**
Taken from: “Lone Star: A Short History of the Republic of Texas”, authored by Albert Carston. (c) 1947, Lone Star University Press, Austin, TX. All rights reserved.
….Shortly after Adrian Woll retreated from San Antonio, he received a message from Major Gen. Isidro Reyes inquiring about how his operation had proceeded. Woll, feeling compelled to tell the story as it was, also realized the need to stress the successes as much as possible. The letter that he wrote goes as follows[13]:
Most Excel. Sir:
In the afternoon of the 18th, the Division under my command should have started out on its march to San Fernando; we had taken this city (San Antonio de Bexar) by force, without any other incident than executing a pair of Texans who had dared resist our skirmishers; the 16th of September, glorious anniversary of our National Independence, was solemnly celebrated, a day that hadn't been remembered in this city for the last six years. Our spies had again confirmed the news that we already had received, that neither in Goliad, nor in Copano, Gonzales, or Corpus Christi, was there any enemy army to be seen. Our mission was completed, or so we believed at the time.
Unfortunately, it appears that the scouts that we had sent out along the road to Seguin had made a serious error in oversight; on the morning of the 17th, I was secretly warned that some enemy parties had been approaching our position from this same road, although I could not believe this at the time, due to the fact that our spies hadn't once failed us yet, and even they reported seeing no enemy forces anywhere near the Salado. Nevertheless, counseled by plain prudence, I ordered that the horse and mule herds belonging to our army were to be moved to corrals in the center of town for their nightly rest, and the troops were confined to barracks for whatever might happen. On the morning of the 18th, just as the advance and reconnoitering parties were returning from their daily routines, the trumpets sounded from the Alamo, where Santa Anna's Regiment had been quartered.
I immediately mounted my horse and rode off towards the said point, after warning the chiefs of all units under my command remain in formation in front of their quarters, until I myself was to receive further instruction. Reaching the Alamo, I rode forward, accompanied by the Major General, the Quartermaster, and my adjutants, over the Seguin road, and seeing not more than only 9 or 10 of the Texans, I sent Brevet Lt. Colonel Antonio Perez with 25 of his men, supported by Capt. Francisco Castaneda and 60 of his Presidiales; but we spotted the Texans suddenly heading towards a larger group of about 50 to 60 of their comrades, who then retreated away from San Antonio.
Concerned about a possible ambush, I ordered Col. Sebastian Moro del Moral to take charge of the post with half of his battalion, while I myself marched ahead with 200 Infantry, 100 dragoons of the Santa Anna squadrons, and two artillery pieces; meantime the Bejar and Rio Grande Defenders had joined the Perez unit, so that added to Capt. Castaneda;s detachment; they counted 130 men whom I ordered to follow the enemy and keep him under fire without leaving him time to organize, while sending me continual reports; all this was executed with great precision, until reaching the Salado creek at a distance of 3 leagues - 12 miles - from the city, the Texans suddenly veered off into the woods, and I learned that they had assembled a strength of about 300 men under Col. Caldwell, who had the intention of setting himself up during the day in the inextricable position at a water hole close to the city, there to await the numerous parties he had notified to join up with him from all directions, and then to attack us.
In view of such information, it became urgent to prevent the enemies' reunion, putting fear into them with an armed action, and although my instructions prohibited me attacking them in the woods, the case had become so pressing, that I decided to go ahead just the same; to this effect, I reconnoitered the terrain minutely, and crossing Salado creek more downstream, I assembled in rear of the enemy in two lines, the first consisting of 200 Infantry of the Santa Anna Battalion with a cannon of the Light Brigade; to my left, I placed the Bejar and Rio Grande Defenders, and to my right, Capt. Castaneda's Presidial soldiers, extended by 25 more men under Brevet Capt. Francisco Herrera; this line-up gave me the advantage of cutting the enemy off completely from any retreat toward his reinforcements, and of being able to maneuver my Cavalry over a fairly clear terrain; I left the part of the woods and the stream that faces Bejar, without any troops, in the thought that the Texans would not try to escape in that direction, and if they did, it would have been easy to intercept them.
