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Post by mustanggray on Oct 30, 2008 10:08:23 GMT -5
All, I am aware that Juan Seguin and his aide left the Alamo in the evening on February 25th carrying a dispatch from Travis to Fannin. I understand that Seguin passed the dispatch off to Desaque who was one of Fannin's officers on or near the Cibolo. What I'm unclear on is where did Seguin go after this? Some of the men he was traveling with showed up in Washington (I think Sutherland was with Seguin for a while) and Fairfax Gray has Seguin listed as a delegate from Bexar in his journals. While Seguin was not an official delegate as far as I can tell he must have been in Washington for Gray to have recorded him. Was Seguin in Washington trying to hook up with Houston or carrying some unknown dispatches or was Gray just hearing Seguin's name and erroneously adding him to the list of delegates from Bexar? Can anyone help with this? Where was Juan Seguin in early March???  |
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Post by Herb on Oct 30, 2008 10:48:15 GMT -5
Scott,
According to Sutherland (Hansen page 177, 180-181, and else where). Sutherland rode out of Gonzales, Sunday, Feb 28 with 11 other men to link up with Seguin who had 24 men waiting to guide Fannin into the Alamo. They were suppose to rendevous with the Gonzales 32 at the Cibolo Crossing on the 29th, but arrived there after dark, according to Sutherland the 32 had departed for the Alamo before sunset.
Sutherland continues that they waited at the Crossing for Fannin's men until Wed the 2d then returned to Gonzales arriving the 3rd. Sutherland says that a servant from Seguin's ranch warned Desock, and Chenoweth that Santa Anna had sent a force out to locate their companies, and that these two companies with Seguin's Company all arrived at Gonzales on the 3rd.
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Post by stuart on Oct 31, 2008 6:33:28 GMT -5
Bennet McNelly's memorial of service (Memorial no.11 File Box 65 Dept of State, Texas State Library) states that he left La Bahia (Goliad) on March 2 as a courier for the Alamo and met Seguin with just 4 men on what must have been March 3 because on March 4 he was "driven across the prairie by the enemy", arriving at Gonzales on March 8.
As we know Seguin had rather more than just 4 men this indicates that he had them scattered in a picket line, which was then driven in by the Mexican patrols
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Post by Allen Wiener on Oct 31, 2008 8:18:35 GMT -5
Stuart,
Is there any way to estimate the number of size of Mexican patrols roaming well beyond the Alamo? One possible explanation for the lack of reinforcements is that Santa Anna was aware that others would try to reinforce the Alamo, and he had to maintain scouts to detect any Texian units that might be moving against him. I suspect that he welcomed news about Urrea's success partly for that reason. I wonder what information he had about other Texian forces, their location, etc.
AW
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Post by mustanggray on Oct 31, 2008 16:13:27 GMT -5
Thanks for the posts. In going back over the Gray journal I saw where he had Seguin listed as an elected representative from Bexar. Not sure if that was really the case or not but at least at the time someone claimed he was. I had wondered if Seguin hadn't made it in to Washington carrying dispatches and Gray erroneously listed him as a delegate. Cool stuff anyway!
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Post by stuart on Nov 1, 2008 6:58:58 GMT -5
Stuart, Is there any way to estimate the number of size of Mexican patrols roaming well beyond the Alamo? One possible explanation for the lack of reinforcements is that Santa Anna was aware that others would try to reinforce the Alamo, and he had to maintain scouts to detect any Texian units that might be moving against him. I suspect that he welcomed news about Urrea's success partly for that reason. I wonder what information he had about other Texian forces, their location, etc. AW Not I'm aware of except that there were a lot more than people tend to think. Apart from the regulars there were certainly significant numbers of irregulars raised locally by the likes of Carlos De La Garza who did a lot of scouting and patrolling. Its worth noting that apart from explicit testimony such as McNelly's, Davenport was of the opinion that there was a lot of evidence to suggest most of Chenoweth's men (later claimed by the late Tom Lindley as second reinforcements) were killed on courier duty. Althor point which occurs to me is the Williamson letter. If it really was found in Travis papers after the fall of the Alamo, why is it the only one to have survived in any form, albeit only as a transcript. Is it not more likely to have been taken off a courier who didn't make it in? |
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Post by Herb on Nov 1, 2008 10:15:10 GMT -5
Not I'm aware of except that there were a lot more than people tend to think. Apart from the regulars there were certainly significant numbers of irregulars raised locally by the likes of Carlos De La Garza who did a lot of scouting and patrolling. We tend to think that after Sesma returned from trying to stop the aborted move by Fannin that all the action was around the Alamo. Besides the locally raised irregulars, Santa Anna no doubt posted some of his own cavalry has pickets. I'm thinking the Presidial Companies that came with Santa Anna. This would have been no more than a screening force ie provide early warning that sizable Texian Forces were moving on San Antonio. Because of their small size and being spread out over a large area it would be possible for careful (and lucky) couriers and small Texian forces to move undetected through this cavalry screen to and from the Alamo whereas larger forces almost surely would have been detected.. |
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Post by Allen Wiener on Nov 1, 2008 11:57:16 GMT -5
Yeah - obviously several couriers got in and out, along with the Gonzalez 32. I think there's some evidence that more than the 32 were actually assembled, but some got driven back by the Mexicans. It's possible some were killed, but you'd think there'd be some record or recollection of that, perhaps from Seguin or someone with him.
I think the idea that the Williamson letter was actually taken off a courier to be intriguing; casts a whole different light on the final few days if true.
AW
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