people. I do not believe that the present mode of distributing them is calculated to accomplish this end. But few individuals get possession of them, and frequently long after thay have gone into effect. The people have a right to know the law, and the Legislature should seek that channel of communication which is most accessible. I believe that if a portion of the money now expended in printing was devoted to the publication of the laws in one newspaper in each county in the State, or at least one in each judicial district, the benefit to the community would be far greater than that received by printing them in pamphlet form alone. A much smaller number in pamphlet form would then suffice, and the expense to the State would be but little, it any, greater. The cost of publishing the general laws in the manner mentioned would be but slight, and if at the same time, by the distribution of the public funds, the entire press of the State is benefited to any extent, it is an object for favorable consideration. Nothing has more contributed to the prosperity of Texas than the energy and perseverance of the press. It is a powerful auxiliary to freedom everywhere, and when actuated by that feeling of responsibility which points toward impressing the public mind, by means of correct information, with a true sense of right, and a proper moral tone, rising above the bickerings of party or personal abuse, it may be relied on as one of the bulwarks of liberty, to be sustained and defended by every free people.
I would suggest to the Legislature the propriety of adopting such measures as will urge upon Congress the justice of paying to Texas the balance now in the Treasury of the United States on account of our public debt. In the present condition of our Treasury this amount becomes important. Texas is entitled to it, and should receive it without delay.
The time has again arrived when an examination of the affairs of the State penitentiary is called for. An investigation of its financial and sanitary condition is necessary, that the Legislature may be able to judge as to the legislation necessary to sustain it properly.
The law passed by the last Legislature, which grants a preemption privilege for every three negroes an individual may own, is, in my opinion, based upon erroneous ideas of the institution of slavery, calculated to create distinctions between rich and poor, and to confer exclusive benefits upon one class of our citizens at the expense of the other, and recognizes the idea that government is bound to make the rich richer, and the poor poorer. In the eye of the law all men should stand equal. To draw a distinction between those of our population who have not been able to acquire slaves, and those who have, is, in my opinion, impolitic, and I respectfully commend to the Legislature the immediate repeal of the law.
I can not refrain from congratulating the Legislature upon the triumph of conservatism, as seen in the many evidences of the determination of the masses of the people of the North, to abide by the Constitution and the Union, and to put down the fanatical efforts of misguided abolitionists, who would endanger the safety of the Union to advance their vapid schemes. That their efforts will so operate upon the impending struggle as to stay the hand of slavery agitators, is to be hoped. This outspeaking of the people should be received in our midst as the evidence that notwithstanding the ravings of deluded zealots, or the impious threats of fanatical disunionists, the love of our common country still burns with the fire of the olden time in the hearts of the American people. Nowhere does that fire burn with more fervor than in the hearts of the conservative people of Texas. Satisfied that the men whom they elected at the ballot-box to represent them in Congress will bear their rights safely through the present crisis, they feel no alarm as to the result. Texas will maintain the Constitution, and stand by the Union. It is all that can save us as a nation. Destroy it, and anarchy awaits us.
We have in our own Constitution the adaptation of those principles of republicanism which are the basis of the Constitution of the Union. The representatives of the people are called upon by the responsibilities of the trust reposed in them, to hold that instrument sacred, and to construe it strictly. The Executive will guarantee on his part that no watchfulness shall be spared in guarding over the public weal, or in maintaining the Constitution in its full intent and meaning.
Sam Houston.
MESSAGE TRANSMITTING RESOLUTIONS OF THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
Executive Office, |
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Austin, Texas, January 24, 1860. |
Gentlemen of the Senate and of the House of Representatives:
The following resolutions and autograph letter I have received from the Governor of South Carolina, with a request therein that I transmit the same to your honorable body:
Resolutions in Relation to Federal Relations.
"Whereas, The State of South Carolina, by her ordinance of A.D. 1852, affirmed her right to secede from the confederacy whenever the occasion should
arise, justifying her, in her judgment, in taking that step; and, in the resolution adopted by her convention, declared that she forbore the immediate exercise of that right from considerations of expediency only: And whereas, more than seven years have elapsed since that convention adjourned, and in the intervening time the assaults upon the institution of slavery, and upon the rights and equality of the Southern States, have unceasingly continued with increasing violence and in new and more alarming forms: Be it therefore
"1. Resolved, unanimously. That the State of South Carolina, still deferring to her southern sisters, nevertheless announces to them that it is the deliberate judgment of this general assembly, that the slaveholding States should immediately meet together to concert measures for united action.
"2. Resolved, unanimously. That the foregoing preamble and resolution be communicated by the Governor to all the slaveholding States, with the earnest request of this State that they will appoint deputies, and adopt such measures as will, in their judgment, promote the said meeting.
"3. Resolved, unanimously. That a special commissioner be appointed by his Excellency the Governor, to communicate the foregoing preamble and resolutions to the State of Virginia, and to express to the authorities of that State the cordial sym.pathies of the people of South Carolina with the people of Virginia, and their earnest desire to unite with them in measures of common defense.
"4. Resolved, unanimously, That the State of South Carolina owes it to her citizens to protect them and their property from every enemy, and that for the purpose of military preparation, for an emergency, the sum of one hundred thousand ($100,000) dollars be appropriated for military emergencies."
Executive Department,
Columbia, S. C, December 30, 1859.
His Excellency, Samuel Houston:
Dear Sir:—I have the honor to enclose certain resolutions which passed unanimously both branches of the Legislature of South Carolina, in one of which is an earnest request that your State will appoint deputies, and adopt such other measures as will promote a meeting of slaveholding States in convention. You will see by the preamble to the resolution that South Carolina, as a sovereign State, claims the right to secede whenever she may think it expedient to do so, but she much prefers concerted action, and is willing to follow any lead. Be pleased to submit the resolutions to your Legislature at the earliest moment. With great respect and consideration,
I am, yours truly, Wm. H. Gist.
This is done in accordance with the spirit of courtesy which should actuate the Executive of one State in his intercourse with that of another. At the same time, I deem it due to myself, as well as to your honorable body, to enter my unqualified protest against, and dissent from, the principles enunciated in the resolutions.
The reasons assigned seem too insufficient to justify the measures recommended, unsupported as they are by facts to establish their soundness. They appear to be the affirmation of the ordinance adopted by South Carolina in 1852, well known to be based upon the adoption by Congress of the compromise measures of 1850. These measures were indorsed by the people of Texas through their popular voice at the ballot-box; and as no recent incentive to action on the part of South Carolina appears other than that " the assaults upon the institution of slavery, and upon the rights and equality of the Southern States, have unceasingly continued," the Executive is led to believe that these measures, so emphatically indorsed by the people of Texas, were one, if not the chief of the " assaults " enumerated.
Were there no constitutional objections to the course suggested by the resolutions I cannot perceive any advantage that could result to the slaveholding States, or anyone of them, in seceding from the Union. The same evils, the same assaults complained of now, would still exist, while no constitution would guarantee our rights, uniting the strength of a Federal Government able and willing to maintain them; but an insuperable objection arises in my mind. The course suggested has no constitutional sanction, and is at war with every principle affecting the happiness and prosperity of the people of each individual State, as well as their right in their national capacity.
For years past, the doctrines of nullification, secession, and disunion have found advocates in Southern States as well as Northern. These ultra theories have, at different periods, raged with more or less violence, and there have not been wanting persons to fan the flame of discord, and to magnify imaginary evils into startling realities. Confounding the language of individuals with the acts of Government itself, they who desire disunion at the South are not satisfied with the Constitution fairly and honestly interpreted by the highest court in the country, and the law faithfully and impartially administered by the Federal Government (even to the exercise of all its powers) to protect the rights of property and guarantee the same, are ready to seek relief from abolitionism in disunion.
It is not to be supposed that the people of the South regard the institution of slavery as possessing so little moral strength as to be injured by the "assaults " made upon it by a fanatical element of Northern population, who so long as they stay at home do us no harm, and but excite a pity for their ignorance and contempt for their ravings. So long as a government exists, ready and willing to maintain the Constitution, and to guard every citizen in the enjoyment of his individual rights, the States, and the citizens of the States, may rest secure. Ungenerous and uncharitable as are the assaults made by a class of the North upon the peculiar institutions of the South, they would exist from like passions and like feelings under any government; and it is to the Constitution alone, and the Union possessing strength under it, that we are indebted for the preservation of those separate rights which we see fit to exercise. No matter to what extent these passions may go, the Federal arm is to be stretched forth as a barrier against all attempts to impair them.
It is to be presumed that the raid upon Harper's Ferry, by Brown and his miserable associates, has been one of the causes which have induced these resolutions by the Legislature of South Carolina. In my opinion, the circumstances attending that act have furnished abundant proofs of the utility of our present system of government; in fact, that the Federal powers have given an evidence of their regard for the constitutional rights of the States, and stood ready to defend them. It has, besides, called forth the utterance of the mighty masses of the people, too long held in check by sectional appeals from selfish demagogues. and the South has the assurance of their fraternal feelings. The fanatical outrage was rebuked and the offenders punished. Is it for this that the Southern States are called Upon to dissolve the fraternal ties of the Union, and to abandon all the benefits they enjoy under its aegis, and to enter upon expedients in violation of the Constitution and of all the safeguards of liberty under which we have existed as a nation nearly a century? In the history of nations, no people ever enjoyed so much national character and glory, or individual happiness, as do today the people of the United States. All this is owing to our free Constitution. It is alone by the union of all the States, acting harmoniously together in their spheres under the Constitution, that our present enviable position has been achieved. Without a Union these results never would have been consummated, and the States would have been subject to continual distraction and petty wars. Whenever we cease to venerate the Constitution, as the only means of securing free government, no hope remains for the advocates of regulated liberty.
Were the Southern States to yield to the suggestion of South Carolina, and, passing over the intermediate stages of trouble, a Southern Confederacy should be established, could South Carolina offer any guarantee for its duration? If she were to secede from the present Union, could one be formed with a Constitution of more obligatory force than the one that has been formed by our fathers, in which the patriots and sages of South Carolina bore a conspicuous part? Sever the present Union—tear into fragments the Constitution—stay the progress of free institutions which both have sustained, and what atonement is to be offered to liberty for the act? From whence is to come the element of a "more perfect Union" than the one formed by the men of the Revolution? Where is the patriotism, the equality, the republicanism, to frame a better Constitution? That which South Carolina became a party to in 1788, has to this period proved equal to all the demands made upon it by the wants of a great people, and the expansive energies of a progressive age.
Neither in peace nor in war has it been found inadequate to any emergency. It has in return extended the protection which union alone can give. The States have received the benefits of this Union. Is it left to them to abandon it at their pleasure—to desert the Union which has cherished them, and without which they would have been exposed to all the misfortunes incident to their weak condition?
The Union was intended to be a perpetuity. In accepting the conditions imposed prior to becoming a part of the confederacy, the State became a part of a nation. What they conceded comprises the powers of the Federal Government; but over that which they did not concede their sovereignty is as perfect as is that of the Union in its appropriate sphere. They gave all that was necessary to secure strength and permanence to the Union—they retained all that was necessary to secure the welfare of the State.
Texas can not be in doubt as to this question. In entering the Union, it is not difficult to determine what was surrendered by an independent Republic. We surrendered the very power, the want of which originated the Federal Union—the right to regulate commerce with foreign nations. As an evidence of it we transferred our custom-houses, as we did our forts and arsenals, along with the power to declare war. We surrendered our national flag. In becoming a State of the Union, Texas agreed "not to enter into any treaty, alliance. or confederation, and not, without the consent of Congress, to keep troops or ships of war, enter into any agreement or compact with any other State or foreign power." All these rights belonged to Texas as a nation. She ceased to possess them as a State; nor did Texas, in terms or by implication, reserve the pov/er or stipulate for the exercise of the right to secede from these obligations, without the consent of the other parties to the agreement acting through their common agent, the Federal Government. The Constitution of the United States does not thus provide for its own destruction. An inherent revolutionary right, to be exercised when the great purposes of the Union have failed, remains; but nothing else.
Might not South Carolina, if a new confederacy were formed, at any time allege that an infraction of the new Constitution, or some deviation from its principles had taken place? In such an event, according to the principles now laid down by her, she would then exercise the same power which she now assumes. Grant her assumption of the right of secession, and it must be adopted as a general principle. Massachusetts may then nullify the fugitive slave law by virtue of her right as a sovereign State, and when asked to obey the Constitution, which she would thus violate, quietly go out of the Union.
It has been remarked by a statesman of South Carolina, when commenting upon the alleged aggressions of the North upon the South, that " many of the evils of which we complain were of our own making."
If we have suffered from our own bad policy in the Union—from giving control of affairs to men who have not calculated well as to results (the Union has enabled us to retrieve many of these false steps), and at no time, since the history of our Government, have so many of the safeguards of law been thrown around our peculiar institution—it is for us to sustain it and ever)' other right we possess in the Union. Sustained by the Federal arm and the judiciary, we may rely upon the maintenance of these rights which we know we possess. Whenever these are taken from us, the Constitution has lost its power. There will be no Union to secede from, for in the death of the Constitution, the Union likewise perishes; and then comes civil war, and the struggle for the uppermost. If the present Union, from which we are asked to secede, does not possess in itself all the conservative elements for its maintenance, it does seem to me that all political wisdom and binding force must be set at naught by the measures proposed.
So long as a single State reserves to herself the right of judging for the entire South as to the wrongs inflicted, and the mode of redress, it is difficult to determine to what extent the theory would be carried.
Texas is a border State. Indians ravage a portion of her frontier. Mexico renders insecure her entire western boundary. Her slaves are liable to escape, and no fugitive slave law is pledged for their recovery. Virginia, Missouri, and Kentucky are border States, and exposed to abolition emissaries. Have they asked for disunion as a remedy against the assaults of abolitionism? Let dissolution come, and the terrible consequences will fall upon all those first, and with double force. South Carolina, from her central position, the sea upon one side, and a cordon of slave States between her and danger, has had but little reason for apprehension. Those who suffer most at the hands of the North seem still to bear on for the sake of the Union. When they can bear no longer they can judge for themselves, and should their remonstrances fail to call the enemies of the Constitution back to duty, and the Federal Government cease to protect them, the pathway of revolution is open to them.
To guide us in our present difficulties, it is a safe rule to borrow experience from the sages and patriots of the past. Beginning with the father of our country, and great apostle of human liberty, George Washington, I am happy to find my opinions on this subject have the sanction of all those illustrious names which we and future generations will cherish so long as liberty is a thing possessed or hoped for. In his farewell address, he says:
"The unity of government which constitutes you one people is also now dear to you. It is justly so, for it is a main pillar in the edifice of your real independence—the support of your tranquillity at home and your peace abroad, of your safety, of your prosperity, of that very liberty which you so highly prize. But as it is easy to foresee that from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken—many artifices employed, to weaken your minds in the conviction of this truth; as this is the point in your political fortress against which batteries of internal and external enemies will be most constantly and actively (though often covertly and insidiously) directed—it is of infinite moment that you should properly estimate the immense value of your National Union to your collective and individual happiness; that you should cherish a cordial, habitual, and immovable attachment to it, accustoming yourself to think and speak of it as the palladium of your political safety and prosperity— watching for its preservation with jealous anxiety—discountenancing whatever may suggest even a suspicion that it can in any event be abandoned; and indignantly frowning upon the first dawning of every attempt to alienate one portion of our country from the rest, or to enfeeble the sacred ties which now link together the various parts."
It must be recollected that these sage admonitions were given to a people, and to the sacred cause of liberty, to which a long life of arduous toil and unselfish devotion had been given. Temporary excitement, fanaticism, ambition, and the passions which actuate demagogues, afforded no promptings to his fatherly teachings. They were those of a mind which felt that it was leaving a rich heritage of freedom to posterity, to whom was confided the worthy task of promoting and preserving human freedom and happiness.
