The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 16, July 1912 - April, 1913 Page: 38
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The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Detailed accounts of the murder of Fannin and his men ap-
peared in the newspapers of the United States and naturally ex-
cited the deepest indigation.1 They served the further purpose of
arousing renewed interest in the affairs of Texas and of the rais-
ing of men and funds on a widespread scale for the purpose of
avenging those who had been so cruelly done to death at Goliad.2
Governor William P. Duval, thinking both his sons had perished,
wrote a vigorous letter to General George Chambers, asking his
co-operation in raising sixteen hundred mounted volunteers with
which to drive the Mexicans beyond the Rio Grande." The citi-
zens of Bardstown resolved to erect a monument to the memory
of those Kentuckians who had perished at the command of Santa
Anna. It was now felt that the great law of humanity justified
aid to the struggling Texans. Among other influences which were
instrumental in securing help for their cause in Kentucky and
elsewhere, must be included the services of Austin, Wharton, and
Archer, the three commissioners sent to the United States in the
beginning of 1836. One of the duties of the commissioners was
to "agitate" the United States, but as we have seen, the people of
the south and west were already agitated. In February the com-
missioners wrote of the "universal and enthusiastic interest which
'One of the most complete accounts of the massacre is that by Benja-
min H. Holland, captain of artillery, which appeared in the Lexington
Intelligencer, June 3, 1836; cf. also ibid., May 3, 1836, for a circumstan-
tial account sent from Natchitoches, La. The Kentucky Gazette for April
5, 1836, contains a communication from John M. Ross giving an account
of the butchery of Colonel Fannin's regiment. "There can hardly be a
doubt that all or nearly all of the volunteers who joined the first expedi-
tion from Kentucky fell in that fiendish massacre." The New Orleans
Bulletin of April 28, 1836, contains an anonymous account dated Harris-
burg, Texas, April 7th. As might be expected, highly sensational accounts
of the death of Fannin were sent back to the states by those purporting
to be eye-witnesses. Of such a character is the one last mentioned.
2"The moral effect in preventing other volunteers from coming from the
United States is incalculable." Smith, in THE QUARTERLY, V, 344. A
more accurate statement would be that some volunteers were deterred
from going by news of the massacre. There were many who felt as did
General Dunlap, who avers that the bloody massacre of the Alamo de-
termined him to go. Dunlap to Carson, May 31, 1836. Garrison, Dip.
Cor. Tex., I, 95. Cf. Smith, The Annexation of Texas, 31-33, 53, for an
account of the indignation excited by Santa Anna's cruelties. Says the
Evening Post, April 26, 1836: "His [Santa Anna's] barbaritied have
made the ultimate independence of Texas more certain, and will hasten
the termination of the contest."
'See The Commonwealth, July 13, 1836.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 16, July 1912 - April, 1913, periodical, 1913; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101058/m1/44/?rotate=270: accessed April 25, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.