In the beginning, the enemy would come out of the densest part of the woods and daringly open fire against our entire front; but having ordered our Defenders and Presidials to dismount, and having deployed a skirmish line of 50 infantrymen, we advanced palm by palm across the underbrush, until the enemy, thrown back, did not return to present himself past the stream; in this position, I ordered all our skirmishers to halt, and sent out scouts for some distance over the Seguin road. The report was sent me that nothing had happened there, except that one enemy had left the woods and had escaped in that direction thanks to the excellent mount he rode; considering that it was getting late, I resolved to give the signal agreed upon, which was a cannon shot, and ordered to sound "Attack!" It is impossible for me to describe to Y.E. [Your Excellency] with what gallantry the action was joined by our valiant men who stormed into the woods, irrespective of the rapid fire with which the enemy received them at first, but who pursued and attacked with unequalled intrepidity, lost terrain and, befuddled, no longer sustained anything but a languid defense that could not last much longer, because I intended to lead into the fight, 100 more infantrymen of the 150 I had in reserve, when suddenly a report was sent to me, that in our rear, on the way from Seguin, an enemy force of not less than 150 to 200 men was arriving. The game was critical; there was no time to lose, and after having convinced myself of the truth of that message, I immediately made my decision; I sent at once Brevet Colonel Cayetano Montero, commandant of the Santa Anna Regiment, to march against this new enemy with one Squadron, trying to overwhelm him on his right, while meantime, my Quartermaster, Brevet Colonel José Ma. Carrasco was ordered to make the 2nd Squadron advance under Brevet Colonel Pedro Rangel, and execute the same maneuver against the enemy's left; and I instructed the Major Gen., Brevet Lt. Col., Squadron Commandant Juan Fernandez, to move the light artillery piece to the middle of these squadrons with utmost speed. I was asked for ammunition for the Cavalry, but replied that our dragoons had lances and sabers with which to stab and hack away.
These audacious soldiers, led by their intrepid chief, advanced at a gallop against the wooded mound captured by the Texans; the light piece, expertly served sustained a steady fire and was gaining ground; and on reaching the first trees of the mound, our dragoons dismounted, encouraged by their chiefs and officers, particularly the Brevet Colonels Cayetano Montero, Pedro Rangel and José Ma. Carrasco, and entering the wood, started cutting down every enemy they encountered. A quarter hour later all was finished. Meantime, the advantages obtained in the forest had been conserved, the enemy did not return our fire any more. However, not knowing as yet the result of what had happened at my rear guard, and wishing to be prepared for any eventuality in view of the approaching night, I ordered to sound "Assembly," which was executed with great reluctance by our valiant men who did not want to let our prey escape; the enemy did not dare to molest them, since taking advantage of the circumstances and of the darkness, he penetrated deeper into the forest, fleeing terrified far out of the sight of our soldiers.
It was then that I received the report sent by Colonels Montero and Carrasco, and a short while later the said officers rejoined me with the two squadrons that had covered themselves with glory. Whereupon, I instructed to sound "Reveille" again, cheers were resounding for Mexico and for the illustrious General Santa Anna, our wounded were picked up and immediately sent back to the city with my instructions to Dr. Montanari who had accompanied us throughout this brilliant day's work. Roll was called of all the participating units, while the enemy remains were being collected. In the meantime, the bulk of our troops rested on their arms in the same order and place they had been occupying throughout the duration of this action. At 10 o'clock that night, we set out on our march, since as I had the honor of notifying Y.E., our exhausted troops did not taste food all through the day; it was necessary to allow them some rest, and so it was that we entered anew into the city, to the sound of Reveilles and the tolling of bells, at 12 o'clock that night. The enemy's loss was considerable, because apart of the 120 who died at the hands of our Cavalry, and the 15 prisoners we took, more than 60 of his corpses remained stretched out dead in the forest; the number of his wounded must be immense, but since these were taken along on the retreat, we could only recover five of them. On our part, we had 40 dead and 72 wounded; this so great and deplorable loss will testify to Y.E. how embattled these actions had been, which a part of this Second Division has sustained simultaneously and with so much glory.
