CHAPTER IX

THE OCCUPATION OF NACOGDOCHES

From the date of the reception of the news of San Jacinto, the border situation was changed. There was no longer danger of an immediate collision with Mexican troops, the Indians became less hostile, and the Texans were freed from impending disaster. Mexico, prostrate in defeat, could not contend against an American force which might cross her border. The United States had thus far cloaked her designs under the excuse of preservation of neutrality and protection against Indians. But with the capture of Santa Anna, the excuse disappeared.

None realized this more keenly than Gaines. Feeling the uncertainty of his position, he appealed indirectly to Jackson for support. In a letter to Cass he said:

I purposely abstain, as I have long abstained, from the ceremony which I think is not in accordance with our institutions, of expressing a hope that the President of the United States will approve my conduct, because I think I should do that distinguished officer great injustice to suppose that he would not, unsolicited, approve what he may deem to be right. And I should feel that I was unworthy the trust reposed in me, and unworthy the many great honors conferred upon me by the United States, and by several of the great and patriotic States separately, were I capable of cherishing a wish that any act of mine found to be wrong, taking into view the circumstances of the case at the time, should be approved by him.1

That the acquisition of Texas was uppermost in the mind of Gaines there can be no doubt, and it is also clear that he believed it to be equally potent in Jackson's policy; this is shown by his next despatch, which stated:

The affairs of this infant republic are . . . assuming an aspect not only of deepest interest to its inhabitants of the present moment, and

1 Gaines to Cass, May 2, 1836, House Ex. Docs., 25 Cong., 2 Sess., XII, Doc. 351, p. 784.

Gaines Hopes to Acquire Texas

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of the millions and tens of millions destined in the present century to enjoy its fertile soil and salubrious atmosphere, but an aspect of incalculable importance to our beloved country; to whose benign institutions the inhabitants of Texas of all classes already look as the only guide and sure basis of their present safety and future prosperity and happiness.

It is believed, by all whose opinion I have had the means of knowing, that the people of Texas are all willing, and most of them extremely anxious, as soon as possible to apply to our Government for admission into the Union . . .

Believing it to be of great importance to our country, as well as to Texas and Mexico, and indeed to the whole people of the continent of America, that our Government should be prepared to act promptly upon the anticipated application of the people of Texas for admission; and desiring, as fervently as any one of the early friends of the President can possibly desire, that this magnificent acquisition to our Union should be made within the period of his presidential term, and apprehending that unlooked for changes and embarrassing interferences by foreign Powers might result from delaying our national action upon the subject to another session of Congress, I have taken leave to order to the city of Washington Captain E. A. Hitchcock, . . . whose discriminating mind and perfect integrity and honor will enable him to communicate more fully than my present delicate health. . . will allow me to write, the facts and circumstances connected with this interesting subject, the opinions and wishes of the inhabitants of the eastern border of Texas, together with the late occurrences, and present state of my command.2

On the same day that Gaines wrote the above letter, Captain Dean of the Third Infantry and aide-de-camp George A. McCall, who had been inspecting the region south of Red River, reported to Lieutenant Colonel J. H. Vose, commander at Fort Towson. They said that the inhabitants of Jonesborough were much alarmed by Indian reports and the leading men had gone

2 Gaines to Cass, May 10, 1836, House Ex. Docs., 25 Cong., 2 Sess., XII, Doc. 351, pp. 786-787. Gaines' letter seems almost prophetic in regard to foreign interference. See Smith, The Annexation of Texas, 76-100; Adams, British Interests and Activities in Texas; Tyler, Letters and Times of the Tylers, II, 425, 428. Captain Hitchcock proceeded to Washington with Gaines' letter, and with two other communications, one from Houston, the other from Rusk, the Texan Secretary of War. Houston's note told of the victory at San Jacinto. When Jackson recognized the handwriting and grasped the import of the news, he took no pains to conceal his delight. Hitchcock, Fifty Years in Camp and Field, 108.

to Sulphur Prairies to a general assemblage of the inhabitants of Miller County. Dean and McCall reported that they had arrived there after the meeting had dissolved, but found that two companies of rangers had been formed and an application made to the governor of Arkansas for military protection. Two companies had been sent out, one of which reported that they had ascertained that the Indian villages were deserted and the warriors assembled on the Sabine, with a Mexican officer among them; that the old and helpless were secreted in the woods, and that a council had been called for May 2. It was reported also that Caddo were massacring Americans on the upper Brazos, regardless of age or sex. It was learned that not a Cherokee, Delaware, or Shawnee had been seen that season in any part of the settlement, another indication of hostility. There were two hundred families on the Sulphur Prairies; the remote ones had moved into the more settled regions, and at one place twenty-five families had built a stockade. The settlers asked if they would be protected by the United States, to which the officers had replied, that though there was a question regarding the right of territory, there was none regarding their citizenship. Dean and McCall recommended that dragoons be sent into the territory. They estimated the number of Indians who could be mustered at one thousand eight hundred and fifty warriors, exclusive of Comanche and other interior tribes.3

4

Gaines also received a communication from Larkin Edwards, formerly interpreter of the Caddo agent, that Flores was still active among the Indians. Bonnell was sent out to obtain further information concerning Flores, and his report of June 4 confirmed what had previously been learned about him, adding that another Mexican named José María Medrano had been operating with Flores."