Next among the patriot statesmen who devoted their lives to the achievement of our independence as a nation, is to be mentioned the venerated name of Thos. Jefferson. In relation to the subject of secession and disunion, we find the following expression of his patriotic feelings. In June, 1798, at a time when conflicting elements seemed, in the estimation of many, to portend disunion, he wrote:
"In every free and deliberating society, there must, from the nature of man, be opposite parties, and violent disunions and discords; and one of these, for the most part, must prevail over the other for a longer or a shorter time. Perhaps this party division is necessary to induce each to watch and debate to the people the proceedings of the other. But if, on the temporary superiority of the one party, the other is to resort to a scission of the Union, no Federal Government can ever exist. If, to rid ourselves of the present rule of Massachusetts and Connecticut, we break the Union, will the evil stop there? Suppose the New England States, alone, cut off, will our nature be changed? Are we not
men still, to the south of that, and with all the passions of men? Immediately we shall see a Pennsylvania and a Virginia party in the residuary confederacy, and the public mind will be distracted with the same party spirit. What a game, too, will the one party have in their hands, by eternally threatening the other, that unless they do so and so, they will join their Northern neighbors. If we reduce our Union to Virginia and North Carolina, immediately the conflict will be established between the representatives of these two States, and they will end by breaking into their simple limits."
And again, after a lapse of nearly twenty years, when the Hartford Convention announced the doctrine of nullification and secession as an ultimate remedy, which we are to-day called upon to indorse, he wrote to the honored Lafayette, who from his home in France began to look with doubt upon the success and perpetuity of the Union which his blood had been spilt to establish:
"The cement of this Union is in the heart-blood of every American. I do not believe there is on earth a government established on so immovable a basis. Let them in any State, even in Massachusetts itself, raise the standard of separation, and its citizens will rise in mass, and do justice themselves on their own incendiaries."
The particular attitude of Massachusetts at that period called forth these determined expressions from this great champion of American freedom. They are equally applicable to our present condition. The Legislature of South Carolina may have as much mistaken the character of the masses of South Carolina as did the Hartford Convention the character of the masses of Massachusetts. The Hartford Convention became a byword and a reproach. The sons of the men of Lexington and Bunker Hill stamped it with infamy. The people of South Carolina are descendants of those who felt all the throes incident to the Revolution. Her gallant heroes are among the historic names to be revered and cherished. Their generations will not forget the cost of liberty, or the blessings of the Union which it created.
At the time these expressions were used by Jefferson he had retired, and his fame had elevated him far above party politics and partisan feelings. He thought and spoke as one friend would to another, who had passed through the severe ordeal for the attainment of human freedom. He had in truth filled the measure of his country's glory. Such feelings well deserve a place in every true American heart. His teachings surely can not be lost upon the present enlightened generation; nor do we find that other sages and patriots are silent on these topics. In the writings of Mr. Madison we find that after all the arduous toils of a statesman and patriot, when treating upon the subject of the Union and the relative rights and powers of the States, he lends his great light to guide posterity in the pathway of regulated government. Being one of the authors of the Constitution, his exposition comes to us with double force. In a letter to Joseph C. Cabell, written September 16, 1831, he says:
"I know not whence the idea could proceed that I concurred in the doctrine that although a State could not nullify a law of the Union, it had a right to secede from the Union. Both spring from the same poisonous root."
In his letter to Mr. N. P. Trist, written December 23, 1832, he says:
"If one State can, at will, withdraw from the others, the others can, at will, withdraw from her, and turn her nolentem volentevi out of the Union."
And in writing to Andrew Stevenson February 4, 1833, he says:
"I have received your communication of the 29th ultimo, and have read it with much pleasure. It represents the doctrines of nullification and secession in lights that must confound, if failing to convince their patrons. We have done well in rescuing the proceedings of Virginia in 1798-99, from the many misconstructions and misapplications of them. Of late, attempts are observed to shelter the heresy of secession under the case of expatriation, from which it essentially differs. The expatriation - party moves only his person and his movable property, and does not incommode those whom he leaves. A seceding State mutilates the domain, and disturbs the whole system from which it separates itself. Pushed to the extent in which the right is sometimes asserted, it might break into fragments every single community."
These views clearly show that this great expounder of the Constitution did not recognize the right of a single State to break the harmony of the nation, and destroy its unity by seceding at its pleasure. Nor was he less earnest in his desire to perpetuate the Union and guard against the heresy by which it might be endangered. In one of his celebrated State papers, written in September, 1829, he thus pictures in language at once solemn and truthful the consequences of disunion:
"In all the views that may be taken on questions between the State governments and General Government, the awful consequences of a final rupture and dissolution of the Union should never be lost sight of. Such a prospect must be deprecated—must be shuddered at by every friend of his country, to liberty, to the happiness of man. For, in the event of a dissolution of the Union, an impossibility of ever renewing it is brought home to every mind by the difficulties encountered in establishing it. The propensity of all communities to divide when not pressed into a unity by external dangers is a truth well understood. There is no instance of a people inhabiting even a small island, if remote from foreign danger, and sometimes in spite of that pressure, who are not divided into alien, rival, hostile tribes. The happy union of these States is a wonder, the Constitution a miracle, their example the hope of liberty throughout the world. Woe to the ambition that would meditate the destruction of either."
Who that has a heart that throbs for freedom can disregard the wisdom and admonition of patriots, whose lives have been devoted to the service of their country, and who, turning away from the appeals of wealth, have felt rich in the enjoyment of the boon of free government and the possession of an humble competency!
After leaving the sages who participated in the formation of our Union, we find that the distinguished patriots of latter days likewise offer their testimony to the value of the Union, and against the doctrine of secession. Andrew Jackson, the President of the masses, the man to whose bravery in battle, and whose firmness in council, the country owes much for its present prosperous condition, was called upon to meet this question under circumstances the most embarrassing. His giant will encompassed it all, and a grateful people now revere him for the act. The position assumed by South Carolina in her ordinance of November 24, 1832, called forth his proclamation of the loth of December following. The following extract will suffice:
"The Constitution of the United States then forms a government, not a
league; and whether it be formed by compact between the States or in any other manner, its character is the same. It is a government in which all the people are represented, which operates directly upon the people individually, not upon the States—they retained all the power they did not grant. But each State having expressly parted with so many powers as to constitute, jointly with the other States, a single nation, can not from policy possess any right to secede; because secession does not break a league, but destroys the unity of a nation; and an injury to that unity is not only a breach which would result in the contravention of a compact, but it is an offense against the whole Union. To say that any State may at pleasure secede from the Union, is to say that the United States are not a nation; because it would be a solecism to contend that any part of a nation might dissolve its connection with the other parts, to their injury or ruin, without morally committing any offensive secession, like any other revolutionary act, may be morally justified by the extremity of oppression; but to call it a constitutional right is confounding the meaning of terms, and can only be done through gross error, or to deceive those who are willing to assert a right, but would pause before they make a revolution, or incur the penalties consequent on a failure."
Again, in his message of January, 1832, after fully discussing the issues forced upon the country, he adds:
This great man of the people has been gathered to his fathers. Over his grave at the Hermitage let the American nation declare in his own emphatic language:"The right of a people of a single State to absolve themselves at will, and without the consent of the other States, from their most solemn obligations and to hazard the liberties and happiness of the millions composing this Union, can not be acknowledged. Such authority is believed to be utterly repugnant to the principles upon which the General Government is constituted, and to the object which it is expressly formed to attain."
"The Union—It must and shall be preserved,"
These are not all the mighty names which can be arrayed in behalf of the Union, and against the doctrines of secession. When did the ardent and enlightened mind of Henry Clay, when his attention was drawn to the subject of the Union, fail to offer his tribute to its worth, decline to render the most scathing rebuke to those who dared for one moment to depreciate its value? Nor am I disposed to close this message, without citing another illustrious name, who, without regard to party, boldly planted his feet on the platform of the Constitution and the Union—a man who faced all the fury of the fanatical passions of his own section in behalf of the compromise measures of 1850, which guaranteed the equality of the South under the Constitution. I allude to Daniel Webster. He was a man whose heart was great enough to embrace the whole Union, and whose intellect could span the globe.
The sentiment which he leaves on record I repeat:
"Liberty and Union, now and forever, one and inseparable."
With such teachings and such lights from those of the past and of modern time, can Texas forget her duty to herself? These were the men who formed the first structure of perfect liberty and self-government in the world. We have the exposition of the principles upon which this sublime structure of selfgovernment was based. Are we to cast them all away? Are we to quit our haven of safety, in which we are secure, happy, and prosperous, and risk our all upon the uncertainty of an untried experiment, which seems only to open the door to revolution and anarchy? Could we for a moment entertain such a maddened thought, we need only extend our imagination across the Rio Grande, and there, exemplified to a small extent, behold the effects of secession and disunion. A disregard for constitutional government has involved Mexico in all the horrors of civil war, with robbery, murder, rapine, unrestrained. There it is simply civil war, brother armed against brother, partisan against partisan; but to us it would be all these, added to the combined efforts of the powers of tyranny to crush out liberty.
A responsibility rests upon us, because our advantages, arising from self-government, and a more perfect freedom than any ever enjoyed, render us the more accountable.
I need not call the attention of the Legislature to a period so recent as the annexation of Texas to the American Union. The feeling that prevailed in the community in anticipation of that event, and the ardent desire for its consummation in almost every heart in Texas, can testify to the sincerity of our people when they took upon themselves the duties of citizens of the United States. A generation has not half passed since the great object was accomplished; and are we to be seduced already into any measures fraught with principles that would involve us in the inconsistency of impairing the integrity of our formation, and that, too, when it would involve us, in my opinion, in the crime of raising our hands against the Constitution and the Union, which have sheltered and defended us, and w^hich we are solemnly bound to support and maintain?
The good sense of the nation can not overlook the fact that we are one people and one kindred; that our productions, occupations, and interests are not more diversified in one section of the Union than another. If the vain hope of a Southern Confederacy would be realized upon the basis of all the slave States, there would soon be found enough diversity of Northern and Southern interests in both sections to accomplish another division, ail the more eagerly sought, because of a recent precedent.
Indeed, if peaceable separation were possible, no confederacy could be formed upon any other principle than that of leaving domestic institutions— where the Constitution of the United States now leaves them—to the States individually, and not to a central government. I have been no indifferent spectator of the agitations which have distracted our councils, and caused many patriots to despair of the Republic. But I am yet hopeful, and have an abiding confidence in the masses of the people. I can not believe that they will suffer scheming, designing, and misguided politicians to endanger the palladium of our liberties. The world is interested in the experiment of this Government. There is no new continent on earth whereon to rear such another fabric. It is impossible that ours can be broken without becoming fragmentary, chaotic, and anarchical. I know of no confederacy with other States which could hold out greater inducements or stronger bonds of fraternity than were extended to us in 1844. The people of Texas are satisfied with the Constitution and the Union as they are. They are even willing to enlarge it by further wise, peaceful, and honorable acquisitions. If there is a morbid and dangerous sentiment abroad in the land, let us endeavor to allay it by teaching and cultivating a more fraternal feeling.
I would therefore recommend the adoption of resolutions dissenting from the assertion of the abstract right of secession, and refusing to send deputies, for any present existing cause, and urging upon the people of all the States, North and South, the necessity of cultivating brotherly feeling, observing justice and attending to their own affairs.
Sam Houston.
MESSAGE TO THE LEGISLATURE OF TEXAS— EXTRA SESSION.
Executive Department, |
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Austin, January 21, 1861. |
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:
You have been convened in extra session, in view of the unsettled condition of our national affairs, the continued invasion of our frontier by Indians, and the embarrassed condition of the Treasury. To these subjects alone your attention will be invited, and it is hoped that only those which are incident to these will meet your consideration.
The defense of the State being a paramount object, the Executive will first press the necessity of providing for the same upon your consideration. When the Executive came into office the frontier was entirely unguarded, except by Federal troops. The Indians, unrestrained by the presence of rangers, embraced the favorable opportunity, and gained a foothold in the country, and ere their presence was known and means could be adopted to repel them, commenced a series of depredations which struck terror to the settlements. Their savage work was not confined to the frontier alone, but extended to counties within fifty miles of the capital.
Although not apprised of this state of things, the Executive had made such provision for the defense of the frontier as seemed necessary. On the 26th of December, a few days after his inauguration, an order was issued to Captain W. C. Dalrymple, of Williamson County, to raise a company of sixty men, rank and file.
This was followed by orders of the same character to Captain Ed. Burleson, of Hays, and to Captain John H. Conner, of Travis, on the 4th and 13th of January. These companies were ordered to such points as would enable them to carry out the orders given them to give the greatest amount of protection to the frontier inhabitants.
Had the frontier not been entirely abandoned to the Indians for months previous to his inauguration these companies would have sufficed to prevent any concerted and extensive movement against the settlements on the part of the Indians; but they were already secreted in the country. Intelligence having reached the Executive that numerous small parties of Indians were ravaging the line of settlements beyond Bell County, but yet not on the extreme frontier, orders were issued on the 13th of February to Lieut. White of Bell, Salmon of. Basque, and Walker of Erath County, to raise each a detachment of twentyfive men to range in and give defense to the counties of Caryell, Hamilton, Comanche, Erath, Eastland, and Palo Pinto. These detachments were soon in the field, with orders to exercise every energy to give the frontier protection and security.
Authentic accounts of depredations still coming in, the Executive on the 2ist of February sent to the various frontier counties a letter authorizing the citizens of each county to raise a minute company of not more than twenty men, who should look to the next Legislature for payment; and to more effectually insure the presence of these minute companies in the field, a general order was issued on the 9th of March, by which the Chief-Justice of each county was instructed to organize immediately a minute company of fifteen men, to whom the following orders were given:
"The detachments will immediately take the field, and enter upon active service, affording protection to the inhabitants of their respective counties.
"When an Indian trail is found it must be diligently followed, and if the sign indicates a larger party of Indians than he is able to cope with, he will call not exceeding ten men to his aid."
The lieutenant commanding each detachment or minute company was authorized to purchase necessary supplies, and where it was possible to do so, they were sent forward by the Executive.
Under this order minute companies of fifteen men each were mustered into service in the following counties: Lieut. Scanland, Montague; Lieut. Isbell, Wise; Lieut. Cochran, Young; Lieut. Jones, Palo Pinto; Lieut. Stevens, Eastland; Lieut. Lowe, Erath; Lieut. Price, Comanche; Lieut. Nelson, Basque; Lieut. Gentry, Hamilton; Lieut. Font le Roy, Caryell; Lieut. Cowan, Llano; Lieut. Wood, San Saba; Lieut. Hughes, Lampasas; Lieut. Lewis, Mason; Lieut. O'Hair, Burnett; Lieut. Franzelin, Gillespie; Lieut. Balentyne, Bandera; Lieut. McFadden, Keer; Lieut. Kennedy, Hoalde; Lieut. Patton, Blanco; Lieut. Brown, Bexar; Lieut. Watkins, Medina; Lieut. Ragsdale, Frio.
In addition to putting this force of minute men in the field, the Executive, in order to enable the frontier citizens to more successfully defend themselves, purchased and distributed through the frontier counties one hundred Colt's revolvers, which, with a number of revolvers, rifles, and muskets, were sent" forward. Ammunition was also supplied to the minute companies. To provide for the defense of the settlement beyond San Antonio, an order was issued on the 5th of March, to Capt. Peter Tomlinson, of Atascosa County, to raise forty-eight men, to whom were assigned the range between the Frio and the Rio Grande. Captain Tomlinson was mustered into service on the 20th of March. It will thus be seen that up to this period the Executive had called into service a ranging force of 720 men, which might be increased upon an emergency to 950. The greater part of this force was then in active service, and as a result the Indians disappeared from the settlements. The monthly reports of the officers commanding the minute men now on file in the Executive office attest this fact. The minute companies of fifteen men were kept in service until the 18th of May, when, there being no longer a pressing necessity for their presence in the field, they were disbanded, subject to be called out at any moment by order of the Chief-Justice of their county.
