The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 59, July 1955 - April, 1956 Page: 4
587 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
the norther was blowing on the side of the bold Texans at this
critical time, killing Yucatan soldiers and delaying the final Alamo
assault, actually it soon turned against the Texan defenders. As
Urrea moved out from San Patricio to encounter Colonel James
Grant's men, another norther struck his column and was so severe
that he decided to go no farther and to waylay the enemy at this
particular spot (Los Cuates de Agua Dulce) which the norther
seemed to dictate. On the next day Grant's men came upon this
fateful spot and were decimated.9
Urrea next advanced to Refugio, besieged a force of Texans
in the mission there, only to have the fickle norther arrive and
give the Texans the protective blanket of a pitch-black, windy,
rainy night which allowed them to escape from the trap.'0 Urrea,
cursing his luck, next headed for Goliad, where Fannin's army
was stationed; on March 17 the Mexicans were again buffeted
by a norther and Urrea called a halt, while the precious clock
of fate ticked away the hours of Fannin's luck. " Urrea's delay
gave Fannin the chance to march his men out from Goliad in a
race for safety farther north. But this race proved to be disas-
trous, for, thanks to the norther, instead of Fannin's army facing
Urrea from behind the protection of the mission walls, it was
forced to fight the Mexicans twelve miles away on the open prairie
where it was overwhelmed, captured, and soon infamously an-
nihilated.
While the effects of the northers on the fate of Sam Houston's
army and the momentous battle of San Jacinto are not certain,
it is clear from the reports of the Mexican commanders them-
selves that the northers contributed to the disintegration of the
retreating Mexican forces under Vicente Filisola in the hectic
days after San Jacinto.12
In the Mexican War the norther seemed to fight for the most
part on the side of the Mexicans. Many American soldiers suffered
from the brunt of the northerly winds, with the accompanying
sand, rain, and cold; at Corpus Christi, Point Isabel, Camargo,
Tampico, Saltillo, and Vera Cruz a heavy toll was taken from ex-
9Ilbid., 216.
lolbid., 220.
11Ibid, 222.
12Ibid., 253; Andrew J. Houston, Texas Independence (Houston, 1938), 247.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 59, July 1955 - April, 1956, periodical, 1956; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101162/m1/16/?rotate=90: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.