3 House Ex. Docs., 25 Cong., 2 Sess., XII, Doc. 351, pp. 788-790.

4 Edwards to Gaines, May 13, 1836, ibid., 814-815.

5 Bonnell to Gaines, June 4, 1836, ibid., 809–810.

Decision to Call Again for Troops

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These reports were probably a factor in shaping the next step in the movements of Gaines. On June 6 he wrote a letter to Governor Cannon of Tennessee, which gives the first inkling of his intended movements. He reviewed the recent state of Indian hostilities and stated that he was convinced that the advance to the Sabine had prevented a great Indian war. He stated that the report that Mexico would acknowledge the independence of Texas was not given as much credence as it had been, and that the Indians might, in consequence, be induced to renew hostilities in the disputed region. "In this apprehension," he said, "I cannot but feel some reproach, that I should so hastily have denied myself the pleasure of receiving at this place and retaining in the service of the public, until every difficulty among the Indians and their allies had been permanently settled, the brigade of Tennessee volunteers. . . . I think it is my duty to request your excellency, to authorize the brigade of Tennessee volunteers, enrolled agreeably to your proclamation, to calculate on the probability of another call to this frontier.

776

On the following day Gaines wrote to Cass in a similar vein, and pointed out that there were but sixteen hundred troops to four hundred miles of territory, and "that the chivalry of Mexico may be expected to fly to the rescue of their President, and reinstate his red allies, and inspire them with a spirit of revenge against those recently screened from their barbarism." He informed Cass of his communication to Cannon regarding the possibility of another call for troops.'

On June 7 Bonnell sent further information from Fort Jesup

6 Gaines to Cannon, June 6, 1836, Niles' Register, L, 384-385. It is stated by Bancroft, (North Mexican States and Texas, II, 287) that Gaines' second call for troops was due to advices received from Rusk and to Indian hostilities that occurred on the Navasota. This is literally true, but it is interesting to note that Gaines was contemplating the move before he knew of the renewed hostilities, or had heard from Rusk.

7 Gaines to Cass, June 7, 1836, House Ex. Docs., 25 Cong., 2 Sess., XII, Doc. 351, pp. 787-788.

8

concerning Flores and Medrano, and on the sixteenth witnesses were called before Robert K. McDonald, justice of the peace at Natchitoches, to obtain further evidence. The testimony of the witnesses confirmed the previous statements concerning Flores."

Opportunely for Gaines, the Indians perpetrated several atrocities about this time. On May 18 Parker's Fort, a settlement containing thirty-four people, located on the headwaters of the Navasota River, was attacked by a force of Comanche and Kiowa, variously estimated as containing from three hundred to seven hundred warriors. Five of the inhabitants were killed, three dangerously wounded, and five carried into captivity.10

Several depredations had also occurred in the colony of Sterling C. Robertson. James Dunn, the regidor of the municipality of Milam, testified that having heard of the massacre at Parker's Fort, he prepared to move to Nashville on the Brazos. with a view of "forting," and that he and two others were attacked by about fifty Indians; one was wounded, many cattle were killed and the balance driven off. Some of the Indians then attacked other settlers in the neighborhood, killing two of them. Dunn claimed that he recognized a Caddo chief named Douchey among the assailants. Montgomery B. Shackleford, who was one of the settlers who had been attacked, confirmed the statement of Dunn. Robertson sent the depositions of Dunn and Shackleford to Gaines, calling attention to the fact that the Caddo had taken part. He appealed to the sympathies of the American commander—

Already we hear from lisping infancy and weary and withered age throughout this wide-spreading republic, that you are a friend to Texas. If the facts as stated will justify your march against the Caddoes, the

8 Bonnell to Gaines, June 7, 1836, House Ex. Docs., 25 Cong., 2 Sess., XII, Doc. 351, pp. 810-811.

9 Ibid., 812-814.

10 De Shields, Cynthia Ann Parker: The Story of her Capture at the Massacre of the Inmates of Parker's Fort, 13-16.