The Texas Almanac for 1861 Page: 85
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ROBERT fM. WILLIAMSON. 85
eventually carry the star-spangled banner to the Pacific, and bring into requisition
the untold wealth of California. As the three parties approached the fort at- differ-
ent points the dogs gave the alarm, but with their axes they soon hewed down the
doors where the Mexican officers slept, and took them prisoners. A sentinel hailed,
and fired-a rifle-ball laid him dead upon the spot. The discharge of fire-arms and
the noise of human voices now became commingled. The Mexican soldiers fired
from their quarters, and the blaze of their guns served as targets for the Texas ri-
flemen. Collingsworth called upon the garrison to surrender. The Mxicans answer-
ed in their own language, "We will," and immediately rushed out and laid down
their arms. Thus the fort of Goliad was taken by a mere handful of men: a fort
,which, with less than four hundred men in 1812 and 1813, withstood a siege of
three thousand Spanish troops, and forced them to retire. After the excitement
was over, and things became quiet, Col. Milam addressed his compatriots as follows:
" I assisted Mexico to gain her independence; I have spent more than twenty
years of my life in that country; I have endured heat and cold, hunger and thirst;
I have been a tenant of every prison between this and the city of Mexico, but the
events of this night have fully compensated me for all my losses and all my suffer-
ings."
Soon after the taking of Goliad, Milam joined the forces before San Antonio. On
Saturday, December 5th, 1835, Col. Milam, at the head of three hundred chosen
troops, entered San Antonio, and on Thursday, December 10th, the Alamo was
taken by Col. B. R. Milam. By this victory, one thousand men yielded to less than
three hundred. The town itself was surrendered with large quantities of public
stores of every description. The brave Col. Milam, the dauntless leader of the
storm, was numbered among the slain. He fell by a ball through his head, while
fearlessly animating his men to victory. Long, long will Texas and the friends of
liberty remember this brave and gallant, this early devoted friend.
Col. Benjamin R. Milam was a native of Kentucky, where his relations now re-
side. He served an apprenticeship to the hatter's business in Lexington Kentucky.
When he fell at the Alamo he was about forty-five years old. In person he was
about five feet ten inches in height, of a heavy, iron frame, and of a good consti-
tution. His countenance was open and frank, he had a good English education, he
was regarded as a well-read man. It was admitted that he was as generous and
true to his friends as he was brave and"gallant. A few years since Col. John H.
Moore, of Fayette county, and a few citizens of other counties, assembled at San
Antonio and had Col. Milam's remains disinterred. Though he had been buried
some ten years or more, his body was undecayed, and he looked natural. The
boots in which he was buried were sound, and would have done to wear again.
The black silk in which his head was tied looked perfectly new except the blood-
spots. The citizens of San Antonio have the remains of the brave Col. B. R. Milam
in keeping; no doubt they are proud of their charge, and will esteem it a great
privilege to do honor to his remains. I have many other interesting items connect-
ed with the life of Col. Milam, which I must defer for the present.
ROBERT M. WILLIA.SONV.
JUDGE WILLIAMSON was a native of Georgia, born about A.D. 1806 or 1807. His
opportunities for education were limited to the ordinary schools and academies of the
country. In these he made rapid progress until his fifteenth year, when his further
attendance at school was arrested by an attack of white swelling, which confined him
to his bed for two or more years and rendered him a cripple for life. The disease
fastened upon his knee, stiffening the joint and making it necessary for him to
wear an artificial -leg. Hence his widely-known soubriquet of Three-legged
Willie."
The time of his confinement, however, was not a season of idleness. Bat few of
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The Texas Almanac for 1861, book, 1860; Galveston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth123767/m1/85/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.