Before, however, these forces could be brought to bear on the settlements many murders had been committed, and a large number of horses stolen. With a view of avenging these outrages, and the recovery of the property of our citizens, the Executive determined to send against the Indians a force sufficient to discover their hiding-places, and accomplish these objects.
It had long been the opinion of the Executive that the horses stolen from us are herded at some central point between our settlements and the trading-posts where they are sold, and that from this point stealing parties strike for our settlements, leaving others in charge of the animals already taken. To punish these Indians, as well as to ferret out the parties who purchase our horses from them, required an able force, and was a work requiring much time and privation. The duty of raising troops for this expedition was assigned to Col. M. T. Johnson, of Tarrant County, to whom was issued orders on the 17th of March to raise a sufficient number of mounted rangers to repel, pursue, and punish the Indians now ravaging the north and northwestern settlements of Texas, with full liberty to dispose of the force under your (his) command, at your (his) discretion. In pursuance of this order Col. Johnson raised five companies of rangers of 83 men, commanded by Captains Smith of McLennan, Darnell of Dallas, Woods of Fannin, Fitzhugh of Collin, and Johnson of Tarrant. These rendezvoused at Fort Belknap, where they were joined by two companies under command of Capts. Ed. Burleson and W. C. Dalrymple, and on the 23d of May the expedition started for the Indian country.
The several reports of Col. Johnson to be submitted will furnish a full statement of the progress of the expedition. A portion of the troops were ordered back by Col. Johnson from Old Fort Radsminske the 30th of July. The others penetrated the Indian country beyond the line of Kansas, and after enduring many privations returned to Fort Belknap, where they were disbanded by order of the Executive.
Although no Indian depredations were at that time reported, the Executive, to guard against their repetition, ordered Capt. L. S. Ross to McLennan on the nth of September to raise a company of seventy men, and to take his station beyond Fort Belknap, where he arrived on the 17th of October,
On the 6th of December information reached the Executive of the most appalling outrages committed by the Indians in Jack and Parker Counties, Orders were immediately sent forward to Capts. Thos. Stocton, of Young, and James Barry, of Basque County, to raise each twenty-four men, and proceed to cooperate with Captain Ross in protecting the settlements. These troops did not then enter the service, but on the 17th of December an order was issued to Capt, A. B. Burleson to raise seventy men, which was followed by orders to Capt. E, W. Rogers, of Ellis, on the 26th of December, and to Capt. Thomas Harrison, of McLennan, on the 2d of January, to raise each seventy men, all of whom have now gone forward to Fort Belknap, where Col. W, C, Dalrymple, of Williamson County, acting under commission as aide-de-camp to the Executive, has been ordered to repair, to effect an organization of the troops, and to devise means for their efficiency.
It affords the Executive pleasure to state that the Indians who committed the late depredations in Jack and Parker Counties have been overtaken and killed, by a force under command of Captain Ross, whose report will be submitted.
The Executive, to support and render efficient the force which he has had from time to time in the field, has had no money at his command except the University Fund, amounting to $106,993.26, which was by special act of the Legislature authorized to be used for purposes of frontier defense. It was his opinion that the Legislature intended that this fund should be used alone for the defense of the Indian frontier, and not for the payment of claims on account of the war upon the Rio Grande. The troubles upon the Rio Grande, although speedily settled after the arrival of the commissioners sent by the Executive, cost the State an amount far beyond the estimate of the Legislature, and when claims were presented for supplies furnished troops the Executive did not believe the money should be drawn from the University Fund, and expressed his views in that respect to the Comptroller. That fund was the sole dependence of the Executive for the purchase of supplies to keep troops in the field. A considerable sum was paid, however, from the fund for debts contracted during the Rio Grande war. This reduced the amount which might be used to defend the frontier to $76,937.73, which has been exhausted. The Executive, however, kept troops continually in the field, and until the present time supplied them, with the exception of the minute companies called out in each county. Not a dollar has been at his command for months. Deprived of money to purchase supplies, and with the fact before him that Treasury warrants were already selling at a heavy discount, the Executive might well have thrown upon others the responsibility of abandoning the frontier, and left the people to defend themselves. But neither this, nor the fact that many have continually denounced and misrepresented his efforts made in behalf of the frontier, have caused him to forego his exertions; on the contrary, they have been redoubled.
At such periods a man, true to the obligations of his station and the instincts of humanity, should alike rise superior to the obstacles impending in his pathway, and the petty considerations of chagrin and disappointment at the conduct of those who maligned and censured him; and it is a satisfaction to the Executive now to know that the first who have received the undoubted evidences of the determination and the ability of the troops sent forward by him to defend them, are those who have been foremost in their efforts to thwart his endeavors. Finding that it was impossible to purchase any adequate amount of supplies on the credit of the State, the Executive, in two communications dated the 8th of November and the 7th of January, suggested to the State Treasurer the propriety of using, for purposes of frontier defense, the amount in the Treasury on account of University land sales; but the opinion of that officer was adverse to the proposition, and that fund, amounting to $34,708.14, still remains in the Treasury.
The Executive, believing that the Legislature would not repudiate a pledge made under such circumstances, procured of Mr. S. M. Swenson two months' supply of rations, with a guarantee that the same should be paid as soon as your honorable body met. This supply will be exhausted by the time more can be sent forward, and to your earnest consideration the matter is commended.
It will be seen, from the plain statement of facts given above, that from the time of his inauguration up to the present time, the Executive has devoted all the energies at his command to the defense of the frontier. He has called into service a number of the most experienced ranging officers in the State, and given them troops obtained in counties capable of furnishing the best Indian fighters in the world. Not only in the number, but in the equipment of the troops, the means he has adopted for frontier defense have been adequate to more than the reasonable expectations of the country. Besides these, he has provided every county with a minute company for its own defense, formed of its own citizens. If these endeavors have not sufficed to protect the country, no exertions which he could have made would have done so. In March last the Executive tendered to the Secretary of War of the United States 5,000 Texan volunteers to aid in the defense of the frontier. The offer was declined. Efforts have been made to induce Congress to pass a bill authorizing the calling of such a force into the field; but they have been, thus far, unsuccessful.
The Federal Government has, however, from time to time sent reinforcements of the regular army to Texas, until the entire force on our border comprises about one-fifth of our entire army.
These prevent the invasion of our soil by any numerous body of Indians, and occasionally intercept small stealing parties; but to entirely check the latter a more active force is necessary, which should be constantly employed in scouring the country.
The militia act, passed by the last Legislature, was found by the Executive to contain conflicting provisions, which prevented its being put in operation; the necessity of rendering it entirely practicable is respectfully presented to the Legislature.
According to the estimates made, which were laid before the Legislature, the ordinary expenses of government exceeded per annum the amount received from revenue.
The extraordinary expenses arising from the construction of the Insane Asylum and other causes, as well as the balance due from former years, have greatly increased this deficiency, and, as a consequence, the Treasury is now without means to defray the expenses of government for the present year.
The Executive has endeavored, so far as the law gives him control, to reduce the expenditures of government to an economical basis; but his power is extremely limited, and his endeavors in this respect have, of course, been governed by the appropriations made by the Legislature.
The Executive deemed it his duty, on the 8th of February, 1860, to send a special message to the Legislature, showing the condition of the Treasury, and urging the adoption of such measures as would prevent its embarrassment. There remained in the Treasury, on the 1st day of February, but $219,000, against which stood the amount due on account of appropriations made by the present and previous Legislatures, estimated at $508,582.74.
To show the rapid depletion which followed, it may be stated that the State Treasury on the 15th of February reported but $232,903.21 in the Treasury, which included the University Fund, amounting to $109,472.26. There was, therefore, to sustain the civil list but $123,480.95. The balances still due on appropriations were to be paid, and the Government to be sustained until the whole revenue came in, which was estimated by the Comptroller to be $343,447.95. In presenting the condition of the Treasury to your honorable body the Executive urged the necessity of increased taxation.
The Legislature, however, did not second his views, and an act was passed in lieu thereof, providing for the payment of interest on Treasury warrants.
Much difficulty was experienced in putting this act into operation, and the Comptroller did not consent until the 1st of June to issue the warrants. Since that period they have been issued for all claims for rangers' pay; and since, the University Fund has been exhausted for other claims connected with the frontier service where parties would take them.
No one could have more regretted the delay of putting this law into execution execution than the Executive. It was a measure calculated to sustain the faith and credit of the State, and it has done so to a material extent. The warrants were purchased at from 85 to 95 cents on the dollar, the purchasers relying for payment on the collection of the money due by the Federal Government to Texas for expenses incurred in defending the frontier, and it was not until the prospect of obtaining that money was understood to be uncertain that they depreciated to any great extent. At present there is scarcely any demand for them even at a ruinous discount.
The Legislature will at once see the necessity of providing means for the redemption of the warrants, with the interest.
Not only the holders of those already issued, but a large number of rangers yet to be paid, have a right to expect that the public faith shall be maintained. The Legislature should see to it that the brave men who have, regardless of privation and danger, gone to the defense of the frontier are not deprived of the pay justly due them.
They have already been compelled to yield a considerable portion to obtain money to meet their necessities. Many are yet holding their warrants in the hope that justice will be done them. Those yet to be paid look alike to the Legislature.
Those now in the field will be stimulated to greater efforts in behalf of the frontier if they find that their zeal and courage are appreciated, and provision is made to recompense their toil.
The Executive regrets to be compelled to inform the Legislature that none of the money appropriated by the United States Congress to reimburse the State for expenses incurred in defending the frontier against Indians has yet been obtained. There was appropriated by act of Congress of March 3. 1859, the sum of $53,000, and on the 21st of June, 1860, the sum of $123,444.51 for this purpose. No steps had been taken for the collection of the amount due on the first appropriation when the present Executive came into office. On the 16th of March, 1860, instructions were sent to the Comptroller to forward to the War Department at Washington duplicate copies of the muster rolls, vouchers, etc., necessary to obtain the amount paid by the State for the services of six companies of rangers called into service by Gen. Persifer F. Smith in 1854, provided for by act of Congress of March 3, 1859.
The Comptroller declined to send the vouchers necessary to secure the collection of the amount. It was the intention of the Executive to solicit the services of one or more of our members of Congress then at Washington in the settlement of our business, and when the amount due the State was ascertained, to obtain U. S. Treasury drafts, which could have been cashed here by the Comptroller at par, and thus all the expenses of a special agent would have been avoided. The Executive again on the 9th of October requested that the vouchers for the whole claim be forwarded at as early a day as practicable, the Comptroller having informed him that they were ready for transmission. On the 3d of November, desiring to facilitate and hasten the collection of this amount, the Executive notified the Comptroller of his intention to appoint Geo. J. Durham, Esq., chief clerk of the Comptroller's office, as agent to bear the muster rolls, vouchers, etc., to Washington, and to attend to the collection of the claim. On the 5th of November a communication was received from the Comptroller, declining to place the papers in the hands of Mr. Durham, and on the 28th of November Mr. Durham declined to accept the appointment, which in the meantime had been tendered him.
The only obstacle in the way of the prompt collection of the amount has been the fact that the vouchers have not been placed in the possession of the War Department. Until this is done the money can not be obtained. The vouchers are in the possession of the Comptroller, and it has been in his power at any time to transmit them either in person or by some safe hand to the Secretary of War. When the claim has progressed thus far toward a settlement, the Executive will direct his endeavors toward securing all that may be justly due the State.
It is also proper to state that since the letter to the Comptroller of October last, stating that the muster rolls, etc., were ready for transmission to Washington, the Executive has been notified that five of the rolls, representing about $40,000 of the amount due, are lost.
An examination of the facts presented will furnish the Legislature the data upon which to base their actions in reference to future operations of the Treasury. It will be seen that there is already a deficit in the revenue necessary to meet the civil expenditures. The ordinary expenses of the Government until the taxes come in in June will be about $30,000 per month. The deficit already existing added to this amount will consume the entire amount then received, and leave the Government totally unprovided for for another year. Not only is this to be provided for, but the treasury warrants now in circulation are to be paid, as well as those rangers who have been, and are now, in service; and means are to be provided for the future defense of the frontier.
From the report of the Comptroller hereunto appended, and made a part of this message, it will be seen that from the 21st of December, 1859, to the 19th of January, 1861, there had been paid out from the Treasury in cash the sum of $763,394.65, and that ten per cent. Treasury warrants had been issued, amounting to $129,556.99, making a total of $892,951.64. Of this amount there was expended:
For the Cortina war
|
$137,828.10 |
For the Expenses of Legislature
|
94,997.01 |
For the Pay of Ford, Bourland, and Brown's Corn's
|
60,445.02 |
For the Supplies furnished Capt. Willions
|
7,423.46 |
For the Construction of Lunatic Asylum
|
33,369.12 |
For the Machinery of Penitentiary
|
27,000.00 |
For the Improvement of Bays and Rivers
|
68,270.40 |
For the Improvement of Capital Grounds
|
4.771.08 |
For the Debt of the late Republic
|
12,391.64 |
| Total | $446,495.83 |
This entire amount was paid upon expenses, ordinary and extraordinary, incurred prior to the commencement of the term of the present Executive, excepting a portion of the amount paid for expenses of the Legislature. Of the balance, $446,495.83, a considerable portion is of the same character, or for special appropriations not included in the ordinary appropriations of Government. It will be seen that the entire amount of money used by the Executive for the defense of the frontier is $76,937.73, and that the entire amount of warrants issued for the same service is $63,843.39, making a total of $139,781.02. Deducting this from the above, $446,495.83, it will be seen that the amount expended in the past year for the ordinary expenses of Government, including such special appropriations and amounts due, as are not enumerated above, was $306,674.71.
According to estimates made, there is yet due, on account of frontier defense, for pay and subsistence of twenty-three minute companies
|
$30,000.00 |
For pay and subsistence of full companies
|
125,000.00 |
$155,000.00 | |
Amount paid in cash and warrants
|
139,781.12 |
Showing total cost of frontier defense
|
$294,78.12 |
It is the opinion of the Executive that the estimate made, $155,000, will cover the entire indebtedness on account of frontier defense for the past year. The entire operations have been conducted with the strictest economy. The troops have been supplied upon contract at exceedingly low rates, and all officers held to strict accountability. When the number of men kept in the field, and the distant points to which supplies have been sent, are considered, the entire cost is not great.
The expenses of keeping a regiment in the field one year were estimated by the Comptroller to be $603,000. Should a contingency arise by which the Federal army will he disbanded, and the Indians, now under treaty stipulations with the Federal Government, and controlled by them, be turned loose, large appropriations will be necessary for the defense of our frontier. But should the present state of things continue, it will be necessary to maintain a force of rangers in the field. The frontier must be defended in any event, and it is not improbable that the financial difficulties already attending the Government will be felt in the Indian Department, and there may be failures in carrying out the treaties with the Indians. Trouble will ensue, much of which will be felt by our border.
The Executive would, therefore, present the following estimates to sustain the Government the present year, and to meet deficiencies:
Amount due for Rangers' pay and subsistence
|
$155,000.00 |
Interest warrants in circulation
|
129,556.99 |
Defense of frontier
|
500,000.00 |
Ordinary expenses of Government (see Comptroller's Report for September 1st, 1859)
|
331,400.00 |
Amount due on outstanding debt
|
50,000.00 |
Amount of debt of Republic which will be called for
|
10,000.00 |
| Total | $1,175,956.99 |
The expenses of the present session of the Legislature are also to be provided for.