Captain Vicente Cordoba, of Nacogdoches, died as he had always lived, defending his Fatherland! Officers Francisco Castaneda of the Bahia Company, and my Adjutant Ambrosio Martinez, as well as Capt. Manuel Flores of the Rio Grande Defenders, and the Ensigns Victor Manero and Bartolo Olascuagua, both of the Santa Anna Cavalry Regiment, were all wounded; may I draw Y.E. attention to these valiant men, hoping that you will kindly recommend them to the Supreme Government. Although all men of the Division under my command have behaved with the honor and boldness that distinguishes them, I cannot but cite among those who took out most conspicuously, Brevet Colonel, Lt. Col. Cayetano Montero, the Brevet Colonels Pedro Rangel and José Ma. Carrasco; right next to them, Brevet Lt. Col., Squadron Commandant Juan Fernandez, Major General of the Division; Captains Antonio Ramirez, Macedonio Soria, Andres Mena and Francisco Lopez; the Lieutenants Francisco Borja, Francisco Plaza, Luis Pardihas, as also Ensigns Andres Sierra, Santiago Zuhiga, Mariano Zurita, Dionisio Bravo, José Ma. Delgado, Camilo Anguiano, José Ma. Robles, José Ma. Torres, Sabino Zepeda, Felix Espinosa and Cristobal Castro, all of them belonging to the invincible Santa Anna Regiment. Particular mention is due to Capt. Andres Videgaray, Lt. José Ceballos, Ensigns José Washington Eayrs and Tomas Santa Cruz, who as my Adjutants have carried my orders defying all peril, with a promptness, intelligence and bravery that do them great honor. Sublieutenant Felix Esquivel, Ensign José Ma. Ugartechea and Lt. Bernardo Cavazos, Adjutants to the Major General the first two, and to the Quartermaster the latter, rendered good services, Artillery Lt. Manuel del Frago and Ensign of the same arm Zeferino Rodriguez, have behaved with dignity. Lt. Colonel Mariano Fernandez, at the head of his Infantry, displayed the same calm and valor he had always customarily shown; Brevet Captains, Battalion Commandants Juan Garrido and Ildefonso Vega, and the Subadjutant Anselmo Jugrez, as well as all the other subaltern officers, imitated the conduct of the above mentioned Colonel. I must particularly recommend to Y.E. the valiant Capt. Ignacio Ruiz and Sublieut. Pedro Martinez, who had thrown themselves against the enemy with unequalled fearlessness, while leading the Infantry skirmishers. The Presidial Capt. Francisco Castaneda, who sustained a grave wound, and Lt. breveted to Capt., Francisco Herrera, carried out my orders to full satisfaction.
Brevet Lt. Colonel, Capt. Antonio Perez, the Captains Manuel Leal and Manuel Flores, have rendered important services; and so did Lieutenants Manuel Carbajal and Manuel Patiho. Finally, Y. E., I will conclude bringing it to your superior cognizance, that the behavior of all was such, as to cause admiration among the enemy prisoners themselves, who declared frightened, that they could not have imagined the Mexican soldier to fight with so much intrepidity and serenity.
I am looking forward to Y.E. kindly bringing all this to the knowledge of the Supreme Government, requesting H. E. the Secretary of War and Navy to assure our illustrious President, the immortal Gen. Santa Anna, that the heroes of the Second Division of the Army of the North Corps, will uphold with dignity, and even unto death, the honor of the National Arms. God and Liberty. San Antonio de Bejar at 6 o'clock in the morning of September 20th, 1842. Adrian Woll (Signature). To the Most Excel. Sir, the Commander in Chief.
*
Taken from: “Lone Star: A Short History of the Republic of Texas”, authored by Albert Carston. (c) 1947, Lone Star University Press, Austin, TX. All rights reserved.
In response to the sacking of San Antonio, many antagonized Texians felt that that they could be in serious danger of additional losses and wanted to get back at the Mexicans for what they saw as a tyrannical encroachment of their rightly owned land. On October 4th, 1842, Alexander Somervell[24], a Maryland native, who had become a noted entrepreneur in the area, and had seen combat in San Jacinto, volunteered to help re-organize the militia and to recruit more volunteers. Houston wholeheartedly agreed, and told Somervell to stand by until it could be reasonably concluded that the Texians could have a fair chance of success against the Mexicans. Volunteers almost immediately rushed to San Antonio from across the country, many eager for glory & plunder, but also many others who only wanted payback for the harassment of Texas; and for some, including Somervell himself, it was a case of both.....
On November 19th, with over 800 men in his company, Somervell left San Antonio, and his first target was to be the border city of Laredo....
