The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944 Page: 259
456 p. : ill., maps ; 24 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Life of General Don Manuel de Mier y Terdn
cious resistance on the part of the Mexican troops, and the
second fell shortly after, whereupon the Mexican forces retired
to Altamira.8
Barradas reached Tampico on August 18, and took possession
without any serious opposition. From there, however, he found
his advance checked by Mier y Teran. Tampico is built on a
rocky peninsula and the Mexican forces found it comparatively
easy to keep the Spaniards hemmed in. The Pnuco River and
several miasmic lagoons separate Tampico from the mainland.
These lagoons were the breeding places of hordes of deadly
mosquitoes, carriers of the yellow fever germs. The Spanish
forces were suffering from the unaccustomed climate and fever.
General Barradas thought it might restore the courage of his
men if he could win a decisive victory over the Mexicans under
Mier y TerAn. He left a garrison at Tampico, composed largely
of invalids, and went forth to give attack. Santa Anna had
landed across the bay from Tampico at TuxpAm; he sent word
to Mier y Teran to keep Barradas occupied and then prepared
to cross the river stealthily by night and surprise the garrison.
On August 20, Santa Anna launched an attack on Tampico
which lasted for several hours and ended in a truce. In the
meantime, a short distance away, Barradas and the main body
of his troops were kept busy by Mier y Teran and Garza.
"General Teran," wrote one of his men, "like a good
insurgent does nothing but form skirmishing parties
against the Spaniards and when he loses one soldier he
has killed 15 or 20 of the enemy. This General and the
Commandant General Garza appear to despise the
balls, and are certainly the thermometer of the cavalry
and infantry. Of Teran, they say that he was directing
the firing of the artillery, seated on a gun carriage,
in one hand his cup of chocolate and a piece of bread,
which he was very quietly taking, while the other con-
tained his sword with which he directed their move-
ments."
8N. Zamacois, Historia de Mjico, XI, 749-754, 756; Domingo de Ugarte-
chea to Jesus de Ybarra, Camp, 3 leagues from Altamira, August 18, 1829,
in The Texas Gazette, September 25, 1829. [Translated from the Constitu-
tional Gazette of Coahuil-texas, published at Leona Vicario, dated Sep-
tember 4.]
9Josd Miguel de la Garza y Garcia to Joseph Le6n Lobo, Victoria, August
27, 1829, in The Texas Gazette, September 25, 1829. Carlos Maria de
Bustamante mentions Mier y TerAn's serenity under fire at Tampico. "His
military and political conduct is applauded in North American newspapers,
and in one of them he is shown seated on the gun-carriage of a cannon
during an attack, placidly eating a chocolate bar as his only food for that
day ..."--La Marimba, July 13, 1832.259
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 47, July 1943 - April, 1944, periodical, 1944; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth146054/m1/290/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.