The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 7, July 1903 - April, 1904 Page: 41
xvi, 340 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Reminiscences of Early Texans.
twenty-four yards. It was in the form of an L, the longer part
fronting the river. The shorter part was below the road and
extended eastward. The dirt was thrown outside the ditch. This
work occupied us until the evening of the 31st of Mar. when Capt.
Baker paraded the company and informed the men that he had
received intelligence that the Mexican army had crossed the Colo-
rado and was advancing on San Felipe; that he had been instructed
by Genl. Houston, upon the approach of the enemy to burn the
town, and that in obedience to said order the company would now
proceed to reduce it to ashes. We crossed the river after night and
it was about eight o'clock when we arrived in the streets of San
Felipe, where Capt. Baker again harangued us. He stated, in sub-
stance, 'that he thought it was bad policy to burn the town but that
Genl. Houston was inimical to him and would avail himself of any
plausible pretext to injure him. He was therefore determined to
execute his orders to the letter. He then commenced the work of
destruction by setting fire to his own office with his own hand. The
houses were of wood and the conflagration was rapid and brilliant.
It was nearly midnight and the town was almost consumed, when
The company returned to camp.
A large amount of goods were destroyed by this conflagration.
All the merchants, with the exception of William P. Huff, had pre-
viously left the place but were represented by their clerks.
Some of our men asked permission of the clerks to take such
goods as they needed; but this was refused, even when the torch
was about to be applied to the stores. Neither Captain Baker's men
nor the people of the town doubted that it was destroyed by order
of the commander-in-chief.
The clerks crossed the river and camped with our company.
Next morning (Apl. 1) we resumed working on our entrenchment.
This morning Capt. Baker wrote to Genl. Houston. Before dis-
patching the letter he said to me and others of his mess, "General
Houston is inimical to me-I have to be very cautious-I will read
you this letter." He read it accordingly. It stated, in substance,
that having received intelligence that the enemy had crossed the
Colorado and were advancing towards San Felipe, he had, in obedi-
ence to the order of the commander-in-chief, burned the town.*
General Houston replied to this communication the same day.
(*See note one at end of this paper.)
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Texas State Historical Association. The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association, Volume 7, July 1903 - April, 1904, periodical, 1904; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101030/m1/45/: accessed April 19, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.