The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 40, July 1936 - April, 1937 Page: 27
348 p. : maps ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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The Free Negro in the Republic of Texas
there were 60 to 100 Mexican troops at Goliad and he believed
his "47 Good and Effective men," of whom McCullough was one,
"all Sufficient to take that place."' On October 9, the company
stormed the fort. In a letter urging Captain Benjamin Smith
to reinforce him, Collingsworth explained his position and re-
ported the battle in which one Mexican was killed, three wounded
and captured, and three officers and 21 soldiers surrendered. He
wrote, "I had one of my men wounded in the shoulder."2 This
man was McCullough. He was the only one of the Texan troops
wounded in that battle, and claimed to be "the first whose blood
was shed in the War of Independence." McCullough paid dearly
for this unique distinction, as his shattered shoulder left him a
helpless invalid for nearly a year and a cripple for life.3
The news of the capture of Goliad kindled a flame of enthu-
siasm throughout the country. On the tenth of October, Stephen
F. Austin was elected commander-in-chief, and Greenbury Logan,
a free Negro, was among those who answered his call for volun-
teers to march on Bexar.4 He joined Captain Fannin's company
in the middle of October, and marched with the detachment of
ninety men from Austin's main army of some 350 troops, when
they met and defeated a much larger force of Mexicans near Mis-
sion Concepci6n on October 28. A council of war was then called
to consider the advisability of storming Bexar, but owing to the
strength of the fortifications and the lack of artillery to breach
them, it was decided not to make the attempt, but to lay siege
to the town. The Texan army continued to receive reinforce-
ments, but there was much disorganization in the ranks, and men,
discontented with the long siege, were leaving constantly. The
siege was continued until December 3, when it appeared to be
about to end in disorder. On that morning, three prisoners, who
had been detained under surveillance since the beginning of hos-
tilities, made their escape from the city and reached the Texan
camp. On the basis of information given by them as to the
1C. M. Collingsworth to Stephen F. Austin. Eugene C. Barker (editor),
The Austin Papers, III, 164.
2James Kerr to Council of War. Ibid.
8Congress recognized McCullough as "among the first to shed his blood
in the war of independence." Congressional Papers, Fifth Session, No.
1677, File 19; No. 1527, File 17; Memorial No. 101, File 67, no date.
'Congressional Papers, Sixth Session, No. 2349, File 25; No. 2582, File
28; Memorial No. 3, File 54, March 13, 1837.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 40, July 1936 - April, 1937, periodical, 1937; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101099/m1/35/: accessed April 27, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.