Post by mustanggray on Dec 25, 2007 1:40:35 GMT -5
List,
In my search for information on Lysander Wells I recently came across letters in the Special Collections at the Tulane Library. A Mr. Meneray in charge of the collections was kind enough to copy the letters and mail them to me and I found a neat little bit regarding Wells and San Patricio/Goliad.
In Texas Under Arms by Gerald Pierce, the section on San Patricio places Wells there(one mile upriver from the town site) with his men in April of 1837 setting up breastworks and mounting a cannon. I've always had an interest in Wells and the unit I used to ride with spent alot of time in the countryside along the Nueces and around San Patricio. Imagine my surprise when I received the letters from Tulane earlier this week and found that Wells' camp was actually on the San Antonio river one mile upriver from La Bahia! He did find a four pound cannon mounted on a "ship carriage" that had been spiked which he had unspiked, loaded with "grapeshot, & concealed under the bushes" presumably near the entrance into the breastworks that had been thrown up to protect the men and horses from marauding Lipans. What I have not been able to figure out is why Wells addresses the letter from San Patricio unless he was writing from there describing the above incident... quien sabe? It is plain in reading the letter that the river in question was the San Antonio and not the Nueces and the abandoned town was La Bahia(Goliad) and not San Patricio. I'm not sure why such bold errors were made by Mr. Pierce but am hoping this is not indicative of the rest of the content in Texas Under Arms(as it is one of my favorite research books for early Texas camps, forts and town sites).
I wonder if the four pound cannon found by Wells' men was in fact one of the cannons left by Fannin in March of 1836? Can anyone point me towards information on the whereabouts of the cannon after Fannin... "passed them on" to Urrea?
The other thing I am now interested in are the officers mentioned in the letter. Wells mentions a Powell(I presume he was an officer but no rank is given) a Lt. Crockett, Lt. Demott, Cpt. Hendershot and a Cpt. Smith which Gerald Pierce decided was Deaf Smith. I don't have my ranger research available at the moment but I'm not sure this Cpt. Smith is actually Deaf Smith. A quick online search said Deaf Smith was leading a ranging company to and around Laredo in February of '37 and that he "soon thereafter resigned". Was Deaf Smith still active in April of '37 or had he already retired to Richmond? Regarding the other names mentioned... is there any source other than the Index to the Military Rolls of the Republic of Texas that might have these names pinned down? None of them matched up with anything in the Index... I'm at a loss.
Well, I'm sure I'm the only one interested in this but thought I'd post it in the case that someone else here might have some input or light to shed on the issue.
Merry Christmas!!!
In my search for information on Lysander Wells I recently came across letters in the Special Collections at the Tulane Library. A Mr. Meneray in charge of the collections was kind enough to copy the letters and mail them to me and I found a neat little bit regarding Wells and San Patricio/Goliad.
In Texas Under Arms by Gerald Pierce, the section on San Patricio places Wells there(one mile upriver from the town site) with his men in April of 1837 setting up breastworks and mounting a cannon. I've always had an interest in Wells and the unit I used to ride with spent alot of time in the countryside along the Nueces and around San Patricio. Imagine my surprise when I received the letters from Tulane earlier this week and found that Wells' camp was actually on the San Antonio river one mile upriver from La Bahia! He did find a four pound cannon mounted on a "ship carriage" that had been spiked which he had unspiked, loaded with "grapeshot, & concealed under the bushes" presumably near the entrance into the breastworks that had been thrown up to protect the men and horses from marauding Lipans. What I have not been able to figure out is why Wells addresses the letter from San Patricio unless he was writing from there describing the above incident... quien sabe? It is plain in reading the letter that the river in question was the San Antonio and not the Nueces and the abandoned town was La Bahia(Goliad) and not San Patricio. I'm not sure why such bold errors were made by Mr. Pierce but am hoping this is not indicative of the rest of the content in Texas Under Arms(as it is one of my favorite research books for early Texas camps, forts and town sites).
I wonder if the four pound cannon found by Wells' men was in fact one of the cannons left by Fannin in March of 1836? Can anyone point me towards information on the whereabouts of the cannon after Fannin... "passed them on" to Urrea?
The other thing I am now interested in are the officers mentioned in the letter. Wells mentions a Powell(I presume he was an officer but no rank is given) a Lt. Crockett, Lt. Demott, Cpt. Hendershot and a Cpt. Smith which Gerald Pierce decided was Deaf Smith. I don't have my ranger research available at the moment but I'm not sure this Cpt. Smith is actually Deaf Smith. A quick online search said Deaf Smith was leading a ranging company to and around Laredo in February of '37 and that he "soon thereafter resigned". Was Deaf Smith still active in April of '37 or had he already retired to Richmond? Regarding the other names mentioned... is there any source other than the Index to the Military Rolls of the Republic of Texas that might have these names pinned down? None of them matched up with anything in the Index... I'm at a loss.
Well, I'm sure I'm the only one interested in this but thought I'd post it in the case that someone else here might have some input or light to shed on the issue.
Merry Christmas!!!
