This is the first in a series of shorts that I'll be posting telling my ideas for a Republic of Texas, that I'm trying to keep grounded mostly in realism, hoping to eschew too much of a deux aux machina that some devolve into.
A few notes before I begin:
I have changed the march of Santa Anna into Texas in the first months of 1836 to follow the same path as that followed by General Cos when he retreated in November of 1835.
Part One
"Who will follow old Ben Milam..."
POD On December 7, 1835 commander of the Texas forces within the city of San Antonio, Colonel Ben Milam was nearly killed when a sniper’s bullet grazed his head (In OTL he was killed by the sniper), but he bandaged with flesh wound and continued to rally and lead the 300 citizen soldiers to victory on December 9th, when General Cos, the brother-in-law of Santa Anna formally surrendered to Milam and Colonel Collinsworth.
The net effect of this stunning victory was that Milam was the de facto commander of the Alamo garrison rather than Colonel Neill. Milam’s presence in San Antonio led the majority of men who had served under his command to remain in San Antonio rather than returning home. His stories about how Santa Anna was marching north stirred many to stay who would otherwise have left. Upon the arrival of Lt. Colonel William B. Travis in San Antonio in the middle of January 1836, Milam had command of 300 soldiers. While Colonel Neill returned to Washington-on-the-Brazos, Colonel Collinsworth had chosen to stay with Milam, where they had developed a father-son type of relationship over the winter months (or mentor-mentored relationship). Travis’ contribution of 30 cavalry as well as Colonel Bowie’s arrival shortly thereafter brought in an additional 100 militia. So at the beginning of February 1835 Colonel Milam had around 450 soldiers under his command. Despite opposition from Travis, who was repeatedly heard as saying “Santa Anna won’t get here before the end of March! His soldiers won’t be able to march through the dead of winter!” Milam ordered cavalry patrols to sweep the prairie south to Laredo, a distance of 150 miles, which was no small task, while sending Colonel Travis to in Goliad, to take over from Houston, who had gone to Washington-on-the-Brazos to help in forming the Texas government, and would ultimately assume command of the army of Texas.
On a cold Saturday morning on February 13, Jim Bowie and 30 men were camped just north of Laredo when a picket confirmed that a light cavalry patrol was spotted entering the town. Bowie sent a rider back to San Antonio with the news that Milam was right – Santa Anna had stolen the march on the rebellious Texicans and was a month early. The advance Mexican unit was a squadron of lancers. Bowie’s force of riflemen engaged the lancers and with accurate fire drove the squadron back across the Rio Grande. While known as a river that is “a mile wide and a foot deep” as the Rio Grande passes south of Laredo it narrows down to less than 400 yards across, which made shooting back and forth across the river impractical.
Additional troops arrived throughout the morning, lining up along the southern edge of the river, and in the early afternoon more than a hundred cavalry surged across the river at the Garza ford, just downriver from the town. The rifles of the Texicans roared their defiance and many brave Mexican cavalry died before they were half way across the river. Falling back, the Bowie’s volunteers were too few to stay around and dance with the enraged lancers. But Santa Anna’s invasion force had been dealt a stinging blow, as more then 50 Mexican soldiers had been killed or wounded between the two firefights.
Bowie’s valiant stand at Laredo, as well as his unit’s hit and run tactics over the next week, slowed the Mexican army down as several dozen more soldados died in ambushes as they marched north. The Mexican army arrived on the south bank of the Nueces River on the 21st of February.
Entrenched on the opposite side of the river, blocking the only decent ford within a half-day’s march was the bulk of Milam’s little army. Bowie’s rider had been successful, covering the distance to San Antonio in less than 3 days. It had taken Milam’s army nearly four to get back to the Nueces River and block Santa Anna’s army. Milam had 250 men with him when Santa Anna’s advanced cavalry arrived. Attempts to force the ford were met with a hail of deadly gun fire, so the bloodied lancers drew up near the south bank of the river to await reinforcements.
Milam’s men put their time to good purposes, throwing up additional fortifications, and digging trenches across the road, as the mesquite and other scrub brush around the ford made cavalry useless away from the road. On the morning on the 22nd, the first units of Mexican light infantry arrived, as did another hundred men from Milam’s force. These were the men dragging the lighter artillery pieces from the Alamo. Of the 18 cannon in the Alamo, Milam had managed to bring 10 of them south. By the time that the sun set on the 22nd the Nueces River ran red with Mexican blood, after several failed attempts by the recently arrived light infantry had failed.