Total receipts to August 31, 1861 (see Comptroller's Report, September, 1859)
|
$343,344.27 |
Amount in Treasury, subject to disbursement, January 19, 1861, per Treasurer's Report
|
14.785.62 |
| Total | $358,129.89 |
The peculiar attitude of our relations with the Federal Government will, I trust, command the earnest attention of the Legislature. While the proud structure of government, built by our fathers, seems tottering to ruin, and some of its pillars are already torn loose by the hand of internal dissension, we may not alone contemplate the scene and await its total downfall. As parts yet of that structure, the solemn duty presses upon us to prove faithful to the trust imposed by the patriots and sages of the past, and to restore it to its original pride and grandeur if we can; and if we can not, to see that our own liberties perish not beneath its ruins.
The election of the Black Republican candidate to the Presidency has' involved the issue of the permanency of the Government upon the basis laid down by its founders.
The principles of their party as developed in the passage of laws in many of the States, subversive of our rights and in continual aggressions upon our institutions, have at last obtained a foothold on the Government itself.
The struggle has been long, and the encroachment gradual, and at last, through our own folly and dissension alone, has resulted in placing one department of the Government in the hands of those who have aggressed upon us. The question presses itself upon our consideration, whether 'tis best to abandon the Government, and acknowledge that our Constitution is a failure, or to maintain in the Union every constitutional right guaranteed to us.
The grievances of which we complain have thus far originated with the States and not with the Federal Government,
They have, disregarding their constitutional obligations, interposed to obstruct the Federal Government in its efforts to administer the Government in accordance with the Constitution; and though the Government has not in all cases been successful in its efforts in our behalf, yet there has been no lack of willingness on its part. The prospect, however, of the Government going into the hands of a party whose disregard of the Constitution is its sole bond of union, leads to the belief that Federal aggression is inevitable unless such means are adopted as will not only restrain the dominant party within the bounds of the Constitution, but lead it to abandon all designs of perverting the power of Government to serve its unconstitutional aims.
Were Government formed in an hour, and human liberty the natural result of revolution, less responsibility would attach to us as we consider the momentous question before us. A long struggle amid bloodshed and privation secured the liberty which has been our boast for three-quarters of a century. Wisdom, patriotism, and the noble concessions of great minds framed our Constitution. Long centuries of heroic strife attest the progress of freedom to their culminating point. Ere the work of centuries is undone, and freedom, shorn of her victorious garments, is started out once again on her weary pilgrimage, hoping to find, after centuries have passed away, another dwelling-place, it is not unmanly to pause and at least endeavor to avert the calamity.
The Executive feels as deeply as any of your honorable body the necessity of such action on the part of the slaveholding States as will secure to the fullest extent every right they possess. Self-preservation, if not a manly love of liberty inspired by our past history, prompts this determination.
But he can not feel that these dictate hasty and unconcerted action, nor can he reconcile to his mind the idea that our safety demands an immediate separation from the Government ere we have stated our grievances or demanded redress. A high resolve to maintain our constitutional rights, and, failing to obtain them, to risk the perils of revolution even as our fathers risked it, should, in my opinion, actuate every citizen of Texas; but we should remember that we owe duties and obligations to States having rights in common with us; and whose institutions are the same as ours.
No aggression can come upon us which will not be visited upon them; and whatever our action may be, it should be of that character which will bear us blameless to posterity, should the step be fatal to the interests of those States. While deploring the election of Messrs. Lincoln and Hamlin, the Executive yet has scon in it no cause for the immediate and separate secession of Texas. Believing, however, that the time had come when the Southern States should co-operate and counsel together to devise means for the maintenance of their constitutional rights, and to demand redress for the grievances they have been suffering at the hands of many of the Northern States, he has directed his efforts to that end. Believing that a convention of the character contemplated by the joint resolution of February 16, 1858, should be held, and desiring that the people of Texas should be represented in the same, and have full opportunity to elect delegates reflecting their will, he ordered an election for that purpose to be held on the first Monday in February next. Although since that time four of the Southern States have declared themselves no longer members of the Union; yet he confidently looks forward to the assemblage of such a body. A majority of the Southern States have as yet taken no action, and the efforts of our brethren of the border are now directed toward securing unity of the entire South.
The interests of Texas are closely identified with the remaining States; and if, by joining her counsels with theirs, such assurances can be obtained of a determination on the part of the Northern States to regard our constitutional rights as will induce the States which have declared themselves out of the Union to rescind their action, the end attained will silence whatever reproaches the rash and inconsiderate may heap upon us. Texas, although identified by her institutions with the States which have declared themselves out of the Union, can not forget her relation to the border States. Pressed for years by the whole weight of abolition influence, these States have stood as barriers against its approach. Those who ask Texas to desert them now should remember that in our days of gloom, when doubt hung over the fortunes of our little army, and the cry for help went out, while some of those who seek to induce us to follow their precipitate lead, looked coldly on us, these States sent men and money to our aid.
Their best blood was shed here in our defense, and if we are to be influenced by considerations other than our own safety, the fact that these States still seem determined to maintain their ground and fight the battle of the Constitution within the Union, should have equal weight with us as with those States which have no higher claim upon us, and who without cause on our part have surrendered the ties which made us one.
Whatever may be the course of Texas, the ambition of her people should be that she should take no step except after calm deliberation. A past history, in which courage, wisdom, and patriotism united to found a Republic and a State, is in our keeping. Let the record of no rash action blur its pages. If after passing through two revolutions another is upon us, let the same prudence mark our course as when we merged from an independent nation into one of the States of the Union. Holding ourselves above influences which appeal to our passions and our prejudices, if we must be masters of our own destiny let us act like man, who feel all of the responsibilities of the position they assume, and are ready to answer to the civilized world, to God, and to posterity." The time has com.e when, in my opinion, it is necessary to evoke the sovereign will for the solution of this question affecting our relations with the Federal Government. The people, as the source of all power, can alone declare the course that Texas shall pursue, and in the opinion of the Executive, they demand that the Legislature should provide a legal means by which they shall express their will as freemen at the ballot-box. They have stood aloof from revolutionary schemes, and now await the action of your honorable body, that they may in a legitimate manner speak through the ballot-box. As one of the special objects for which you were convened, the Executive would press this upon your attention, and would urge that such action be as prompt as possible.
Confiding in the wisdom of the Legislature, and in its recognition of the supremacy of the people, the Executive relies upon the adoption of such legislation as will secure a full, free, and fair expression of their will. Should the Legislature in its wisdom deem it necessary to call a convention of delegates fresh from the people, the Executive would not oppose the same, but he would suggest that the people be the tribunal of the last resort, and that no action be considered final until it has been submitted to them.
While the public mind is agitated and wild excitement tramples upon reason, the Executive has a right to look to the legislative department of the Government for wise and sagacious counsels. Representing the creative power of law, the high responsibilities upon you demand that you indignantly frown upon any and every attempt to subvert the laws, and substitute in their stead the will of revolutionary leaders.
Assembled as you are at the most important epoch in our history as a people, may all the solemnities of such an occasion impress you with a determination to act your part in such a way that the confidence of the people in the stability of our institutions will not be shaken. If appealing to the popular voice, you show your confidence in their patriotism and sense by placing this important question in their hands, all will be well.
Be their voice as it may, we shall be united; and whether our future be prosperous or gloomy, a common faith and hope will actuate us. But if, on the contrary, moved by rash and unwise counsels, you yield the powers of government into the hands of those who do not represent the people, and would rise superior to them, the confidence of the masses in the reign of law and order will be shaken, and gloomy forebodings will fill the hearts of the friends of regulated government, lest the reign of anarchy and confusion come upon us. We have gone through one revolution in Texas a united people. ' We can be united again; and will be, if the people are intrusted with the control of their destinies.
The situation of Texas, her extensive border subject to hostile incursions for seven hundred miles, the vast extent of her territory, and her scattered population, all are subjects to be considered in reference to this question. If our form of government is to be changed, we must have a regard for the future. The millions now spent by the United States for our frontier, the support of our postal service, the defense of our commerce, must all come from the pockets of our people. Providence has withheld from us in the past year the abundance which has formerly rewarded the care of the husbandman.
The people in many sections are already calling for relief. We can not afford under these circumstances to plunge madly into revolution. The Executive has not yet lost the hope that our rights can be maintained in the Union, and that it may yet be perpetuated. Between constitutional remedies and anarchy and civil war he can see no middle ground. All the glorious associations of our past history prove that hitherto we have been capable of self-government. The tyrants of Europe have ever disputed this fact.
Let us give no strength to their arbitrary dogmas by any action of ours; and whatever maybe our future course let us keep proudly in the ascendant the great principle upon which rests the idea of American liberty. During the present month the Executive has had the honor to receive the Hon. J. M. Calhoun, Commissioner from the State of Alabama, upon the attitude of our national affairs. The correspondence upon that subject is herewith submitted to the Legislature.
In conclusion, gentlemen, the Executive would again press upon your attention the great importance of maintaining the public credit and faith, and would warn you against the consequences of involving the people in debt at this stage of our affairs. We can better pay as we go than we can meet accumulated debt in the future.
May a kind Providence guide you aright.
Your obedient servant, Sam Houston.
MESSAGE TO THE LEGISLATURE OF TEXAS.
Executive Department, February 6, 1861.
Gentlemen of the Senate and House of Representatives:
In view of the contemplated speedy adjournment of the Legislature, the Executive would again call your attention to the embarrassed condition of the finances, and press upon your attention the importance of adopting such measures as will sustain the government during the present fiscal year.
In the message sent to your honorable body at the commencement of the present session the Executive pressed this subject upon your attention, and in connection with it the importance of providing for the defense of the frontier settlements. These were two of the three objects for which you were convened. The course of your legislation since that period, and the possibility of a severance of the connection of Texas with the Federal Union, render it imperative that money should be raised to sustain the government, so that in such a contingency the people of the State maybe ready to meet any emergency that may come upon them.
The Executive, in his message, presented for your consideration the fol lowing figures, showing the probable receipts and disbursements of the present year:
Amount due for Rangers' pay and subsistence
|
$155,000.00 |
| Interest warrants in circulation | 129,556.99 |
| Defense of frontier | 500,000.00 |
Ordinary expenses of Government (see Comptroller's Report for September, 1859)
|
331,400.00 |
Amount due on outstanding debt
|
50,000.00 |
Amount of debt of Republic which will be called for
|
10,000.00 |
| Total | $1,175,956.99 |
The expenses of the present session of the Legislature are also to be provided for.
Total receipts to August 31, 1861 (see Comptroller's Report, September, 1859)
|
$343,344.27 |
Amount in Treasury subject to disbursement, January 19, 1861 (per Treasurer's report)
|
14,785.62 |
| Total | $358,129.89 |
The above amount shows a deficiency on the 19th of January, 1861, of $817,827.10. The amount due Rangers alone for services rendered up to this period, amounts to at least $300,000, and unless means are adopted to pay their claims in money the same will depreciate, and no temporizing expedient can prevent that result. The government must go on performing its functions or anarchy will ensue, and to keep it in motion money is necessary. The frontier must be defended or the settlements must give way, and no matter what expedient may now be resorted to, both men and money must be had, and the Executive implores the Legislature not to wait until the call for men and money comes laden with the dying shrieks of women and children.
The Legislature may vouchsafe to the people of the frontier the privilege of protecting themselves at their own cost, depending upon promises to pay in the future; but such a policy will be found totally inadequate to the present emergency. Cash will be needed to purchase ammunition and supplies. By the Treasurer's report, received on Saturday, the 2d instant, it appears that there was then in the Treasury, subject to disbursement on account of State revenue, $5,279.69.
The Legislature has already appropriated $9,768.62 of the fund arising from University land' sales, and $17,313.30 of the fund accumulating from estates of deceased persons, for the per diem and mileage of its members, and it has only been by the use of these funds that the Treasury has been spared thus far from entire bankruptcy. The amount on hand will be exhausted before the termination of the present week, when there must be a suspension of specie payments altogether.
The revenue estimated to come in on July 1 ($343,344.27) will be much reduced, from the fact that the Comptroller has been, and is now drawing advance drafts on the various assessors and collectors to meet appropriations. It is also well known that the assessments for the present year have been suspended by order of the Comptroller. Property in the meantime has been steadily decreasing in value, and parties will not be willing to have the same assessed at any more than it will bring in the market at the time of assessment. This depreciation in value will be so great, that at the present rate of taxation not more than half the amount estimated will be collected. The ordinary expenses of government, about $30,000 per month, are to be met until the taxes come in.
The officers, many of whom are dependent upon their salaries for the support of themselves and families, should be punctually paid; but even if they wait until the taxes come in, the Treasury will then be without a dollar to pay the expenses of the next twelve months. The necessity for the adoption of measures whereby the Treasury may be replenished, must therefore be apparent.
Without considering the possible contingency arising from a change in our Federal relations, means must be provided to meet the deficiency of $817,827.10 mentioned above. But should Texas withdraw from the Union, a new condition of things will arise which will require large expenditures. In view of the possibility of such a contingency happening at as early a period as the 2d of March, the Legislature can not fail to see the necessity of making such provision as will secure the safety of the State and maintain its honor. Steps should be taken to provide an adequate force to take the place of the 3,000 Federal troops now in Texas. The safety of our frontier depends upon the action of your honorable body in this respect. A few days of delay may involve the most terrible consequences. Not only the Rio Grande frontier, but also our whole line of settlements, demand the continual presence of a force sufficient to intimidate our enemies from invading us in large bodies, and it will be the part of wisdom to guard now against the consequences of the removal of such a force. The expenses will be millions, but the lives of our people are worth more. Nor is this all. If we do not defend the outposts of civilization, the frontier must recede until we have it at our very doors.
We must also provide for the continuation of our postal service, so that our people may not be deprived of communication with the world without. If we are to become independent of the Federal Government, let us at once act a manly and self-reliant part. Let not Texas be subject to the humiliation of dependence on a Government which she has thrown off. If we are to separate, let us have the means provided for taking care of ourselves; and from the date of our separation protect our people with our own army, carry our own mails, and sustain ourselves as an independent people should. The Executive has that confidence in the people of Texas, to believe that if their minds are resolved on separation, they will furnish, if in their power, the millions necessary to maintain that new position.
The Executive relies upon the wisdom of the Legislature to devise the ways and means to sustain the government, and he can not but press upon the consideration of the Legislature (a large majority of whom regard disunion as a fixed fact) the importance of providing against that contingency. He has now performed his whole duty. If the Legislature provides the means to maintain the public faith, to defend the frontier, and sustain the government in all its departments, the Executive, faithful to the trust reposed in him by the people, will see to it, so far as his powers will permit, that the honor and interest of Texas do not suffer at his hands. If these be unprovided for and the government is left in its present condition, he will feel that this last appeal to the wisdom, justice, and patriotism of your honorable body will justify him to the world, should his endeavors to care for the interest of the people be fruitless.
Sam Houston.
APPENDIX.
IN 1878 there was published, at Austin, Texas, a pamphlet having a special interest as relates to the history of the State of Texas. It is entitled, "The Battle of San Jacinto, as viewed from both an American and Mexican Standpoint; its Details and Incidents as Officially Reported by Major-General Sam Houston, of the Texan Army; also, an Account of the Action written by Colonel Pedro Delgado, of General Santa Anna's Staff." The official report of General Houston has its place in the preceding pages of this volume.
The "roster" of the Texan army engaged in that battle, which in the pamphlet follows General Houston's report, is one of those permanent documents which will have a lasting interest, not only for the descendants of the men then engaged, but for their fellow-citizens and for the world at large. As the names of the Spartans who fell at Thermopylǽ were treasured as worthy of equal honor with their chieftain, so with the memory of Sam Houston should be sacredly guarded that of his brave associates, to whom the victory which saved a people and won a State was due. If the Plymouth obelisk holds engraved on granite the names of all that came to the northern extreme of the American Republic, the truest men of the North, the day ought not to be distant when a similar shaft shall enroll the names of these truest men of the South.
