The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 36, July 1932 - April, 1933 Page: 261
328 p. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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A Critical Study of the Siege of the Alamo
But in the meantime, Colonel Francis W. Johnson who had
been left in command at Bexar, espoused the plan as proposed
by Grant, and on December 18, wrote to Governor Smith, ask-
ing, because of the threatening condition of affairs in Mexico,
that the frontier outposts be strengthened. This letter was re-
ferred to the council, and on December 25, the committee on
military affairs recommended concentration of the troops on the
frontier.28 General Houston immediately protested against being
ordered away from a central position at San Felipe to an out-
post where he claimed "a subordinate could discharge every
duty," but he failed to name the subordinate for the place.
On January 3, Johnson came to San Felipe, and reported that
he had already ordered the expedition to Matamoras under the
authority of an official letter, directed to General Burleson, his
predecessor at Bexar, and that the troops had chosen him as
their leader. The troops were already on the march from Bexar
to Goliad.2 He asked the council to ratify his plan. This they
did, and took steps to give him cooperation by sea. The gov-
ernor bitterly opposed these acts and promptly vetoed them; the
veto was overruled. Johnson, however, was so upset by the gov-
ernor's opposition, that on January 6, he withdrew from the
affair; on the 7th he had changed his mind again, and notified
the council that he would go. In the meantime, however, the
council had appointed James W. Fannin, Jr., as a special agent
for the government, and had authorized him to lead the expedi-
tion. Notwithstanding this appointment, upon receiving John-
son's letter of the 7th, the council proceeded to restore his au-
thority without taking away Fannin's. On January 8th, Fannin
him the opportunity to know the situation from the Mexican side, and
while he was a conservative radical in the cause of Texas independence,
it was his constant effort to hold as many of the Mexicans of Bexar-
especially the influential ones (see J. M. Rodrigues, Memoirs, 71)--to
the Texan cause as was possible. When in early January, 1836, he ad-
vised Houston and Smith that the opportune time for the Matamoras
expedition had passed, it was done with full information of the situ-
ation. See Rodrigues' Reminiscences, University of Texas archives; also,
a letter from Rodrigues to the Court of Claims, May, 1838, Court of
Claims Vouchers, file box (M-S), General Land Office of Texas; Bowie
to Smith, February 2, 1836, Army Papers, State Library of Texas.
"Johnson to Smith, December 18, 1835, Governor and Council Papers,
State Library; Gammel, Laws of Texas, I, 682, 694, 695; Johnson-
Barker, Texas and Temans, I, 364-366.
"Johnson-Barker, Texas and Texans, I, 365-367; Roy Smith, "Gov-
ernor Smith and Council," Texas Historical Association Quarterly, V, 315.261
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 36, July 1932 - April, 1933, periodical, 1933; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101093/m1/287/?rotate=90: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.