The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003 Page: 212
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Southwestern Historical Quarterly
the veneer of public consent, especially when elevating himself as protec-
tor of the people's interests.44
Gutidrrez's obeisance to Washington was an expedient measure later
discarded once military circumstances changed in his favor. Magee's
death, on February 6, 1813, eliminated a feared rival. Within a few days,
the Republican Army defeated a Spanish assault on La Bahia, forcing
Salcedo to retreat toward B6xar by February 19. Gutierrez benefited po-
litically as provincial soldiers deserted from the demoralized royalist
ranks to his side. He was no longer so overwhelmingly dependent upon
U.S. volunteers as he had previously been. According to one Anglo-
American account, four hundred Mexicans advanced with some three
hundred U.S. volunteers as the Republicans began their pursuit of the
enemy.45
Gutierrez received some additional royalist deserters following the Re-
publican victory at the battle of Salado, fought just a few miles from
B6xar on March 29, 1813. On April 1, he dictated the enemy's surren-
der of the capital, refusing to guarantee the safety of civil, military, and
ecclesiastical officials. He proudly addressed Salcedo and Herrera as the
"Commander in Chief of the Mexican Republican Army of the North."
His second was "Don" Samuel Kemper, "lieutenant colonel" in charge
"of the American volunteers in this Army."46
The killing of Governor Salcedo, Colonel Herrera, and other royalist
prisoners near Salado Creek on the evening of April 3 posed great diffi-
culties for Guti6rrez. Some of his Mexican and Tejano supporters had
quickly eliminated feared enemies, but they had also aroused the indig-
nation of Anglo-American soldiers who expected the Spanish officers to
be treated with humanity. Writing on April 11 to William Shaler, Guti6r-
rez attributed the killings to the desire of local creoles for revenge against
a Spanish governor who had treated them harshly. The deceased men, he
wrote, "have fallen by the hands of their own subjects, who best knew
them." Guti6rrez had his own reasons for revenge, of course, considering
" Gutierrez to Guillermo [Wilham] Shaler, Nov. 25, 1812, enclosed in Shaler to Monroe, Dec.
25-27, 1812, Special Agents MSS. Quotations: "la Uni6n de las dos Americas" and "Yo y los avi-
tantes de esta Provincia." Gutierrez made his proposal on condition that the inhabitants were to
be protected in their civil and religious rights.
4 For Magee's death, see Garrett, Green Flag Over Texas, 173. An anonymous letter, written by an
Anglo-American correspondent m La Bahia, relates the course of military events. See Anon. to
John Sibley, Mar. 5, 12, 1813, in Shaler to Monroe, Apr. 2, 1813, Special Agents MSS John Villars,
a Kentucky native and volunteer, offered this rough estimate of troop strength m his recollections,
possibly dictated to M. B. Lamar in 1847. See Lamar Papers, VI, 150-151.
'1 Lamar Papers, VI, 151. William Shaler reported that 3oo royalist soldiers, with some officers,
fled after the battle, rather than surrender. See Shaler to Monroe, May 7, 1813, Special Agents
MSS. Carlos Castafieda estimated the Spanish force at the battle as being between 1,ooo and 1,200
men. See Our Catholic Heritage in Texas, VI, 96. See a Spanish-language copy of the surrender terms
in Special Agents MSS, following a letter of Wilham Shaler to Monroe of May 14, 1813.October
212
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 106, July 2002 - April, 2003, periodical, 2003; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101223/m1/264/?rotate=90: accessed April 24, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.