The Mexican report is worthy of perpetuation; that, so long as the annals of American history are read, the contrast between the style of thought and of expression with which the Anglo-Saxon settlers of Texas had to contend should be preserved as a memorial. Invited, as they were, by Santa Anna to settlement in Mexican territory, that they might strengthen the Republic established at the separation of the Mexican colonies from Spain, the very style of this report reveals the character of the man and his associates, who sought to force them to become the tools of the Dictator's personal ambition.
The special interest of this pamphlet is enhanced by the fact that it was printed at the "Institution for the Deaf and Dumb " established in Texas — an index of the advance of State institutions at the extreme south-west of the American Union,
MEXICAN ACCOUNT OF THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.
By Col. Pedro Delgado, of Gen. Santa Anna's Staff.
On the 14th of April, 1836, His Excellency the President ordered his Staff to prepare to march, with only one skiff, and leaving his own and the officers' baggage with General Ramirez y Sesma, who was instructed to remain at the crossing of the Brazos, whither we expected to return within three days.
On the 13th the (lank companies of the Battalions of Matamoros, Aldama, Guerrero, Toluca, Mexico, and, I believe, Gaudalajara, had commenced crossing the river with a six-pounder commanded by Lieutenant Ignacio Arrenal, and fifty mounted men of Tampico and Guanajuato, who formed His Excellency's escort. The whole force amounted to 600 men, more or less.
At about 4 o'clock p.m. His Excellency started for Harrisburg, with the force above mentioned.
The bottom of the Brazos is a dense and lofty timber over three leagues wide. On reaching the prairie we found a small creek, which offered only one crossing. The infantry passed it comfortably over a large tree which had fallen in such a manner as to form a convenient bridge. The ammunition was passed over by hand. But His Excellency, to avoid delay, ordered the baggage and the commissary stores to remain packed on the mules. However, the water was soon over the pack-saddles, and the opposite bank was steep and slippery. Several mules fell down, interfering with each other, which resulted in a terrible jamming of officers and dragoons, pack-mules and horses. This, together with shouts and curses, completed a scene of wild confusion, which His Excellency witnessed with hearty laughter. Several officers and dragoons fell in the water; the stores were damaged, and two mules were drowned. So much for the precipitation of this march.
The sun had already set when we resumed the march over a muddy prairie. The night was dark; a great many men straggled off, and our piece of artillery bogged at every turn of the wheel. Such -was our condition, when, at about 9 o'clock. His Excellency ordered a halt in a small grove, where we passed the night without water.
On the 15th, at 8 o'clock a.m., most of the stragglers having joined, we started again.
At about noon we reached a plantation abundantly supplied with corn, meal, sheep, and hogs; it had a good garden and a fine cotton-gin. We halted to refresh men and beasts.
At 3 o'clock p.m., after having set fire to the dwelling and gin-houses, we resumed our march. Here His Excellency started ahead with his Staff and escort, leaving General Castrillon in command of the infantry. We traveled, at a brisk trot, at least ten leagues without halting, until we reached the vicinity of Harrisburg at about 11 o'clock at night. His Excellency, with an Adjutant and fifteen dragoons, went on foot to that town, distant about one mile, entered it, and succeeded in capturing two Americans, who stated that Zavala and other members of the so-called Government of Texas had left the morning before for Galveston. A part of the infantry joined us on the following morning at daylight.
On the 16th we remained at Harrisburg, to await our broken-down stragglers, who kept dropping in until 2 or 3 o'clock p.m.
On the opposite side of the bayou we found two or three houses well supplied with wearing apparel, mainly for women's use, fine furniture, an excellent piano, jars of preserves, chocolate, fruit, etc., all of which were appropriated for the benefit of His Excellency and his attendants. I and others obtained only what they could not use. After the houses had been sacked and burnt down, a party of Americans fired upon our men from the woods; it is wonderful that some of us, camped as we were along the bank of the bayou, were not killed. The Quartermaster-Sergeant of Matamoros was seriously wounded. This incident took place at 5 o'clock p.m. On the same day Colonel Almonte started from Harrisburg for New Washington with the cavalry.
On the 17th, at about 3 o'clock p.m., His Excellency, after having instructed me to burn the town, started for New Washington with the troops. It was nearly dark when we had finished crossing the bayou. Then a courier from General Almonte arrived, upon which His Excellency ordered Colonel Iberri to start with his Adjutant, bearing dispatches to General Filisola on the Brazos. At 7 o'clock p.m. we resumed our march. Our piece of artillery bogged at every moment in some hole or ravine. As it was found impossible for the draught mules to cross a narrow bridge, rendered still more dangerous by darkness and rain, His Excellency instructed General Castrillon to head the bayou with the cannon, three leagues above, with an escort of only one company of infantry.
Shortly after 10 o'clock at night a violent storm set in; darkness caused us to wander from our course, in consequence of which His Excellency ordered a halt, requiring every man to stand in the ranks, without shelter from the rain.
On the morning of the 18th we moved on, our cannon being still far away. At noon we reached New Washington, where we found flour, soap, tobacco, and other articles, which were issued to the men. His Excellency instructed me to mount one of his horses, and, with a small party of dragoons, to gather beeves for the use of the troops. In a short time I drove in more than one hundred head of cattle, so abundant are they in that country.
General Castrillon came in, at 5 o'clock p.m., with the cannon.
On the 19th His Excellency ordered Captain Barragan to start with a detachment of dragoons to reconnoitre Houston's movements. We halted at that place, all being quiet.
On the 20th, at about 8 o'clock a.m., everything was ready for the march. We had burnt a fine warehouse on the wharf, and all the hpuses in the town, when Captain Barragan rushed in at full speed, reporting that Houston was close on our rear, and that his troops had captured some of our stragglers, and had disarmed and dispatched them.
There is in front of New Washington a dense wood, through which runs a narrow lane, about half a league in length, allowing passage to pack-mules, in single file only, and to mounted men in double file. This lane was filled with our pickets, the drove of mules, and the remainder of the detachment. His Excellency and Staff were still in the town. Upon hearing Barragan's report, he leaped on his horse, and galloped off at full speed for the lane, which, being crowded with men and mules, did not afford him as prompt an exit as he wished. However, knocking down one, and riding over another, he overcame the obstacles, shouting at the top of his voice, "The enemy are coming! the enemy are coming!" The excitement of the General-in-chief had such a terrifying effect upon the troops that every face turned pale; order could no longer be preserved, and every man thought of flight, or of finding a hiding-place, and gave up all idea of fighting. Upon reaching the prairie a column of attack was formed with trepidation and confusion, amidst incoherent movements and contradictory orders.
At this moment His Excellency did me the honor to place me in command of the artillery and ordnance, giving me his orders verbally, with strict injunctions as to my responsibility. Meanwhile, the officers having dismounted and taken their stations in front of their commands, we moved in search of the enemy, with flankers on both sides to explore the woods. As the knapsacks might impede the movements of the men, His Excellency ordered that they should be dropped on the road, still preserving our formation. The order was obeyed, the knapsacks being left in the keeping of Providence or fortune, and we resumed our march.
It was 2 o'clock p.m. when we descried Houston's pickets at the edge of a large wood, in which he concealed his main force. Our skirmishers commenced firing; they were answered by the enemy, who fell back in the woods. His Excellency reached the ground with our main body, with the intention, as I understood, of attacking at once; but they kept hidden, which prevented him from ascertaining their position. He, therefore, changed his dispositions, and ordered the company of Toluca to deploy as skirmishers in the direction of the woods. Our cannon, established on a small elevation, opened its fire. The enemy responded with a discharge of grape, which wounded severely Captain Urrizia, and killed his horse.
At this moment His Excellency came to me and ordered me to unload the ordnance stores, and to turn over the twenty mules on which they were packed to Captain Barragan, who was instructed to bring in the knapsacks which had been left on the road. I was cautious enough to part with only eighteen mules, keeping two for an emergency.
Then His Excellency went to look for a camping-ground, and established his whole force along the shore of San Jacinto Bay, at least one mile from the place where I had been left. About one hour later I received orders, through Colonel Bringas, to come into camp immediately with the ordnance stores and the piece of artillery. That officer was, also, the bearer of orders to the company of Toluca, the only force that checked the enemy, to fall back likewise. I observed to Colonel Bringas that it would take some time to execute this order — the chests, as His Excellency knew, being piled up on the ground, and I having only two mules upon which to load them; and, futhermore, that should the company of Toluca leave me unsupported, the enemy would probably pounce upon the stores, all of which would go to the devil. Colonel Bringas advised me to do as best I could, adding that I ought to know that no observations could be made to His Excellency, and he had no desire to argue with him in the raving state of mind in which he was.
The Colonel parted with me, followed by the company of Toluca. It may well be imagined that, as soon as the enemy saw our artillery and stores unprotected, he paid them special attention. He established his cannons in such a manner as to disable our guu and to support an attack, should it take place. Their first shot shattered the caisson on the limber; another scattered about our ordnance boxes; another, again, killed two fine mules; and they kept annoying us during the two long hours it took me to remove, with only two mules, forty and odd boxes of ammunition. How the General-in-chief had endangered the whole division! I acknowledge that I had never before been in such danger. What would have become of me if, in consequence of the General's order, the enemy had captured our artillery and stores, as he might have done, unsupported as it was? I had no resource left but to make the best defense I could with my gun. For this purpose I instructed Lieutenant Arenal to have it loaded with grape, and not to fire until the enemy came within close range, in order both to spare ammunition and to intimidate the assailants.
At length, at 5 o'clock p.m., my duty was performed, and. as I entered the camp with the last load, I was closely followed by the enemy's cavalry. His Excellency noticing it, instructed me to order Captain Aguirre, who commanded our cavalry, to face the enemy, without gaining ground. This movement checked the enemy for a few moments; but, soon after, they dashed upon our dragoons, and were close enough to engage them with the sword, without, however, any material result. Then His Excellency, deploying several companies as skirmishers, forced the enemy back to his camp, on which he retired sluggishly and in disorder.
This last engagement took place after sundown.
At daybreak on the 21st, His Excellency ordered a breastwork to be erected for the cannon. It was constructed with pack-saddles, sacks of hard bread, baggage, etc. A trifling barricade of branches ran along its front and right.
The camping-ground of His Excellency's selection was, in all respects, against military rules. Any youngster would have done better.
We had the enemy on our right, within a wood, at long musket range. Our front, although level, was exposed to the fire of the enemy, who could keep it up with impunity from his sheltered position. Retreat was easy for him on his rear and right, while our own troops had no space for manoeuvering. We had in our rear a small grove, reaching to the bay shore, which extended on our right as far as New Washington. What ground had we to retreat upon in case of a reverse? From sad experience, I answer— None!
A few hours before the engagement I submitted to General Castrillon a few remarks on the subject, suggested by my limited knowledge. But he answered: "What can I do, my friend? I know it well, but I can not help it. You know that nothing avails here against the caprice, arbitrary will, and ignorance of that man." This was said in an impassioned voice, and in close proximity to His Excellency's tent.
At 9 o'clock a.m. General Cos came in with a reinforcement of about 500 men. His arrival was greeted with the roll of drums and with joyful shouts. As it was represented to His Excellency that these men had not slept the night before, he instructed them to stack their arms, to remove their accoutrements, and to go to sleep quietly in the adjoining grove.
No important incident took place until 4:30 p.m. At this fatal moment the bugler on our right signaled the advance of the enemy upon that wing. His Excellency and Staff were asleep; the greater number of the men were also sleeping; of the rest, some were eating, others were scattered in the woods in search of boughs to prepare shelter. Our line was composed of musket stacks. Our cavalry were riding bare-back to and from water.
I stepped upon some ammunition boxes, the better to observe the movements of the enemy. I saw that their formation was a mere line in one rank, and very extended. In their center was the Texas flag; on both wings they had two light cannons, well manned. Their cavalry was opposite our front, overlapping our left.
In this disposition, yelling furiously, with a brisk fire of grape, muskets, and rifles, they advanced resolutely upon our camp. There the utmost confusion prevailed. General Castrillon shouted on one side; on another Colonel Almonte was giving orders; some cried out to commence firing; others to lie down to avoid grape-shots. Among the latter was His Excellency.
Then, already, I saw our men flying in small groups, terrified, and sheltering themselves behind large trees. I endeavored to force some of them to fight, but all efforts were in vain — the evil was beyond remedy; they were a bewildered and panic-stricken herd.
The enemy kept up a brisk cross-fire of grape on the woods. Presently we heard, in close proximity, the unpleasant noise of their clamors. Meeting no resistance, they dashed, lightning like, upon our deserted camp.
Then I saw His Excellency running about in the utmost excitement, wringing his hands and unable to give an order. General Castrillon was stretched on the ground wounded in the leg. Colonel Trevino was killed, and Colonel Marcial Aguirre was severely injured. I saw, also, the enemy reaching the ordnance train, and killing a corporal and two gunners who had been detailed to repair cartridges which had been damaged on the previous evening.
Everything being lost, I went — leading my horse, which I could not mount, because the firing had rendered him restless and fractious — to join our men, still hoping that we might be able to defend ourselves, or to retire under the shelter of night. This, however, could not be done. It is a known fact that Mexican soldiers, once demoralized, can not be controlled, unless they are thoroughly inured to war.
On the left, and about a musket-shot distance from our camp, was a small grove on the bay shore. Our disbanded herd rushed for it, to obtain shelter from the horrid slaughter carried on all over the prairie by the bloodthirsty usurpers. Unfortunately, we met, on our way, an obstacle difficult to overcome. It was a bayou, not very wide, but rather deep. The men, on reaching it, would helplessly crowd together, and were shot down by the enemy, who was close enough not to miss his aim. It was there that the greatest carnage took place.
Upon reaching that spot, I saw Colonel Almonte swimming across the bayou with his left hand, and holding up his right, which grasped his sword.
I stated before that I was leading my horse, but, in this critical situation, I vaulted on him, and, with two leaps, he landed me on the opposite bank of the bayou. To my sorrow, I had to leave that noble animal, mired, at that place, and to part with him, probably forever. As I dismounted I sank in the mire waist deep, and I had the greatest trouble to get out of it by taking hold of the grass. Both my shoes remained in the bayou. I made an effort to recover them, but I soon came to the conclusion that, did I tarry there, a rifle shot would certainly make an outlet for my soul, as had happened to many a poor fellow around me. Thus I made for the grove barefooted.
There I met a number of other officers, with whom I wandered at random, buried in gloomy thoughts upon our tragic disaster. We still entertained a hope of rallying some of our men, but it was impossible.
The enemy's cavalry surrounded the grove, while his infantry penetrated it, pursuing us with fierce and bloodthirsty feelings.
There they killed Colonel Batres; and it would have been all over with us had not Providence placed us in the hands of the noble and generous captain of cavalry, Allen, who, by great exertion, saved us repeatedly from being slaughtered by the drunken and infuriated volunteers.
Thence they marched us to their camp. I was barefooted; the prairie had recently been burnt up, and the blades of grass, hardened by fire, penetrated like needles the soles of my feet, so that I could scarcely walk. This did not prevent them from striking me with the butt end of their guns, because I did not walk as fast as they wanted.
These savages struck, with their bayonets, our wounded soldiers lying on the way; others, following them, consummated the sacrifice with a musket or a pistol shot.
