Nesbitt Memorial Library Journal, Volume 6, Number 1, January 1996 Page: 49
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Consider the Lily: The Ungilded History of Colorado County, Texas
The arrival of a unit of the Mexican army, which camped on the west side of
the Colorado about midway between Dewees' and Beeson's Crossings, thrilled Houston's
men. They were eager for a fight, and fully expected to make one at the Colorado. They
cut down several large cottonwood trees at Beeson's and positioned them, as fortifications,
along the bank. That evening, Houston sent four or five men farther downriver, to the now
seldom-used and otherwise unguarded Atascosito Crossing, to report to him if the Mexican
army attempted to cross there. The next few days, the armies remained in their positions.
Houston's army was augmented by the addition of several volunteer companies from east
Texas. On March 21, Sion Record Bostick, who lived near where Columbus would soon
grow, joined. On March 23, Houston sent another 100 men to reinforce Sherman at
Dewees' Crossing. Sherman, camped about sixty yards from the river, had fortified his
position with a trench.24
On the 23rd or 24th, Houston sent a detachment of cavalry numbering, appar-
ently, 64 men, to scout the Mexican positions. The cavalry, under Karnes' command,
crossed at Beeson's, but were spotted by the Mexicans before they could get near enough
to gather any meaningful information. After the Mexicans opened up on them with artillery,
they retreated to the river, threw their saddles in the ferry boat, forced their horses to swim
across, and dug in to do battle. The Mexicans, however, never arrived. At dusk, Karnes'
men crossed the river and returned to their campsite. Sherman, meanwhile, had set up an
ambush and had attempted to lure the Mexicans into it by exposing a few of his scouts to
ed., The Papers of the Texas Revolution 1835-1836 (Austin: Presidial Press, 1973), vol. 5, p. 152; Robert Han-
cock Hunter, The Narrative of Robert Hancock Hunter (Austin: Encino Press, 1966), p. 12; Petition of Leander
Beeson and Heirs of Benjamin Beeson, Memorials and Petitions, Texas State Archives, Austin. The scouting
party rendezvoused at Jesse Burnam's house before proceeding to the Navidad. Burnam's house, too, was burned
during the campaign, though apparently by others (see Petition of Jesse Burnam, Memorials and Petitions, Texas
State Archives, Austin). Though Sharp implies that the date was March 16, it seems evident from his description
of the mission that he and the other scouts were not detached from the army until after it had reached or started
toward Crier's. Three of the nine men, Sharp, Smith, and Karnes, have been mentioned. Four of the others were
John D. Owen, Clark M. Harmon, Benjamin C. Franklin, and Robert Eden Handy. The other two are identified
by Sharp as Murphy and Secrest. The first was probably William Murray, who served in Sharp's company; the
second Washington H. Secrest, who was associated with both Karnes and Smith. Sharp and Karnes also helped
to set the fires in Gonzales (see Foote, Texas and the Texans, p. 268). After the conclusion of the hostilities,
Secrest would move into the Columbus area. He married Comfort Robinson, the widow of William Robinson
and the sister of Sion Bostick, on November 25, 1837 (see Austin County Colonial Records, Succession Book
1, pp. 43, 55; Colorado County Marriage Records, Book B, p. 4).
24 Kuykendall, "Kuykendall's Recollections of the Campaign," The Quarterly of the Texas State
Historical Association, vol. 4, no. 4, April 1901, pp. 298-299; Sion Record Bostick, "Reminiscences of Sion
R. Bostick," The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, vol. 5, no. 2, October 1901, p. 91; Hunter,
The Narrative of Robert Hancock Hunter, p. 11; Jenkins, ed., The Papers of the Texas Revolution 1835-1836,
p. 167. According to Kuykendall, Houston botched the order which dispatched the men to the Atascosito
Crossing, sending them on foot because he thought they could find their way better in the dark and go more
silently, but ordering them to send a messenger to him on their best horse if the Mexicans showed up.49
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Nesbitt Memorial Library. Nesbitt Memorial Library Journal, Volume 6, Number 1, January 1996, periodical, January 1996; Columbus, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth151396/m1/49/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Nesbitt Memorial Library.