The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 9, July 1905 - April, 1906 Page: 187
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Capt. John Sowers Brooks. 187
that I may see you all again, and be once more happy, swells my
throbbing bosom. But there is some thing, I know not what, which
whispers me, that the hope is destined to no realization on earth.
I am acting, my dear sister, in that sphere which nature de-
signed me to fill. I am a soldier of fortune; and all the premoni-
tions of my child hood early told me that I should be one. My
profession, perhaps for life, be it short or long, will be that of
arms. It is the only pursuit in which I could feel a throb of in-
terest; and the cause in which I now exercise it, renders it still
dearer, and more ennobling to me. It is the course of Liberty, of
the oppressed against the Tyrant, of the free man against the
bigoted slave, and, what recommends it more strongly to me, of
the weak against the strong. If I fall, let me fall- It is one of
the chances of the game I play-a casualty to which every soldier
is liable. My prayer has been, since my earliest recollection, to die
on the field of battle, with the shout of victory in my ears; and,
if it is the will of high Heaven, that that fate should meet me
now, I will not murmur and you should not. Remember that your
religion teaches that death is but a change of scene.
But all this is of no avail. Perhaps a brief retrospect of the
events of our campaign, up to this period, would be interesting to
you. On the 24th day of January 1836, the Georgia Battalion of
Volunteers, (of which I was Adjutant), consisting of four Com-
panies, sailed from Velasco, at the Mouth of the Brazos, in two
vessels. Our object was primarily, to attack and take Matamoras,
and thus form a point of rendezvous, and concentration for volun-
teers from the U. States, for a more extensive invasion of Mexico.
Our intention was to allow Liberal principles, and support for the
time, the federation of 1824, and thus revolutionize Tamaulipas,
the greater portion of whose citizens are opposed to Santa Ana,
and to secure our foot hold in Mexico. The fourth day, we de-
barked at Copano, and after a days march, we pitched our tents
at the Mission of Refugio, and waited for the promised munitions
and reinforcements. They never arrived. In the mean time, our
spy, who had preceded us, returned with the intelligence, that the
people of 'Tamaulipas were opposed to any severance of the Repub-
lican bonds, and would not favor our project, if Texas declared
itself independent. He also informed us, that Santa Ana was
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 9, July 1905 - April, 1906, periodical, 1906; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101036/m1/191/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.