I can not forbear mentioning an incident which affected me deeply, and, I believe, had the same effect on my companions. We were about one hundred and fifty officers and men picked up by Allen's party, who marched us to their camp under close guard. I have no doubt that the Americans, amidst the hurrahs and exultation of their triumph, were lavish of insults; however, not understanding their language, we did not feel them. But one of our own countrymen, who had joined the enemy's cause, assailed us, in our own language, with such a volley of threats, insults, and abuse, that the tongue of that vile and recreant Mexican seemed to have been wrought in the very caves of hell, and set in motion by Lucifer himself. "Now, you shall see," he said, "contemptible and faithless assassins, if you do not pay with your vile blood for your murders at the Alamo and La Bahia. The time has come when the just cause we defend triumphs over you; you shall pay with your heads for the arson, robberies, and depredations you have committed in our country," etc., etc.
What a welcome for honorable men, who knew, in the depth of their hearts, that they had acted in accordance with the dictates of duty, when, unfortunate, prostrate, and humbled in the extreme, the fate of war had placed their lives at the mercy of these brigands, and when they were awaiting, with resignation, the consummation of the sacrifice! Can such wicked men exist?
At last we reached the camp. We were seated on the ground, by twos, as we had marched. On the bay shore our thirst had been quenched with an abundance of water, which Allen and others allowed to pass from hand to hand until all of us were satisfied. A crowd gathered around us, asking, with persistent impertinence, "General Santa Anna? General Cos?" We knew not the fate of these gentlemen; but, to rid ourselves of their repeated questions, we answered: "Dead! dead!" I still wore my embroidered shoulder-straps on my jacke ; they attracted their attention, and one after another would say: "You General?" "Me no General!" would I answer, until one of the indefatigable questioners tore off my shoulder-straps angrily. I was glad of it, as they ceased importuning me with their questions.
After having kept us sitting about an hour and a half, they marched us into the woods, where we saw an immense fire, made up of a huge pile of wood, even whole trees being used. I and several of my companions were silly enough to believe that we were about to be burnt alive, in retaliation for those who had been burnt in the Alamo. We should have considered it an act of mercy to be shot first. Oh ! the bitter and cruel moment! However, we felt considerably relieved when they placed us around the fire to warm ourselves and to dry our wet clothes. We were surrounded by twenty-five or thirty sentinels. You should have seen those men, or rather phantoms, converted into moving armories; some wore two, three, and even four brace of pistols; a cloth bag, of very respectable size, filled with bullets; a powder horn; a sabre, or a bowie knife, besides a rifle, musket, or carbine. Every one of them had in his hand a burning candle. I wonder where they obtained so many of them, for the heat of their hands and the breeze melted them very fast, and yet that illumination was kept up the whole night. Was this display of light intended to prevent us from attempting an escape? The fools! where could we go in that vast country, unknown to us, intersected by large rivers and forests, where wild beasts and hunger, and where they themselves, would destroy us?
Early on the 22d our camp was visited by the so-called Secretary of War, Mr. Rusk, who asked us endless questions upon the grand topic of the day — our defeat and their unexpected success. Colonel Juan N. Almonte, the only one of us who spoke English, answered his questions. That gentleman renewed his visits. Once he asked for a list of the names, surnames, and rank of the captured officers, which list was promptly made up by Almonte, with a pen or pencil, I do not remember which,, and handed over immediately.
There were not wanting among us officers sufficiently forgetful of duty and of the dignity and decorum of their rank to mingle with the enlisted men, because it was rumored that from sergeant down would be spared, and from lieutenant upward would be shot. What a shame that such contemptible beings, destitute of honor, should still associate with those who have always proudly borne, and gloried in, their noble badges of office.
Some Americans would come and tell us, in broken Spanish, what was going on amongst their leaders, stating that the officers and the people — that is, the soldiery — were holding a meeting to consider the question whether we should be shot before notifying it to their Government, or whether the execution should be postponed until ordered by the superior authority. Such was the state of our affairs when the assembly, roll-call, or something else, was beaten. Over a hundred men fell into line; they loaded their guns, and then stood at ease. We felt rather nervous. I, for one, was as cold as ice, believing that those in favor of immediate execution had carried the point, and that the fatal moment had come. Soon, however, our confidence returned, when a good man (they are to be found everywhere) told us to cheer up, as Houston, Rusk, Allen, and others, whom I respect for it, had opposed the motion. In fact, the party that had been formed near us went to relieve the guard.
At this time they began bringing in, on wagons and on our own mules, the arms, stores, clothing, baggage, and all the spoils of our camp, which operation took four whole days.
At 2 o'clock p.m. His Excellency the General-in-chief, Don Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, arrived, under the charge of a mounted soldier. He wore linen trowsers, a blue cotton jacket, a cap, and red worsted slippers. His leader did not know him, but, noticing a motion of curiosity amongst us as he approached, he became satisfied that he was conducting no common officer, and reported at once with him to General Houston. The latter sent two of his Adjutants to inquire of us whether Santa Anna had lost any teeth; some answered that they did not know; but others, with more candor, or, perhaps, less discretion, said: "Yes, gentlemen; and you may further say to your General, that the person just brought before him is President Santa Anna himself." The news spread over the whole camp, and the inquisitive fellows who surrounded us ran to strike up an acquaintance with His Excellency. Some of them proposed to fire salutes, and to make other demonstrations to celebrate the capture of so lofty a person. But Houston courteously forbade it. From this time we were left alone. His Excellency having become the center of attraction.
On the 23d seventy or eighty loads of ordnance stores had already been brought in, and deposited, together with piles of loaded muskets and of cartridge-boxes, in close proximity to our camp.
We had noticed repeatedly that some of the Americans went about that combustible matter, and even handled it, with their pipes in their mouths. In one of these instances of carelessness, some grains of powder, scattered on the ground, were ignited; the fire reached the cartridge-boxes and their contents, and soon extended to the pans of the muskets, which exploded like an infernal machine. The prairie, too, was set on fire, and the covers of the ordnance-boxes were already burning. Those nearest the scene of danger took to flight; we and our sentinels followed, and, although we knew that they would be dissatisfied at our race, and might possibly fire at us, we kept running. Then the guard, and even some of the officers, in view of the increasing danger, chose not to remain hindmost, and kept pace with us, expecting at every moment the fatal explosion. We had run a considerable distance, when we turned round, and saw that the fire had been extinguished. We could not help applauding the resolution and bold determination with which some of these extraordinary men had rushed into the flames, and smothered them with their feet and blankets, and some water drawn from the bay. We had a narrow escape. I thought at one time that the conquerors of San Jacinto would all be blown up into eternity; not, however, without some regret on my part to have to go the way they went, owing to their stupid carelessness.
On the 24th several batches of officers and men were brought in by the numerous scouting parties sent out to search the country.
At 5 o'clock p.m. a steamboat arrived, having on board the Texan President, Vice-President Zavala, and other members of the administration.
The artillery on board, consisting of two guns, fired a salute of five rounds; the troops in camp were formed in line, and received their supreme magistrate with hurrahs; then he was conducted triumphantly to General Houston's tent.
Among the Yankees who spoke Spanish a little, and came to talk with, or rather to insult us, was a hunchback, an inveterate talker. The wretch, who did not measure a yard and a half above the ground, took a wicked pleasure in bringing us stirring and unpleasant news. He boasted much of his gallantry, and, when reciting his many acts of prowess, the little rascal would say: "Well, did Santa Anna believe that he could trifle with us? Not he! He can, perhaps, fight his own people, because he knows them, and knows, also, that they are not brave, gallant, and determined, as we are. He thought us far away, poor fellow! without noticing that we were on his tracks, keeping him in sight, counting, with our spy-glasses, on tree-tops, his men, one by one, and allowing him to come and entrap himself in this corner, with no means of escape, as we had burnt the bridge over the bayou behind him, and had made our preparations to bag every one of you. If he does not sign, at once, a treaty putting an end to the war, and removing every Mexican soldier from our territory, it will cost not only his life, but also the lives of all you prisoners." Such was the conversation of our bold little hunchback.
On the 25th, General Cos and Captains Bachiller and Iberri were confined with us. The presence of the General had created such a sensation among the conquerors that they crowded and quarreled for a sight of him — they would even push off the sentinels. The General found it expedient to lie down, wrapping his head in his blanket, to avoid the annoyance of their impertinent curiosity. Scoundrels were not wanting who would have murdered him.
On the 26th our property was sold at auction. It was hard to see them breaking our trunks open, and every one of them loaded with our shirts, trousers, coats, etc., whilst we remained with what we had on our bodies.
I saw my boots going, while my blistered feet were wrapped up in pieces of raw hide.
To make up for our cloaks, overcoats, and blankets, which belonged to the highest bidder, they favored us with the great-coats of our own soldiers, which were so lousy that we had the greatest trouble to rid ourselves of the vermin; and, still, we had nothing else with which to cover ourselves.
His Excellency, the General-in-chief, alone had the good fortune to preserve most, if not the whole, of his baggage.
The saddle and pack-mules belonging to our division were also distributed among the conquering officers and soldiers.
It was quite amusing to see these gentlemen putting riding saddles on some fractious and wicked mule, which knew nothing beyond the pack.
They would adorn them with the green and red cords which our Voltigeurs and Grenadiers wore on their caps, placing them on their ears, necks, or backs. One did put two pair of blinds on one mule — one on the head- stall, as it should be, and the other on the nose-band, stopping the poor animal's nostrils.
They would also bedeck their mules with the epaulets of our officers, caring little if one was white and the other yellow — they glittered, that was enough. They delighted in covering their animals with all sorts of trappings and colors, after the fashion of our bull-fight clowns.
One of these young chevaliers attracted more especially my attention. He had saddled up and adorned his mule, without, however, noticing that the surcingle was loose. He mounted the long-eared steed, which was held fast by some of his friends whilst he steadied himself in the saddle. They let go; and you should have seen the brute scampering over God's own green fields, and scattering about its trappings and ornaments. Lo! our poor Yankee flies on high with his saddle, and drops heavily on the ground, from which he could not rise, his ribs being somewhat damaged. This was not the worst, but the mule, once in the woods, could not be caught again. Trials of horsemanship lasted the whole day, but most of the champions shared the fate of the first one. How strange these men are! Many of them act and feel like the wild Comanche.
On the 27th and following days, no incident took place worth being noticed. I will only say, to the everlasting shame of our conquerors, that they kept us starving, sleeping in the mud, and exposed to frequent and heavy showers. Still more intolerable was the stench arising from the corpses on the field of San Jacinto, which they had not the generosity to burn or to bury, after the time-honored custom, regardless of their own comfort and health and those of the surrounding settlements.
On the 3d of May, at 4 o'clock p.m., we were sent to another camp, distant a little over one league. There were two or three frame houses, but they were occupied by both the conquering and conquered Generals, lodgings being provided for us under the trees. There, again, an attempt was made to murder General Cos.
Four days passed along quietly.
On the 7th, at 5 o'clock' p.m., they marched us on board the steamboat Yellow Stone, where we found General Santa Anna, the President, Senor Zavala, and other dignitaries of their so-called Government. Shortly after General Houston was carried on board on his cot, on his way to New Orleans to obtain medical attendance for a wound he had received in his leg at San Jacinto. There was also the Mexican General Adrian Woll, who had come from our army under flag of truce. This gallant General, our good friend, was dismissed at sundown, being hardly allowed to embrace two or three of us, with a few hurried words, as we were surrounded by very strict and insolent guards. I saw, as he landed, tears of indignation gushing forth from his eyes at the wretched and degraded condition of his brothers-in-arms. I am sure he wished he was lightning, to smite our oppressors. In parting with us, he expressed the deepest sorrow.
The officer under whose charge we were on board was, if I do not mistake, a physician, and was extremely harsh and tyrannical. After sunset we were no longer permitted to move, having to sleep on deck, crowded, like bars of soap, on top of each other. Positive orders had been given to the sentinels to blow out the brains of any man that raised his head. Therefore, without obtaining a drink of water, or being allowed to attend to the wants of nature, we laid our heads down, motionless, until sunrise.
Very early on the 8th, after striking a bell three times, as is customary on these vessels, the machine was set in motion, and we glided down to Galveston. Not to forget it, I will mention a strange incident. As the steamboat passed opposite the battle-field of San Jacinto, the troops on board were formed, facing to the field, and presented arms, the drums beating a march. They remained in that position until they had lost sight of the field. What was their object?
A little after 12 o'clock M. we reached Galveston, remaining in the sun the rest of the day.
There we passed another unpleasant moment. The company from Kentucky was composed of the most reckless, drunken, and lawless men in the Texan army, and we prisoners were placed under the charge of these lambs. Some of the men began, I do not know why, to fight with their fists, which soon brought about a general melee. They struck at each other indiscriminately, some seizing their rifles and pistols. Officers interfered, and were soon mingled in the row, giving and receiving blows. Soldiers knew no longer their officers, and a fierce affray raged for some time. The uproar and stamping of feet on the deck attracted the attention of the gentlemen in the cabin below. They came out to ascertain the cause of the difficulty, but the rascals were so hotly engaged in their contest that they did not mind the voice of their President and other chiefs any more than the barking of dogs. Fearful that the disorder might increase, and, perhaps, end in a tragic manner, we remained motionless. At length, by choking some of them, and by the utmost exertion the brave Captain Allen succeeded in restoring order.
General Santa Anna was transferred on board the Independence, and we were landed at sunset.
I was lucky enough to meet Lieutenant Carlos Ocampo, of the Battalion of Jimenes, who gave me a bounteous supply of coffee and hard bread, with which I made up for the last two days' fast. For several days our philanthropic benefactors had allowed us but one ounce of food. The citizens Don Ramon Murgo and Don Gil Hernandez, who had been captured on a Mexican vessel boarded by the Texans, shared the captivity of Lieutenant Ocampo. The bad treatment inflicted by these wretches on that officer can scarcely be conceived. I saw his shoulders covered with stripes and sores, resulting from one hundred lashes laid on him when fastened to a gun.
On the 9th the officers were assigned a camping-ground — less than fifty square yards — where we remained until the middle of August. Our condition was infinitely worse on that accursed island, because we had no wholesome water, nor the shelter of shade trees, which we had enjoyed on our former camping-grounds. The heat is much more intense on the coast, and, besides, we had to contend with myriads of flies, mosquitoes, and sand-crabs, not to speak of continual storms and showers. Such were the swarms of mosquitoes, that it would seem that the whole species in the world had taken Galveston for a place of rendezvous. The sand-crabs would bite, without, however, being venomous; but they gnawed and destroyed our wretched clothing. The little pests became so tame that large numbers of them lived and slept among us. So many enemies at the same time were too many for us. Within forty days few amongst us were still in good health. From 10 o'clock in the morning the sun darted its rays so intensely upon our tents that they became suffocating, their temperature rising to that of an oven, and forcing us out. We obtained water from holes dug on the bay shore — it was warm, and tasted horridly.
As to food — so long as the stores of a vessel, robbed by them from our nation, lasted, we fared tolerably well; but, these supplies being exhausted, they starved us again.
The tidings of San Jacinto had spread abroad. Those who received them with the greatest delight were a certain class of vagabonds and lawless men, burdened with crimes, who hid themselves in the large city of New Orleans. These Gipsies, the refuse of the world, had some scruple in joining the cause of Texas, as congenial as it was to them, for the mere trifling fact that Santa Anna had entered it with 6,000 Mexicans. They had preferred to pause, with due regard for their valuable skins, and await the result. No sooner, however, had they heard of the disaster of the 21st of April, than their patriotism was screwed up to the highest pitch. They became louder in their boasts; ran to enlist to fill up the ranks of the Texan rebels, as adventurers or volunteers, and shipped at once to join the army. Henceforth shiploads of that hateful rabble came in quick succession from New Orleans. Now they could, without danger, squabble over the league of land, or for the ownership of the land of plenty. As they approached the coast of Galveston, and descried the promised land, Orestes-like, they greeted with enthusiasm their beloved new home. Their hurrahs and expressions of joy were interspersed with deep and repeated draughts of their horrid whiskey. All their trust and hope lay now in the dense forests and fertile plains of Texas.
