History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. Page: 46
[7], iv-vii, [2], 10-826, [2] p., [56] leaves of plates : ill., ports. ; 28 cm.View a full description of this book.
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48 HISTORY OF TEXAS.
thi4indeed was about all the unreliable Santa
Anna desired. It was a fact, however, that
Texas at that time had not the requisite population
(80,000), according to law, to justify
its erection into a sovereign State; but their
treatment by the general government was
such as to make them restless.
At the beginning of the revolutionary period
the colonists were in quite a prosperous
condition. They had found in their new
homes just what they had sought. A steady
increase was going on in. the population;
their cattle and horses were multiplying;
cotton, corn, sugar and all that they needed
in the way of produce were easily cultivated,
and in large quantities. They were contented
and happy, but the political sky was
beginning to be overcast with dark and portentous
clouds. Santa Anna, who had taken
the reins of government as a Republican, was
getting into full accord with the aristocratic
and church party, and was preparing to overthrow
the Republic. He was ambitious, unprincipled,
cruel and treacherous. He betrayed
the party which had elevated him to
the highest position in Mexico. He still
held Austin in confinement, who was ignorant
of the charges against him. There
could be no justifiable accusation against the
Texan leader. A few concessions were made
to Texas, in order to cajole the settlers. An
additional delegate was allowed that State in
the general legislature.
In the fall elections of 1834, the Centralist
party, headed by Santa Anna, was victorious
everywhere except in Texas, Zacatecas and
Coahuila. In revenge for the action of Zacatecas,
that State was declared to be in
rebellion, and the number of militia was reduced
to only one in every 500 persons the
balance being disarmed. Many acts of usurpation
were perpetrated upon the citizens ofthe three sections which had not endorsed
Santa Anna at the late election, and finally,
that general, at the head of about 5,000 mne!i,
started for Zacatecas to reduce that Republican
State to submission. The governor of
Zacatecas, Francisco Garcia, was a Republican
of high standing, but lacking military
experience and ability. He had under him
fully as many soldiers as Santa Anna. He
evacuated the city and made a stand on
Guadalupe plains, and after a bloody battle
be was disastrously defeated, losing 2,000
killed or wounded, and the rest taken prisoners.
This was a terrible blow to the Republican
cause, and in addition Santa Anna
was clothed with unlimited power. He soon
used this power by dissolving all State legislatures.
The people of Texas were thus
left without a civil government. True, tlhe
political chiefs and alcaldes exercised their
functions, hut the laws were all of Spanish
origin and distasteful to the Americans. Being
mostly farmers, the Texans were averse
to any warlike measures, if they could honorably
be avoided. Some were for submission
to Santa Anna, but the slumbering lion in
the nature of these hardy border men foreboded
a terrible storm when the lion should
be aroused by too much prodding from the
keeper. Santa Anna, in the meantime, was
preparing, under cover of collecting revenue
in Texas, for the military occupation of the
province. Ile landed 500 men at Lavaca
bay, and forwarded them under General
Ugartechea to San Antonio. The customhouse
at Anahuac was taken in charge and
enormous dues were demanded. So excessive
were they that W. B. Travis raised a company
and captured Captain' Tenorio and the
soldiers at the custom house. They were
shortly aftdr released, as the act of Travis
was thought by his friends to be too hasty.46
H~ISTOR Y FTXS
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History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties. (Book)
Book containing a brief overview of the state of Texas and more specific focus on six specific counties, with extensive biographical sketches about persons related to the history of those places. An alphabetical index of persons who are included follows the table of contents at the front of the book.
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Lewis Publishing Company. History of Texas, Together with a Biographical History of Milam, Williamson, Bastrop, Travis, Lee and Burleson Counties., book, 1893; Chicago, Illinois. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth29785/m1/48/?rotate=90: accessed March 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .