The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963 Page: 573
641 p. : ill., maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Notes and Documents
he found an abundant supply of corn and several houses nearly filled
with salt. [I eat [sic] some of the corn, but did not see the houses of
salt.]
These troops had left Goliad some time before and proceeded to
San Antonio and thence they had taken the old San Antonio road to
the St. Marks expecting, there to meet Magee's expedition, but finding
that Magee had taken the lower or Bahia road to Goliad, he then
struck across the country towards Goliad.
This is too preposterous, [I wish I could use a milder term.] To
suppose that the guardians of the Province and Commanders of her
troops should set down at San Antonio for three months after an
enemy had invaded their country drawing in their garrisons and then
order their troops from the very posts to which the enemy was ap-
proaching, marching them more then one hundred and fifty miles to
meet them on another road."8
They must have contemplated a royal feast of these poor deluded
Americans on their arrival at La Bahia, having provided several houses
nearly full of salt, to pickle them down and an abundance of corn for
torteas and other necessary condiments for the feast withdrawing the
troops to prevent any excitement or alarm, that would deteriorate the
flavor marching them two hundred miles to sharpen their appetites.
The royalists did not despair of the enjoyment of their feast of the
Americans on their failure to capture them. About the 2oth of No-
vember, when they "carried off their dead," They were not disposed
to loose their abundant supply of corn and "several houses'"' nearly
full of salt" without another effort; and in order to keep the Amer-
icans in good condition they concluded to furnish them with beef,
which they did during the seige, no doubt, anticipating the accom-
plishment of their designs, not doubting for a moment, that the
Americans, would finally have to yield. They drove in their herd of
cattle near to their quarters, in full view of the fort in the evening;
and, when the Americans wanted beef they would go out before day
and cut off from the herd what they needed and drive them in about
daylight. The enemy never attempted to molest them. On one occa-
sion the descried at mid day, a small lot that had strayed from the
drove. They mounted horses and drove them in passing in full view
of the southern divisions, they remaining quiet and passive in their
quarters.
168McLane seems not to have known or to have ignored the military precept of
concentration of forces at the critical point. The city of San Antonio was the
critical point in Texas and the unreliability of the Spanish troops made it essential
for Salcedo to concentrate as large a force as possible there. His initial position
was taken to protect the provincial capital.
16A new installment of the "Review of Erroneous History" begins at this point,
appearing in the San Antonio Tri-Weekly Alamo Express, February 27, 1861.573
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 66, July 1962 - April, 1963, periodical, 1963; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth101196/m1/613/: accessed April 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.