The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 3, July 1899 - April, 1900 Page: 45

View a full description of this periodical.

Turner's Reminiscences of Galveston.

Stone, which was then lying on the camp at Buffalo Bayou, one
mile above Lynchburg. He was to proceed to Galveston with the
prisoners taken at San Jacinto and report for duty to Colonel
James Morgan, who was then in command of Post Galveston. 'We
arrived at Galveston,' says Colonel Turner, 'about midnight on the
fifth.' 'I disembarked with my company, lay down on the sand
and slept soundly until the next morning, when I reported as
ordered after guard mount."'
Post Galveston was situated on the extreme eastern end of the
island on what was afterwards termed "the Reserve." When the
city was surveyed the government reserved all east of a bayou, the
amount being seventy-five acres more or less, for public uses. The
line ran from the head of this inlet, a little east of south to the
nearest point on the gulf shore. Colonel Turner says, 'When I last
visited the place, but little of this reserve remained; or it was so
washed that I could scarcely recognize the place where our old
quarters were situated.'
Colonel Turner remained at Post Galveston until July 20, 1836,
when he was promoted to the command of his regiment, and
ordered to headquarters on the Lavaca in Jackson county. He
stayed at Camp Johnston until the following December when he
visited Columbia during the session of the first congress, and ten-
dered his resignation to the Secretary of War. President Houston"
refused to accept it, but agreed that he should have a furlough of
sufficient length to enable him to go back to Mobile, where his
family still lived, move them to Galveston, and then take com-
mand of the post.
'I had,' he says, 'now accomplished what I had in view in resign-
ing my commission in the army-to wit, the settlement of my
family at Galveston. I chartered a schooner of one hundred tons
that drew nine feet of water, loaded her with lumber, took my
family on board, and sailed for Galveston. I arrived in Galveston
Bay on the sixth of February, 1837, four days after leaving Mobile.
As the captain of the vessel had never crossed the bar, and as there
were no pilots at that time I agreed in the charter to pilot the ves-
sel in myself; but I tremble when I think of it, for my wife and
1Single quotation marks, in this article, will indicate that slight changes
have been made in the phraseology, while double marks will show a literal
quotation of Colonel Turner's words.

Upcoming Pages

Here’s what’s next.

upcoming item: 54 54 of 307
upcoming item: 55 55 of 307
upcoming item: 56 56 of 307
upcoming item: 57 57 of 307

Show all pages in this issue.

This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.

Tools / Downloads

Get a copy of this page .

Citing and Sharing

Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.

Reference the current page of this Periodical.

Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 3, July 1899 - April, 1900, periodical, 1900; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101015/m1/53/ocr/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.

Univesal Viewer

International Image Interoperability Framework (This Page)

Back to Top of Screen