Such were not our feelings. Whenever the arrival of these new-comers was announced, gloom prevailed in our camp, knowing that we had to expect every kind of impertinence. Every gang of that rabble that came surrounded our camp, most of them being drunk, and thought it becoming to make a display of bravery and patriotism, by pouring upon us a volley of Godames, and other abusive expressions. Our outward appearance was, unfortunately, quite ridiculous; filthy, lean, unshorn, most of us sick, some in rags, or all but naked, we sought, naturally to hide ourselves. Not so, however; we were compelled to form in line, in order that nothing might escape the scrutiny, criticism, and merriment of our inquisitive visitors, who, of course, conceived a poor idea of the Mexican people from the samples exhibited before them. Nevertheless, and in spite of the helpless condition in which they saw us, they discussed among themselves the propriety of calling on us at night for the charitable purpose of murdering us. General Cos, who had received several reports on that subject, sent for the commandant of the camp to acquaint him with the facts, and to request him to protect us by an increase of guards and vigilance.
There were among the volunteers some men of wealth and education who came to our camp for the only purpose of visiting, and being acquainted with, the prisoners. These gentlemen were accompanied to our camp by the commandant, who introduced them to us with much regard and formahty. After a short conversation, through an interpreter, they took leave of us, to call on Don Martin Prefecto de Cos.
This noble and young Mexican General was our constant companion and good friend in captivity, relieving, by all means in his power, his countrymen, and particularly the sick, giving them clothing, money, and other necessaries. He met the annoyances of captivity with noble resignation; with his lofty manners and perfect breeding, he soothed the ferocious nature of these tigers, causing them to become more tractable and humane with us. Colonel Morgan, the commandant of our camp, was a harsh and rough man, a violent enemy to the Mexicans. Nevertheless, he became so attached to Cos that he asked of him his portrait, which he showed to all his friends as a particularly valuable gift. Cos evinced such a calm dignity in captivity, that twice, or three times, assassins, who had resolved upon his death, desisted from their design upon seeing him, embraced him, and became his friends. Let it not be said that I flatter him, for I have never received any favor from him; therefore my praise should be above suspicion.
I have said that we remained on Galveston Island until the middle of August.
On the 16th of that month we slept on board a schooner, the name of which I do not remember, and, on the i8th, we landed at the town of Anahuac, where we remained up to the 25th. At 4 o'clock p.m. we started for Liberty, ten leagues in the interior of Texas, under the orders of Judge William Hardin, of that locality. On our arrival we camped in Judge Hardin's yard, in a small, shady grove. There we breathed a pure air, enjoyed a milder climate, wholesome water, together with much more comfort and liberty. At length we were free from the rod of that pitiless Morgan and the incessant insults of the volunteer rabble.
Soon, however, provisions gave out, notwithstanding the repeated and urgent applications of Hardin to his Government, which failed to attend to them.
It is proper to say, to the honor and credit of Don Francisco Pizarro Martinez, Mexican Consul at New Orleans, that, when we were destitute of food, clothing, and all other necessaries— most of us down struggling with chills and fever, the prevailing disease in that country between the months of October and December — this worthy Mexican sent us a supply of excellent hard bread, sugar, coffee, blankets, and a plain suit of clothes for everyone of us. I am convinced that nothing but the timely arrival of these gifts saved our lives. Had they been delayed only fifteen days most of us would have died, as happened with fifteen of our companions who were laid in the grave, from exhaustion, before that supply reached us.
Judge Hardin relieved our bitter condition by all means in his power, retaining for himself the worst of his houses, in order to appropriate the two others for the sick. Being ill himself, he went, personally, for a physician, medicine, or whatever we needed. He listened to our frequent applications with remarkable patience; granted them if he could; if not, he felt deeply concerned. For the mere form he kept over us two sentinels at night, relieving them in day-time, and allowing some of us to walk about town. In the month of November he built a fine frame house, at his own expense, to shelter us from rain and cold. After a short time he became very much attached to us, and felt so grieved at our unfortunate condition that he withdrew entirely the small detachment that guarded us, and allowed us the limits of the town. Should some drunken man insult us, he went, or sent some member of his family, to drive him out. Meat and salt were our only rations, and these often gave out. Then, even in the stormiest or coldest days, Hardin would shoulder his rifle and walk out to kill a beef, which he sent, ready butchered, to our quarters. When we were out of rations, which happened not seldom, his good and virtuous wife was kind enough to send us large pieces of seasoned beef, bacon, coffee, sugar, bread, and whatever was placed upon her own table. On one occasion she removed from her family beds five or six mattresses, which were placed on the beds of as many of the sick prisoners. Again, on another occasion, she distributed among us half a barrel of hard bread, all that was left for her own use. The butter, potatoes, and corn in the house belonged to the prisoners.
Oh! virtuous family! How great and how many your exertions have been to relieve the despair of our sorrowful and destitute condition! Oh, William Hardin! thy name, and that of thy noble wife, will be imperishable in the hearts of the Mexican prisoners, who, victims of fate, suffered the unexpected disaster of San Jacinto! I vow that, although thou art among the criminal enemies of my beloved country, whether of thy own free will, or because thy destiny so willed it, I will never cease to proclaim and praise thy meritorious and charitable conduct toward us.
A ball was given by the citizens of Liberty, on the 21st of April, 1837, to which all the neighboring families were invited.
The ball was intended to commemorate the bloody 21st of April, 1836, on which day so many illustrious Mexicans were immolated. These people had the effrontery to invite to that criminal entertainment General Cos, who, of course, declined. It was told to him by a man of some standing that there were alarming conversations about the Mexican prisoners. This report was not altogether groundless, inasmuch as the gatherings of those besotted people are invariably more or less influenced by mean liquors. In consequence we spent a very uncomfortable night.
However, it so happened that Bacchus inspired them with gentler feelings. There is no evil that does not work some good. We were told that they deliberated at length upon the question of the prisoners, and that they resolved to send a petition to their Government, which was signed even by the ladies, asking it to dispatch us at once or to set us free, as we were eating up their meat and supplies. They added that their destitution was daily increasing, and that they would soon have nothing left for their families, unless the Government granted them prompt relief.
Hallowed be the hour when this petition was inspired! Its result was that we were set free, which happy news reached us on the memorable 25th day of April, 1837.
RETURN OF KILLED AND WOUNDED IN THE ACTIONS OF THE 20th AND 21st OF APRIL, 1836.
Major-General Sam Houston, wounded severely.
FIRST REGIMENT TEXAS VOLUNTEERS. | |
| Company A.— | Geo. Waters, private, slightly wounded on the 21st. |
| Company B.— | James Counly, private, badly wounded on the 21st. |
| Wm. S. Walker, private, badly wounded on the 21st.* | |
| Company C.— | Capt. Jesse Billingsley, slightly wounded on the 21st. |
| Lemuel Blakely, private, killed on the 21st. | |
| Logan Vandeveer, private, badly wounded on the 21st. | |
| Washington Anderson, private, slightly wounded on the 21st. | |
| Calvin Page, private, slightly wounded on the 21st. | |
| Martin Walker, private, badly wounded on the 21st. | |
| Company D.— | Capt. Mosely Baker, slightly wounded on the 21st. |
| C. D. Anderson, private, slightly wounded on the 21st. | |
| Allen Ingram, private, badly wounded on the 21st. | |
| Company F.— | Leroy Wilkinson, private, slightly wounded on the 21st. |
| James Nelson, private, wounded on the 21st. | |
| Mitchell Putnam, private, wounded on the 21st. | |
| Company H.— | A. R. Stevens, private, wounded on the 21st. |
| J. Tom, private, killed on the 21st. | |
| J. Cooper, private, badly wounded on the 21st. | |
| B. R. Brigham, private, killed on the 21st. | |
Killed, 3; wounded, 15; Total, 18. | |
| Company D.— | 2d Lieut. Lamb, killed on the 21st. |
| G. W. Robinson, private, severely wounded on the 21st. | |
| Wm. Winters, private, severely wounded on the 21st. | |
| 1st Sergt. Albert Gallatin, slightly wounded on the 21st. | |
| Company D.— | E. G. Rector, private, slightly wounded on the 21st. |
| Company E.— | Washington Lewis, private, severely wounded on the 21st. |
| Company F.— | Alphonso Steel, severely wounded on the 21st. |
| Company K.— | 1st Lieut. J. C. Hale}}, killed on the 21st. |
| Company J.— | Capt. Smith, slightly wounded on the 21st. |
| 1st Sergt. Thomas P. Fowl, killed on the 21st. | |
| W. F. James, private, severely wounded on the 21st. | |
| Killed, 3; severely wounded, 5; slightly wounded, 3. Total, 11. | |
Dr. Wm. Motley, wounded severely on the 21st; died since.
A. R. Stevens, wounded severely on the 21st; died since.
Lieut.-Col. J. C. Neil, of the Artillery, wounded severely on the 20th.
Wm. A. Park, of the Artillery, wounded slightly on the 21st.
Devereaux J. Woodlief, of the Cavalry, wounded on the 20th.
Olwyn J. Trask, private, of the Calvary, wounded severely on the 20th.
A LIST OF OFFICERS, NON-COMMISSIONED OFFICERS. AND PRIVATES, ENGAGED IN THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO, ON THE 2IST OF APRIL, 1836.
Major-General Sam Houston, Commander-in-Chief of the Texan Forces.
STAFF. - John A. Wharton
Adjutant-General. - Geo. W. Hockley
Inspector-General. - John Forbes
Commissary-General. - William G. Cooke
Assistant Inspector-General. - A. Horton
Aide-de-Camp. - William H. Patton
Aide-de-Camp. - James Collingsworth
Aide-de-Camp - James H. Perry
Volunteer Aide. - R. Eden Handy
Volunteer Aide. - R, M. Coleman
Volunteer Aide. - Hon. Thomas J. Rusk
Secretary of War. - William Motley
Physician.
MEDICAL STAFF. - Alexander Ewing
Surgeon 1st Regiment Artillery, Acting Surgeon-General. - Davidson
Surgeon 1st Regiment Volunteers. - Fitzhugh
Asst. Surgeon 1st Regiment Volunteers. - Anson Jones
Surgeon 2d Regiment Volunteers. - Shields Booker
Asst. Surgeon 2d Regiment Volunteers. - N. D. Labadie
Asst. Surgeon 2d Regiment Volunteers.
ARTILLERY CORPS. - J. C. Neil[1]
Lieutenant-Colonel. - Isaac N. Moreland
Captain. - W. Stillvvell
1st Lieutenant. - Richardson Scurry
1st Sergeant. - Thomas Plaster
2d Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
T. O. Harris,
Jno. M. Wade,
Hugh M. Swift,
William A. Park,[2]
Thomas Green,
Clark M. Harman,
T. J. Robinson,
M. Baxter,
Ben. McCulloch,
Joseph White,
Thomas N. B. Green,
John Ferrill,
Joseph Floyd,
Alfred Benton,
D. T. Dunham,
Willis Collins,
T. C. Edwards,
S. B. Bardwell.
Assisted by the following regulars from the companies of Captains Teal and Turner::
| Campbell, | Of Teal's Co. | Benson, | Of Turner's Co. | |||
| Millerman, | Clayton, | |||||
| Gainer, | Merwin, | |||||
| Cumberland, | Legg, |
CAVALRY CORPS. - Mirabeau B. Lamar
Commanding. - Henry Karnes
Captain. - W. H, Smith
Captain. - J. R. Cook
1st Lieutenant. - Wm. Harness
2d Lieutenant. - Lem. Gustine
Physician.
PRIVATES.
W. Secrest,
F. Secrest,
A. Allsbury,
S. C. Turnage,
D. W. Reaves,
E. R. Rainwater,
J. D. Elliott,
J. P. Davis,
J. Neil,
N. Nixon,
G. Deaderick,
J. Nash,
Isaac W. Burton,
Jacob Duncan,
A. W. Hill,
Young P. Allsbury,
D. McKay,
W. J. C. Pierce,
W. King,
Thomas Blackwell,
Goodwin,
J. Coker,
W. B. Sweeney,
Benjamin F. Smith,
Thomas Robbins,
Elisha Clapp,
H. Henderson,
George Johnson,
J. W. Williamson,
Wilson C. Brown,
J. Thompson,
John Robbins,
William F. Young,
James Douthatt,
John Carpenter,
William Taylor,
Anthony Foster,
Z. Y. Beauford,
Spenser Townsend,
James Shaw,
William D. Redd,
Clopper,
P. H. Bell,
J. W. Robinson.
REGULARS. - Lieut.-Col. Henry Millard
Commanding. - Captain John M. Allen
Acting Major.
Company A. - Andrew Briscoe
Captain. - Martin K. Snell
1st Lieutenant. - Robert McClosky
2d Lieutenant. - Lyman F. Rounds
1st Sergeant. - David S. Nelson
2d Sergeant. - Daniel O. Driscoll
3d Sergeant. - Charles A. Ford
4th Sergeant. - Richardson
1st Corporal. - Harry C. Craig
2d Corporal. - Bear
3d Corporal. - Flores
Musician.
PRIVATES.
Bruff,
Bebee,
Benton,
H. P. Brewster,
Cassady,
Dutcher,
Darrl,
Elliott,
Flynn,
Farley,
Grieves,
Warner,
Henderson,
Lang,
Larbartare,
Limski,
Mason,
Montgomery,
Marsh,
Morton,
O'Niel,
Pierce,
Patton,
Rheinhart,
Kainer,
Richardson,
Smith, 1st,.
Smith, 2d,
Sullivan,
Saunders,
Swain,
Tindall, 1st,
Taylor,
Van Winkle,
Wilkinson,
Webb.
VOLUNTEERS.
Company B. - A. Turner
Captain. - W. Millen
1st Lieutenant. - W. W. Summers
2d Lieutenant. - Charles Stewart
1st Sergeant. - Swearinger
2d Sergeant. - Robert Moore
Corporal. - Thomas Wilson
Corporal. - M. Snyder
Corporal.
PRIVATES.
Belden,
Bernard,
Bissett,
Browning,
Callahan,
Christie,
Clarkson,
Colton,
Dalrymple,
Eldridge,
Edson,
Harper,
Hogan,
Harvey,
Johnson,
Keeland,
Ludus,
Lind,
Minnett,
Mordorff,
Massie,
Moore, 2d,
Nirlas,
Pascal,
Philips,
Smith, 1st,
Smith, 2d,
Scheston,
Sigman
Tyler,
Woods,
Wardryski.
Company B. - Richard Roman
Captain. - Nicholas Dawson
2d Lieutenant. - James Wharton
Sergeant. - A. Mitchell
Sergeant. - S. L. Wheeler
Sergeant. - A. Taylor
Corporal. - J, S. Egbert
Corporal. - W. Moore
Corporal.
PRIVATES.
Angell,
G. Brown,
Joseph Barstow,
J. B. Bradley,
B. Coles,
J. S. Conn,
J. H. T. Dixon,
William Dunbar,
H. Homan,
J. M. Jett,
Stev. Jett,
A. S. Jordan,
S. W. Lamar,
Edward Lewis,
J. W. B. M'Farlane,
A. M'Stea,
H. Miller,
W. G. Newman,
W. Richardson,
D. Tindale,
J. Vinaler,
C. W. Waldron,
F. F. Williams,
James Wilder,
W. S. Walker,
James Ownby.