The 23rd brought only sporadic firing, with no major push by either side. Additional Infantry arrived, as well as a battery of light artillery, so that in the early morning hours of the 24th two battalions of Mexican infantry charged across the ford. The cannon roared and the rifle and musket fire of the defenders swept across the river like a scythe. While some Mexican troops did reach the north bank of the river they were too few in numbers to establish any kind of perimeter, and were subsequently thrown back across the river or killed. This stalemate continued through the end of the week, but by that Saturday, Santa Anna had brought up several guns with greater range than the Texicans’ guns and on Sunday the 28th of February, after a blistering battery and counter-battery fire throughout the previous night Mexican troops surged across the river in even greater numbers, as Mexican cavalry forded the river to both the east and west of the entrenched positions. The defenders’ remaining four cannon belched death by grape-shot and the Texican marksmen tore gaping holes in the Mexican formations that slogged across the ford. While the Mexican infantry forces were able to seize the north bank of the Nueces, the Mexican cavalry floundered through the dense mesquite brush and were easy target for the Texicans.
As the Sun reached its zenith on that bloody Sunday, the Mexican forces held the trenches and fortifications closest to the ford, having driven the defenders into secondary fortifications further away from the river, but with elevation on their side, however with their cavalry temporarily out of action and four battalions torn to tatters Santa Anna was unable to exploit the changed situation. As twilight fell upon the battlefield, Milam decided to withdraw his remaining troops back to San Antonio, as both ammunition and food were in short supply. Milam left 30 men behind who would never fight again. Leaving his remaining cannon behind, the wagons that came to the Nueces with cannon withdrew with Milam’s 80 wounded. Santa Anna was in possession of the field, but at a steep cost. More than 300 men were dead, and nearly 700 were wounded. Nearly one of four men that had crossed the Rio Grande with the dictator were useless or dead. Heroes were born that day on the Texas side of the Nueces. A former congressman from Tennessee, and a veritable legend in his own day, David Crockett was uncharacteristically modest regarding his participation in the attempt to hold onto the Texicans’ fortifications along the bank. Images of Crockett swinging his rifle at Mexicans as they swarmed across the embankment were seared in the minds of the men who witnessed it. A sally by Captain
But Santa Anna cared far less about the men that he did about these norte-americanos who had dared to defy his authority. As the sun rose on the morning of Monday, February 29th (yes 1836 was a leap year), a chastised force of lancers headed north in pursuit of Milam’s force. The flight back to San Antonio was neither quick nor easy, as Milam was loath to leave the wounded behind for the tender mercies of Santa Anna in order to make better time. But neither were the Mexican lancers able to exploit the situation, as the slow column was still able to decimate any attempt to close with it.
The Texicans arrived back in San Antonio on the night of March 3rd, where they found that Colonel Travis had returned with nearly 400 additional troops from Goliad. Travis had fortified his men in the Alamo, where Milam’s rear echelon had made their headquarters. Travis had brought along supplies that had been stockpiled in Goliad for an abortive attempt to capture Matamoras, which he had cancelled upon hearing that Santa Anna had crossed the Rio Grande. Milam assumed command of the Alamo on the morning of March 4th, as more than 600 Texicans paraded on the plaza, which was flanked by the long barracks and the fort’s hospital to the west.
As Santa Anna’s forces arrived over the 4th and 5th, they settled into a siege. What cannon that the Texicans had attempted to respond to the remainder of the Mexican artillery (which had taken a beating at the Battle of the Nueces). But neither was particularly effective. A week after arriving (March 11th) Santa Anna launched an attack in the early evening, which was beaten back with considerable loss of life. Despite fuming at the delays that this was costing him, Santa Anna was reluctant to launch an all-out assault on the old mission. Reports had arrived substantiating Colonel Travis’ arrival and as such the Dictator had a good idea that there were more than 600 rebels trapped inside the Alamo. Waiting them out, until their supplies ran out appeared to be the best option.
Less than 150 miles away on March 2nd the Texican delegates had declared their independence from Mexico, while Sam Houston was building an army, largely consisting of settlers from South East and East Texas. By the time that Houston had heard of the ensuing siege on March 10th, President Burnet threatened that if Houston wouldn’t use the army to lift the siege of the Alamo that he (Burnet) would find someone who would. With less than 600 soldiers Houston begrudgingly marched to San Antonio, spending what time he could training the rag-tag army how to be soldiers.
