|
LONE STAR REPUBLIC An alternate history by Kris Overstreet © 2000 Kris Overstreet, all rights reserved. Chapter One: Remember the Alamo, Again 1842 For the second time in three years, Mexican troops had taken San Antonio away from the fledgling Republic of Texas. On this particular occasion, General Woll, on the orders of recently reinstated Presidente Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, carried with him orders to kill every Anglo who came within his power. (1) Adrian Woll, a Frenchman and career soldier, had supported Santa Anna since their days together during the Mexican Revolution. He was intimately familiar with his superior's mercurial moods and vindictive temper. However, he was also personally loyal to the man, who did have some talent for war... to say nothing of the amazing ability to come back after a political defeat, something extremely rare in Mexican politics. After the defeat of his little army at Saldido Creek, Woll was forced to evacuate San Antonio and return south of the Rio Grande. He had put off the moment of decision as long as he could, hoping that his repeated requests for leniency could save the two hundred men he had captured during his campaign. (Not even for Santa Anna would he kill women and children.) No word came, and with a heavy heart Woll declared the men traitors to the Republic and had them shot. It took several volleys and some pursuit; Mexican gunpowder was notoriously unreliable, and Woll did not have many more men in his army than he had prisoners. The distasteful job done, Woll left with the Texian Army at his heels, returning to Mexico to a victor's laurels and a promotion from a grateful El Presidente. In Texas, however, things were changing... and rapidly. Sam Houston had won re-election to the Presidency of the Republic partly on his own popularity, but mostly due to the dissatisfaction of the people with Mirabeau Lamar's administration, whose attempts at empire had nearly bankrupted the little republic. Despite this, Houston soon learned that the people might despise Lamar, but against the Indians, and especially Mexico, they were all too eager to become conquerors. When an editorial in the Texas Telegraph asked the people if it had already forgotten the Alamo- and so allowed it to happen again- the result was mass outrage. Twice Mexico had skirmished in the debatable land between the northern provinces and the Anglo-settled areas, and Houston had managed to keep things from boiling over. Not so now. Action was called for, and not just a little place-holding action- the people of Texas, to a man, were clamoring for a punitive expidition, to El Paso, to Laredo, to Santa Fe, to Saltillo, anywhere there were Mexicans. Innocent Tejanos, including a couple who had fought with the Texan army at San Jacinto, were lynched.(2) Houston tapped Alexander Somervell, a capable general who had come up through the ranks since the siege of Bexar (San Antonio) on through San Jacinto, to command a substantial invasion force, with every necessary supply for an extended campaign to the Rio Grande and, if it were feasible, into Mexico. He was authorized to raise 700 volunteers, plus an additional 200 from the small Texan standing army. The Somervell expedition included quite a few veterans of the Revolution, including some names which would stand out in years to come. Tom Green and Ben McCulloch of the Texas Rangers each brought in a company. Joseph Bennett, commander of the frontier guard in Houston's first administration, brought in a battallion 200 men strong. William Fisher, having been betrayed by the Mexican revolutionary force known as the Republic of the Rio Grande(4), brought in some troops... and from all parts of the Republic, more poured in. In the end, Somervell had an army of over 1200 men- more than he, or Houston, felt could be supplied over such a distance. The Texans would not be turned away, though, and Houston shrugged and approved the extra command; all too many of them, he thought, would wither away on the long march and short rations. This, amazingly enough, did not prove to be the case. The Somervell Expedition, as the campaign would be known, left San Antonio on November 25 with 1,238 men; on December 8, with a force of 1,189, it captured Laredo without a shot. (5) When Somervell prevented the looting of Laredo- a city claimed by the Republic- Joseph Bennett threatened to take his command and return home. The threat backfired, however; the Texans refused to leave, and forced Bennett to agree to stay until they actually met Mexican troops. Again, without a fight, Somervell took another town, Guerrero. On December 19, he considered the facts; supplies were already running low, the Mexican army was nowhere in sight, and he had no means of sustaining the army in its current position. On the other hand, there were at least 600 Texans who would stay to fight no matter what; only the 200 regular troops, and maybe 200 more from the volunteers, could be counted on to obey an order to retreat.