The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 6, July 1902 - April, 1903 Page: 185
401 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Tampico Expedition.
185
ment stores.1 A little later, during the evening session, a new face
was put on the matter by the receipt of Colonel Pettus's report,
and Austin's letter of the 14th, but the express to McKinney had
already departed, so they were referred to a select committee and
action upon them was deferred for nearly a week. On the 23rd,
however, the committee reported, "that on examining all the papers
and documents concerning the plans of co-operating with . .
the people of Texas, from General Mexia and others, Mexican Lib-
erals, they would advise that the order . .. to Thomas F.
McKinney, of the seventeenth instant, be countermanded, as your
committee can find no reason for declining the aid of General
Mexia; . .. and advise that the advances . .. made by
the Government agents be respected." This report was adopted and
a copy dispatched forthwith to McKinney;2 but fortunately Mexia
had already relieved him of his unpleasant task by surrendering,
the day before the first order arrived, all the property in his pos-
session.3 He had become convinced that his services were no longer
either "desired or necessary" in Texas and had decided to return
to New Orleans.'
1Robinson to McKinney, December 17, 1835.-Archives of Texas, Vol.
3, pp. 3-4 of records in vault No. 1.
'Journal of the Prooee,dings of the General Counoil, 195.
'McKinney to Council, December 29, 1835.-Archives of Texas, Vol. 3,
pp. 172-3 of records in vault No. 1.
'One cannot but respect him for the dignified letter in which he
announced his determination to Governor Smith. He said (Archives of
Texas, File 13, No. 1263, Diplomatic Correspondence):
"Sir:
"Since my arrival in Texas on the 3d inst. I have communicated to Your
Excellency all my movemouts, the views with which I came, the causes
that prompted me to undertake the Expedition against Tampico, and finally
that I was returning to this place, with the intention of sending my troops,
cannon, arms, and ammunition to the Copano. During all this time I
have not received a single official communication, and this circumstance,
and the last success of Bexar does convince me that my services are
neither of any utility in Texas, nor are they desired or necessary. Thus
persuaded I have determined to return to New Orleans, where acting in
concert with the Federalists in the Interior I shall be able to employ my
time and person in the common cause of the Nation, which I believe is
the one which at present Texas sustains. . .
"I leave here with Thomas F. McKinney Esqr. the cannon, arms, and
2-Q
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 6, July 1902 - April, 1903, periodical, 1903; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101028/m1/189/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.