Coming soon… the Battle of the Alamo.
I hope my part One wasn't too drab. Feel free to comment.
Drew
A few notes before I begin:
I have changed the march of Santa Anna into Texas in the first months of 1836 to follow the same path as that followed by General Cos when he retreated in November of 1835.
Part One
"Who will follow old Ben Milam..."
POD On December 7, 1835 commander of the Texas forces within the city of San Antonio, Colonel Ben Milam was nearly killed when a sniper’s bullet grazed his head (In OTL he was killed by the sniper), but he bandaged with flesh wound and continued to rally and lead the 300 citizen soldiers to victory on December 9th, when General Cos, the brother-in-law of Santa Anna formally surrendered to Milam and Colonel Collinsworth.
The net effect of this stunning victory was that Milam was the de facto commander of the Alamo garrison rather than Colonel Neill. Milam’s presence in San Antonio led the majority of men who had served under his command to remain in San Antonio rather than returning home. His stories about how Santa Anna was marching north stirred many to stay who would otherwise have left. Upon the arrival of Lt. Colonel William B. Travis in San Antonio in the middle of January 1836, Milam had command of 300 soldiers. While Colonel Neill returned to Washington-on-the-Brazos, Colonel Collinsworth had chosen to stay with Milam, where they had developed a father-son type of relationship over the winter months (or mentor-mentored relationship). Travis’ contribution of 30 cavalry as well as Colonel Bowie’s arrival shortly thereafter brought in an additional 100 militia. So at the beginning of February 1835 Colonel Milam had around 450 soldiers under his command. Despite opposition from Travis, who was repeatedly heard as saying “Santa Anna won’t get here before the end of March! His soldiers won’t be able to march through the dead of winter!” Milam ordered cavalry patrols to sweep the prairie south to Laredo, a distance of 150 miles, which was no small task, while sending Colonel Travis to in Goliad, to take over from Houston, who had gone to Washington-on-the-Brazos to help in forming the Texas government, and would ultimately assume command of the army of Texas.
On a cold Saturday morning on February 13, Jim Bowie and 30 men were camped just north of Laredo when a picket confirmed that a light cavalry patrol was spotted entering the town. Bowie sent a rider back to San Antonio with the news that Milam was right – Santa Anna had stolen the march on the rebellious Texicans and was a month early. The advance Mexican unit was a squadron of lancers. Bowie’s force of riflemen engaged the lancers and with accurate fire drove the squadron back across the Rio Grande. While known as a river that is “a mile wide and a foot deep” as the Rio Grande passes south of Laredo it narrows down to less than 400 yards across, which made shooting back and forth across the river impractical.
Additional troops arrived throughout the morning, lining up along the southern edge of the river, and in the early afternoon more than a hundred cavalry surged across the river at the Garza ford, just downriver from the town. The rifles of the Texicans roared their defiance and many brave Mexican cavalry died before they were half way across the river. Falling back, the Bowie’s volunteers were too few to stay around and dance with the enraged lancers. But Santa Anna’s invasion force had been dealt a stinging blow, as more then 50 Mexican soldiers had been killed or wounded between the two firefights.
Bowie’s valiant stand at Laredo, as well as his unit’s hit and run tactics over the next week, slowed the Mexican army down as several dozen more soldados died in ambushes as they marched north. The Mexican army arrived on the south bank of the Nueces River on the 21st of February.
Entrenched on the opposite side of the river, blocking the only decent ford within a half-day’s march was the bulk of Milam’s little army. Bowie’s rider had been successful, covering the distance to San Antonio in less than 3 days. It had taken Milam’s army nearly four to get back to the Nueces River and block Santa Anna’s army. Milam had 250 men with him when Santa Anna’s advanced cavalry arrived. Attempts to force the ford were met with a hail of deadly gun fire, so the bloodied lancers drew up near the south bank of the river to await reinforcements.
Milam’s men put their time to good purposes, throwing up additional fortifications, and digging trenches across the road, as the mesquite and other scrub brush around the ford made cavalry useless away from the road. On the morning on the 22nd, the first units of Mexican light infantry arrived, as did another hundred men from Milam’s force. These were the men dragging the lighter artillery pieces from the Alamo. Of the 18 cannon in the Alamo, Milam had managed to bring 10 of them south. By the time that the sun set on the 22nd the Nueces River ran red with Mexican blood, after several failed attempts by the recently arrived light infantry had failed.