(6) Somervell reluctantly decided to press on. Next down the river was Mier, a village which might be a source for food, water and horses, all desperately needed by the army. If nothing was forthcoming there, then there would be no choice but to limp back to Gonzales and San Antonio, and the anger of Texas. Using rafts taken from Guerrero, a group of scouts under Tom Green and Ben McCulloch crossed the river and, on December 22, saw Mexican troops beginning to assemble in the town of Mier. Meanwhile, the Texan army worked its way down the east bank of the river, reaching a spot across from Mier at the same time as the Rangers. The Rangers considered the numbers, returned to the army, and reported: substantial forces, more coming every hour. If the town was to be attacked, it needed to be soon. Green and McCulloch were both very doubtful it could be done at all, if the Mexicans were given time to fortify their positions, and they recommended that Somervell find better ground for a battle. Somervell could not afford to move on. Supplies were getting very thin indeed. Farther down the river, there was not terribly much of anything until Matamoros and the Gulf of Mexico. No, it must be Mier or nothing, Somervell decided, and the next day he ordered an attack. The Texans marched into Mier unopposed. Yet again, Somervell prohibited looting; instead, he called out the alcalde of the town and demanded a long list of supplies for his men. The list strained the capacity of the village to the bone, but by late afternoon the list was filled. Unfortunately, the Texans had a problem; their supply train was on the other side of the river, and the wagons could not cross here. Not to worry, the alcalde reassured them, the next day they would deliver the goods to their camp. With dire warnings about the consequences of betrayal, Somervell led his force back to camp, where they waited all of Christmas Eve for a supply train that never came. In the night, as it happened, the Mexican army had arrived. The commander of the garrison at Matamoros, General Pedro de Ampudia, had arrived with a force of 3,000 Mexican levies to drive out the invading Anglos. He immediately siezed the amassed supplies, and shortly after learning of the Texans one of their scouts, A. S. Holderman, was brought before him. In a few minutes he knew the full number, arrangement, and general state of the Texan force. Ampudia outnumbered the Texans by almost three to one. He had with him a large number of Mexican lancers, the deadliest cavalry force in North America at the time. Against him was a small, mostly undisciplined force very low on supplies, in poor morale, essentially on its last legs. Ampudia, however, had been an officer with General Urrea in the Revolution. He had narrowly missed taking part in San Jacinto; he knew what terrible fighters the Texans could be. Moreover, he was not possessed of much skill as a general (7). He decided to hold the town and wait for the Texans to go away. On Christmas Day, the Texans captured a Mexican deserter. They soon learned what had gone on, and not even Somervell would stop them now. The news of a Mexican army set the Texans to cheering defiance, as dozens of men began moving across the river without orders, eager to engage the enemy. Somervell managed to get everyone under control, and that afternoon the army moved across the river, leaving a small guard, 1000 men to attack nearly 3000. The battle raged for a full day, only slowed slightly by the night and resumed in full fury the next day. Again and again the Texans assaulted the village... and it was a slaughter. For the Mexicans. By midday December 26, Ampudia had only half his force in any condition to fight. The Texans had lost maybe 100 men, probably fewer. Both sides were low on ammounition, but the Texans had better power, and whereas the Texans were all volunteers, the Mexicans were virtually all con_script_s looking for the first opportunity to desert. Then,at about 2 PM, the Texans stormed the town square. The Mexican troops broke and ran, and the scrape was on. Ampudia, unable to rally his forces, surrendered himself to William Fisher, declaring angrily that thanks to the Texans he had no army to surrender as well. Over 1,200 Mexicans died in the Battle of Mier, as opposed to 87 Texans. Hundreds more were wounded or captured, and virtually none of them returned to the army. With ammounition exhausted, and Mier thoroughly looted by the victorious army, Somervell now had a good reason to return north, but this time he took with him over 400 prisoners of war, including Ampudia. Three weeks later, the prisoners were imprisoned in the same San Antonio cotton warehouse where Adrian Woll had kept his ill-fated prisoners months before. The expedition had been a success beyond reckoning, with the main line of defense (and attack) in northern Mexico seriously mauled. Somervell's army broke up only
... wi?cej ť
|
Favoured: 0