Company I. - W, S. Fisher
Captain. - R. W. Carter
2d Lieutenant. - Jones
Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
George W. Leek,
N. Rudder,
J. W. Stroud,
Jos. Sovereign,
W. Sargeant,
R. J. W. Reel,
Rufus Wright,
Jos. McAllister,
B. F. Starkley,
Day,
John Morgan,
Tewister,
Slack,
R. Banks,
Jac. Maybee,
Graves,
B. F. Fry,
E. G. Marie,
M'Neil,
J. M. Shreve,
W. Pace,
Ch. Stebbins,
R. Crittenden,
Adam Mosier,
J. S. Patterson,
Jos. Douane,
George W. Mason,
Thomas Pratt,
E. Knoland,
A. H. Miles,
Lewellin,
Joseph Joslyn,
W. S. Armot,
M. W. Brigham.
P. Burt,
H. Bond,
Geo. Fennell,
W. Gill,
Jo. Gillespie,
A. J. Harris
D. James.
STAFF OF THE COMMAND. - Nicholas Lynch
Adjutant. - W. M. Carper
Surgeon. - John Smith
Sergeant-Major. - Pinkney Caldwell
Quartermaster.
FIRST REGIMENT TEXAS VOLUNTEERS. - Edward Burleson
Colonel. - Alex. Somerville
Lieutenant-Colonel. - Jas. W. Tinsley
Adjutant. - H. N. Cleveland
Sergeant-Major.
Company A. - Wm. Wood
Captain. - S. B. Raymond
2d Lieutenant. - J. C. Allison
1st Sergeant. - Jas. A. Sylvester
2d Sergeant. - O. T. Brown
3d Sergeant. - Nathaniel Peck
4th Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
Irwin Armstrong,
Wm. H. Berryhill,
Uriah Blue,
Seymour Bottsford
Luke W. Bust,
James Cumbo,
Elijah V. Dale,
Abner C. Davis,
Jacob Filer,
Simon P. Ford,
Garner,
Giles A. Giddings,
James Greenwood,
Wm. Griffin,
Wm. C. Hays,
Thos. A. Haskin,
Robert Howell,
Wm. Lockridg,
J. D. Loderback,
Edward Miles,
Benj. Osborne,
Jas. R. Pinchback,
Joseph Rhodes,
John W. Rial,
Ralph E. Sevey,
Manasseh Sevey,
Edw. W. Taylor,
John Viven,
George Waters,
James Welsh,
Ezra Westgate,
Walter Winn.
Company C. - Jesse Billingsley
Captain. - Micah Andrews
Lieutenant. - James A. Craft
1st Lieutenant. - Russel B. Craft
1st Sergeant. - Wm. H. Magill
2d Sergeant. - Campbell Taylor
3d Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
L. C. Cunningham,
John Herron,
Preston Conley, ,
Jackson Berry,
Jefferson Barton,
Dempsey Pace,
Lemuel Blakely,
George Self,
Thomas Davy,
Jacob Standefer,
Wayne Barton, ,
Sampson Connell,
Logan Vandcrveer,
Washington Anderson,
William Simmons,
George Green,
Geo. P. Erath
Jno. W. Bunton,
William Crisswell,
Sam. M'Clelland,
Lewis Goodwin,
Jos. Garwood,
Willis Avery,
Jesse Halderman,
Charles Williams
Aaron Burleson,
William Standefer,
Calvin Gage,
Thos. A. Graves,
Gernett E. Brown,
Robert M. Cravens,
Walker Wilson,
Prior Holden,
Thos. H. Mays,
A. M. Highsmith,
James Curtis,
Thos. M. Dennis,
James R. Pace,
John Hobson,
V. M. Bain,
Robert Hood,
Martin Walker,
Dugald M'Lean,
Company D. - Moseley Baker
Captain. - J. P. Borden
1st Lieutenant. - John Pettus
2d Lieutenant. - Joseph Baker
1st Sergeant. - E. O. Pettus
2d Sergeant. - M. A. Bryan
3d Sergeant. - James Bell
1st Corporal. - James Friel
2d Corporal. - Isaac L. Hill
3d Corporal.
PRIVATES.
O. D. Anderson,
J. B. Alexander,
John Beachom,
T. H. Bell,
S. R. Bostic,
P. P. Borden,
J. Carter,
Samuel Davis,
G. W. Davis,
J. R. Foster,
A. Greenlaw,
Fowler,
Hugh Frazier,
Robert Moore,
Jos. McCrabb,
Louis Rorder,
V. W. Swearengen,
Jos. Vermilion,
L E. Watkins,
A. W. Wolsey.
W. R. Williams,
Ellison York,
Patrick Usher,
J. S. Menifee,
Paul Scarbrough,
John Flick,
Wm. Bernbeck,
Millett,
Philip Stroth,
Andreas Voyel,
Nicholas Peck,
Wm. Hawkins,
John Duncan,
Geo. Sutherland,
Thos. Gay,
Joseph Miller,
G. W. Gardner,
Wm. Mock,
S. H. Isbel,
PRIVATES.
William Isbell,
R. Kleburg,
James Tarlton,
Mat. Kuykendall,
J. H. Money,
Allen Ingraham,
Weppler,
John Marshall,
McHenry Winburn,[3]
T. R. Jackson,[3]
D. D. D. Baker.[3]
Company K. - R. J. Calder
Captain. - John Sharpe
1st Lieutenant. - M. A. Bingham
1st Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
B. Brigham,
J. Conner,
F. S. Cooke,
T. Cooke,
S. Conner, B.
Geo. J. Johnstone,
Granville Mills,
Elias Baker,
H. Dibble,
T, M. Fowler,
H. Fields,
B. C. Franklin,
J. Green,
W. C. Hogg,
J. Hall,
E. B. Halstead,
J. W. Hassell,
W. Lambert,
Mims, W. W.
W. Muir,
P. D. M'Neil,
C. Malone,
J. Plunkett,
W. P. Reese,
C. K. Reese,
J. A. Spicer,
H. Stonfer, W. K.
J. Threadgill,
W. P. Scott,
R. Crawford,
S. B. Mitchell,
Gant,
J. S. Edgar,
J. Smith,
T. D. Owen,
W. Hale,
A. G. Butts,
D. Dederick,
C. Forrister,
Denham.
Company F. - Wm. J. E. Heard
Captain. - Wm. Eastland
1st Lieutenant. - Eli Merce
1st Sergeant. - Wilson Lightfoot
2d Sergeant. - Alfred Kelso
1st Corporal. - Elijah Mercer
2d Corporal.
PRIVATES.
Robert M'Laughlin,
Leroy Wilkinson,
Wm. Lightfoot,
Dan'el Miller,
Jesse Robinson,
Josiah Hagans,
John M'Crab,
Maxwell Steel,
John Bigley,
Hugh McKenzie,
Jos. Elinger,
John Halliet,
D. Dunham,
Wm. Passe,
James S. Lester,
Fidelie Breeding,
Christian Winner,
J. Robinson,
James Nelson,
John Tumlinson,
Francis Brockfield,
Charles M. Henry,
James Byrd,
Nathaniel Reid,
Wm. Waters.
P. B. O'Conner,
Thos. Ryons,
John Lewis,
Jos. Highland,
Leander Beeson,
Andrew Sennatt,
S. T. Foley,
Allen Jones,
Thomas Adams,
Mitchell Putnam,
T. M. Hardiman,
Chas. Thompson,
Company H. - Wm. W. Hill
Captain.[4] - R, Stevenson
Commanding Company - H, H. Swisher
1st Lieutenant. - C. Raney
1st Sergeant. - A. R. Stevens
2d Sergeant. - Wm. H. Miller
4th Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
E. Whitesides,
J. S. Stump,
J. M. Swisher,
Moses Davis,
John Lyford,
John Tom,
Nicholas Crunk,
Lewis Clemins,
Wm. Hawkins,
W. J. Cannon,
Jacob Groce,
F. B. Gentry,
J. G. Wilkinson,
A. Dillard,
R. Bowen,
James Farmer,
A. Lesassier,
W. R. Dallis,
M. B. Gray,
James Gray,
B. Doolittle,
John Graham,
James M. Hill,
J. Ingraham,
F. K. Henderson,
Uriah Saunders,
Daniel McKay.
John Craddick,
John Gafford,
N. Mitchell,
David Korneky,
Geo. Petty,
James Evetts,
Prosper Hope,
J. Powell,
Matthew Dunn,
J. D. Jennings,
John C. Hunt,
J. Lawrence,
A. Carruthers
SECOND REGIMENT TEXAS VOLUNTEERS. - Sidney Sherman
Colonel. - Joseph L. Bennett
Lieutenant-Colonel. - Lysander Wells
Major. - Edward B. Wood
Adjutant. - Bennett McNelly
Sergeant-Major.
First Company - Hayden Arnold
Captain. - R. W. Smith
1st Lieutenant. - Isaac Edwards
2d Lieutenant.
PRIVATES.
Sam. Leiper,
Peter W. Holmes,
W. P. Kincannon.
Daniel Doubt,
John Moss,
E. E. Hamilton,
David Rusk,
W. F. Williams,
J. W. McHorse,
H. Malena Alexin,
John Marvey,
M. G. Whitaker,
John Yancy,
S. Yarbrough,
Thos. G. Box,
Nelson Box,
G. R. Mercer
Wm. Nabors,
Wm. T. Sadler,
James Mitchell,
James E. Box,
Sam Phillips,
John B. Trenay,
Levy Perch,
Crawford Grigsby,
John McCoy,
Dickinson Parker,
Jesse Walling,
J. W. Carpenter,
John Box,
W. E. Hallmask,
Thos. D. Brooks,
S. F. Spanks,
Howard Bailey,
H. M. Brewer,
Stephen McLin.
Second Company. - Wm. Ware
Captain. - Job S. Collard
1st Lieutenant. - Geo. a. Lamb
2d Lieutenant. - Albert Gallitin
1st Sergeant. - Wm. C. Winters
2d Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
J. F. Winters,
J. W. Winters,
C. Edenburg,
Lewis Cox,
G. W. Robbinson,
G. W. Lawrence,
Wm. Cartwright, ,
John Sadler,
James Wilson,
James Deritt,
Matthew Moss,
Jesse Thomson.
Third Company. - Wm. M. Logan
Captain. - Franklin Harden
1st Lieutenant. - B. J. Harper
2d Lieutenant. - Edward T. Branch
1st Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
John Biddle,
J. M. Maxwell,
M. Charencan,
E. Bollinger,
P. Bollinger,
John Slayton,
Patrick Carnel,
Wm. M. Smith,
David Choat,
David Cole,
L. J. Dyches,
David H. McFadden,
Thomas Orr,
Luke Bryan,
Wm. Kibbe,
E. M. Tanner,
H. R. Williams,
Michael Pevetoe,
Lefroy Godree,
Joseph Farewell,
C. W. Thompson,
Cornelius Devore,
M. J. Brakey,
Thos. Belnap,
Wm. Duffee,
Joseph Ellender,
Wm. Smith,
Wm. Robertson,
W. A. Smyth,
James Cole.
Fourth Company. - Wm. H. Patton
Captain.[5] - David Murphree
1st Lieutenant. - Peter Harper
2d Lieutenant. - John Smith
1st Sergeant. - Pendleton Rector
2d Sergeant. - A. W. Breedlove
3d Sergeant. - G. L. Bledsoe
1st Corporal.
PRIVATES.
James Bradley,
J. C. Boyd,
Robert Barr,
A. J. Beard,
Alex. Bailey,
J. J. Childs,
St. Clair Patton,
Claiborn Rector,
Colden Denman,
Edw. Darst,
R. B. Darst,
J. K. Davis,
E. Gallaher,
James Hall,
S. Phillips,
Thomas M'Gay,
J. M. M'Cormack,
James Hayr,
Charles Hick,
A. D. Kenyon,
G. W. Lewis,
J. Pickering,
James Harris,
Wm. Brennan,
Phineas Ripley,
Thomas J. Sweeney,
J. B. Taylor,
L. Willoughby,
G. Wright,
M. B. Atkinson,
J. A. Barkley,
Francis Walnut,
Hinton Curtis,
J. B. Grice,
Nat. Hager,
B. F. Cage,
Wm. H. Jack,
Doct. Baylor,
Thos. F. Coney,
A. Lewis,
W. P. Lane,
E. G. Rector.
- Thos. H. M'Intire
Captain. - John P. Gill
1st Lieutenant. - Bazil G. Ijams
2d Lieutenant. - Robert D. Tyler
1st Sergeant. - John Wilkinson
22 Sergeant. - E. G. Coffman
1st Corporal
PRIVATES.
Wm. Boyle,
Benj. Bencroft,
George Barker,
Wm. Bennett,
John Clarke,
J. B. Coliant,
John Chevis, 1st,
John Chevis, 2d,
Thomas Cox,
J. Campbell,
Cooper,
T. Davis,
Oscar Parish,
Thomas Hopkins,
Jack Lowrie,
Cyrus Cepton,
Ambrose Mayer,
Moses Allison,
Placido M'Curdy,
David Odom,
G. W. Penticost,
S. W. Peebles,
Sam. Sharpe,
Isaac Jaques,
Isaac Maiden,
F. Wilkinson.
- James Gillaspie
Captain. - William Finch
1st Lieutenant. - A. L. Harrison
2d Lieutenant. - R. T. Choderick
1st Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
John Sayres,
F. B. Lassiter,
M. R. Goheen,
T. H. Webb,
John Peterson,
J. Montgomery,
T. F. Johnson,
Hez. Harris,
W. F. Ferrill,
Sam. Wyley,
Wm. Fertilan,
A. Montgomery,
A. Lolison,
E. M'Millan,
S. Darling,
J. W. Scolling,
J. Richardson,
Jennings O'Bannion,
Willis L. Ellis,
James Walker,
Alphonzo Steel,
Benj. Johnson,
F. M. Woodward,
Wm. Peterson,
J. C. White,
Robert Henry,
Elijah Votau,
G. Crosby,
Joel Dedrick,
L. Raney.
- B. Bryant
Captain. - John C. Hale
1st Lieutenant. - A. S. Lewis
2d Lieutenant.
PRIVATES.
Wm. Earle,
J. S, P. Irven,
Sim. Roberts,
L. H. White,
A. M'Kenzie,
A. Cobble,
J. R. Johnson,
William Pate,
B. Lindsay,
Joseph P. Parks,
R. B. Russel,
John F. Gilbert,
C. Rockwell,
D. Roberts,
Wm. B. Scates,
James Clarke,
Robert Love.
- William Kimbo
Captain. - James Rowe
1st Lieutenant. - John Harman
1st Sergeant. - William Fisher
2d Sergeant. - Henry Reed
3d Sergeant.
PRIVATES.
D. Brown,
William Bateman,
J. A. Chaffin,
H. Corsine,
Joel Crane,
R. T. Crane,
Josh. Clelens,
W, H. Davis,
S. Holeman,
H. Hill,
George Hancock,
E. O. Legrand,
D. Love,
D. H. M'Gary,
Thomas Maxwell,
A. G. M'Gowan,
J. W. Proctor,
Benj. Thomas,
D. Watson,
Lewis Wilworth,
R. Stevenson,
G. W. Jones,
W. B. Bennett,
B. Green,
J. Kent,
Caddell,
R. Hotchkiss,
Thos. M. Hughes,
A. Buffington,
James Burch,
R. Burch,
A. E. Manuel.
- Juan N. Seguin
Captain. - Manuel Flores
1st Sergeant. - Antonio Manchaca
2d Sergeant. - Nep. Flores
1st Corporal. - Ambro Rodriges
2d Corporal.
PRIVATES.
Antonio Cruz,
Jose Maria Mocha,
Euduado Samirer,
Lucin Ennques,
Matias Cuvier,
Antonio Cuevies,
Simon Ancola,
Man'l Tarin,
Pedro Henern,
Thorn Maldonart,
Cecario Cormona,
Jacinto Pena,
N. Nararro,
A. Varcinas,
Man'l Avoca