The 23rd brought only sporadic firing, with no major push by either side. Additional Infantry arrived, as well as a battery of light artillery, so that in the early morning hours of the 24th two battalions of Mexican infantry charged across the ford. The cannon roared and the rifle and musket fire of the defenders swept across the river like a scythe. While some Mexican troops did reach the north bank of the river they were too few in numbers to establish any kind of perimeter, and were subsequently thrown back across the river or killed. This stalemate continued through the end of the week, but by that Saturday, Santa Anna had brought up several guns with greater range than the Texicans’ guns and on Sunday the 28th of February, after a blistering battery and counter-battery fire throughout the previous night Mexican troops surged across the river in even greater numbers, as Mexican cavalry forded the river to both the east and west of the entrenched positions. The defenders’ remaining four cannon belched death by grape-shot and the Texican marksmen tore gaping holes in the Mexican formations that slogged across the ford. While the Mexican infantry forces were able to seize the north bank of the Nueces, the Mexican cavalry floundered through the dense mesquite brush and were easy target for the Texicans.
As the Sun reached its zenith on that bloody Sunday, the Mexican forces held the trenches and fortifications closest to the ford, having driven the defenders into secondary fortifications further away from the river, but with elevation on their side, however with their cavalry temporarily out of action and four battalions torn to tatters Santa Anna was unable to exploit the changed situation. As twilight fell upon the battlefield, Milam decided to withdraw his remaining troops back to San Antonio, as both ammunition and food were in short supply. Milam left 30 men behind who would never fight again. Leaving his remaining cannon behind, the wagons that came to the Nueces with cannon withdrew with Milam’s 80 wounded. Santa Anna was in possession of the field, but at a steep cost. More than 300 men were dead, and nearly 700 were wounded. Nearly one of four men that had crossed the Rio Grande with the dictator were useless or dead. Heroes were born that day on the Texas side of the Nueces. A former congressman from Tennessee, and a veritable legend in his own day, David Crockett was uncharacteristically modest regarding his participation in the attempt to hold onto the Texicans’ fortifications along the bank. Images of Crockett swinging his rifle at Mexicans as they swarmed across the embankment were seared in the minds of the men who witnessed it. A sally by Captain
But Santa Anna cared far less about the men that he did about these norte-americanos who had dared to defy his authority. As the sun rose on the morning of Monday, February 29th (yes 1836 was a leap year), a chastised force of lancers headed north in pursuit of Milam’s force. The flight back to San Antonio was neither quick nor easy, as Milam was loath to leave the wounded behind for the tender mercies of Santa Anna in order to make better time. But neither were the Mexican lancers able to exploit the situation, as the slow column was still able to decimate any attempt to close with it.
The Texicans arrived back in San Antonio on the night of March 3rd, where they found that Colonel Travis had returned with nearly 400 additional troops from Goliad. Travis had fortified his men in the Alamo, where Milam’s rear echelon had made their headquarters. Travis had brought along supplies that had been stockpiled in Goliad for an abortive attempt to capture Matamoras, which he had cancelled upon hearing that Santa Anna had crossed the Rio Grande. Milam assumed command of the Alamo on the morning of March 4th, as more than 600 Texicans paraded on the plaza, which was flanked by the long barracks and the fort’s hospital to the west.
As Santa Anna’s forces arrived over the 4th and 5th, they settled into a siege. What cannon that the Texicans had attempted to respond to the remainder of the Mexican artillery (which had taken a beating at the Battle of the Nueces). But neither was particularly effective. A week after arriving (March 11th) Santa Anna launched an attack in the early evening, which was beaten back with considerable loss of life. Despite fuming at the delays that this was costing him, Santa Anna was reluctant to launch an all-out assault on the old mission. Reports had arrived substantiating Colonel Travis’ arrival and as such the Dictator had a good idea that there were more than 600 rebels trapped inside the Alamo. Waiting them out, until their supplies ran out appeared to be the best option.
Less than 150 miles away on March 2nd the Texican delegates had declared their independence from Mexico, while Sam Houston was building an army, largely consisting of settlers from South East and East Texas. By the time that Houston had heard of the ensuing siege on March 10th, President Burnet threatened that if Houston wouldn’t use the army to lift the siege of the Alamo that he (Burnet) would find someone who would. With less than 600 soldiers Houston begrudgingly marched to San Antonio, spending what time he could training the rag-tag army how to be soldiers.
Coming soon… the Battle of the Alamo.
I hope my part One wasn't too drab. Feel free to comment.
Drew