*
Letter from Texas President Sam Houston to Gen. Somervell, Oct. 4th, 1842[25a]:
Sir:-- Your official communication from San Felipe dated the 27th of this past month, just reached my office late last night. I have seized the moment to communicate my response.
I have approved your request to reconstitute the militias; I, too, believe that such an action may prove quite prudent in the near future. However, I must inform you that is it not prudent to proceed to Mexico just yet. We must first wait to see if we are able to gather enough support for such an endeavor, and we must make sure that we are reasonably capable of winning against Santa Anna's forces in combat; we cannot afford to make a gamble that we cannot hope to win!
However, should the moment arise when you have enough men and arms for your expedition, you are to proceed to the South Western frontier of Texas, and concentrate all the men under your command, all troops who may submit to your orders, and if you are able to advance with a reasonable prospect of
success against the Mexicans, you will do so forthwith. You are at liberty to take one or two pieces of ordnance now at Gonzales.
For my part, I do not hold much confidence in cannons on a march; they will do fine on a retreat or during a stalemate, particularly if your enemy is equal or lesser in numbers than your own forces, but they embarrass the advance of an army; and if pressed hard on a swift retreat, the great aversion that some of your men have to leave their artillery, may induce delay, and embarrass all the movements of the army. Therefore, our greatest reliance will be upon light troops, and the celerity of our movement. Hence, the necessity of discipline and subordination. You will therefore receive no troops into service, but such as will remain subordinate to the government of Texas, and the rules of war.
If you cross the Rio Grande, you must always remain on the alert; do not allow yourself to suffer surprise attacks by your enemy. Let your arms be inspected morning and night, and your scouts always on the lookout.
You will be controlled by the rules of only the most civilized warfare, and you will find the advantage of exercising great humanity towards the common people. In battle, let the enemy feel the fierceness of just resentment and retribution.
The orders that I have relayed to you, Gen. Somervell, ultimately have been disregarded by the Congress of Texas, and never have been reported to the War Department, and as such, you shall report to the Executive alone, sustained by our resources, and shall report as often as possible your operations.
You may rely on the gallant Chauncey Johnson and his companions.
God speed you, General.
I have the honor to be your obedient servant,
Sam Houston.[25b]
*
The trek towards Laredo proceeded without a hitch, and on the evening of December 2nd, the Texians, now 820 strong, reached the outskirts of the city....
On the following morning, they overran Laredo with little warning, surprising, and terrorizing, many of its residents. Though the community's few defenders bravely resisted the Texian forces, they were simply overwhelmed by their sheer numbers, and superior weaponry, and by 10 am, the Texians controlled the entire community, the first casualty of what was to be the Somervell Expedition[26].
In 1892, a resident of the town of Nuevo Laredo, Coahuila, described the event as she saw it unfold:
“I can still remember everything that happened on that terrible day. It was just after sunrise, maybe 7:00 at the latest, and my mother was starting to make breakfast in our little home in the middle of town. My father was a volunteer soldier, but was off-duty that day. Since it was a Friday, my mother made a meal with salted fish brought from the market the previous evening, a simple mix of fish, rice, and a little bit of diced tomato. However, though, just as we had finished enjoying our breakfast, we heard a couple of small rumbles on the outskirts of town. “How strange,”, I thought, “We don't have earthquakes here, do we?” It was 7:30, and I was now well awake. I tried to explain it all away in my mind, but we soon realized what was happening, anyway; just about 10 minutes later, we all heard horses running, guns shooting, and men yelling. That could only have meant one thing: “Tejanos.”, said my father, who then grabbed his weapon and rushed out the door; I didn't see him again for a while after that.
It took only a couple of hours for the Texans to essentially take over our small community; the men who had defended our fair village were either dead, missing, or captured, and there were times that we all feared what the Texans might do to us, the common people. And all we could do was pray.”[27]
And indeed, the success at Laredo, only increased Somervell's boldness and resolve. He is reported to have said to his men, after the victory, that, “Today, we've taken Laredo from Santa Anna's men. Tomorrow, the whole Rio Grande valley will be ours, and Mexico City will finally realize that we are truly a force to be reckoned with, so say I, General Alexander Somervell. Long live Texas! Long live liberty!”....[28]
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