The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934 Page: 22
330 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
furlough." Travis's last letter, addressed to the President of the
Convention reads as follows:
Commandancy of the Alamo, Bexar,
March 3, 1836
To the President of the Convention,
Sir: In the present confusion of the political authorities of the,
country, and in the absence of the commander-in-chief, I beg leave
to communicate to you the situation of this garrison. You have
doubtless already seen my official report of the action of the,
twenty-fifth ult. made that day to General Sam Houston, together
with the various communications heretofore sent by express, I
shall, therefore, confine myself to what has transpired since that
date.
From the twenty-fifth to the present date the enemy have kept
up a bombardment from two howitzers, one a five and a half inch,
and the other an eight inch,-- and a heavy cannonade from two,
long nine-pounders, mounted on a battery on the opposite side of
the river, at a distance of four hundred yards from our wall.
During this period the enemy have been busily employed in en-
circling us in with entrenched encampments on all sides, at the-
following distances, to wit: In Bexar, four hundred yards west;
in Lavillita, three hundred yards south; at the powder-house, one
thousand yards east of south; on the ditch, eight hundred yards
northeast, and at the old mill, eight hundred yards north."? Not-
withstanding all this, a company of thirty-two men from Gonzales,
made their way in to us on the morning of the first inst. at three
o'clock, and Colonel J. B. Bonham (a courier from Gonzales) got
in this morning at eleven o'clock without molestation. I have
fortified this place, so that the walls are generally proof against.
"Yoakum, History of Texas, II, 63; John Henry Brown, History of
Texas, I, 502-516. After Houston's return from Refugio, he made to
Governor Smith a full report concerning the command of the troops,
and of his reasons for being unwilling to be made "a scape-goat for the
errors of others that would surely bring disaster upon the country";
whereupon Smith, on January 28, issued to Houston a furlough till
March 1. In granting the furlough the order stated: "Your absence-
is permitted in part by the illegal acts of the Council in suppressing
you by the unauthorized appointment of agents to organize and control
the army, contrary to organic law and the ordinance of their own body.
In the meantime, you will conform to your instructions and treat with
the Indians." In pursuance of these instructions, Houston and Forbes
went to Bowl's village, and on February 23, effected a treaty with the'
Cherokee Indians. Thus, Houston, jealous of his reputation and hon-
ors as a military man, dropped, for the time being, even his claim to
be commander-in-chief of the army, and Fannin who actually held un-
der his command the bulk of the Texas forces, did nothing to relieve
the hard-pressed men at the Alamo.
"'See the Labastida Plat, Appendix No. II of the thesis, University of
Texas Archives. All these Mexican batteries can be easily located on,
this plat.
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Texas State Historical Association & Barker, Eugene C. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 37, July 1933 - April, 1934, periodical, 1934; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101094/m1/30/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.