The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 89, July 1985 - April, 1986 Page: 203

Notes and Documents
A Poem
by
REBECCA MARGRETT STAPP STUKES*
My Children I'll tell you a story of old
When we poor Texans marched out in the cold
I believe it was 46 years ago or more
When the mexicans invaded young Texas you know
This fair land they claimed as their right
And to ruin it they determined to fight
So They beat their Drums and gathered io thousand in
a band
And started on a march to the coveted land
But our Texans were a band of Brothers most true
They sholdered their guns with a will to go through
They numbers were small but their hearts were light
When they faced a hundred dark men to one that was white
They families were sent off to a neighboring State
Where they spent some days in sorrow I cannot relate
Sleeping on the cold ground with vermin all arround
For on the banks of Sabine they surely abound
*Mrs. Rebecca Stukes was born in Palmyra, Missouri, the daughter of Nancy Shannon Stapp
and Elijah Stapp, later a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. In 1830 Rebecca
came to Texas with her parents. At age eight she was caught up in the Runaway Scrape and was
a witness to the aftermath of the battle of San Jacinto. She married Captain Nat. M. Stukes in
Victoria County, Texas, May 31, 1849. In about 1882 she wrote this untitled poem so that her
descendents would know of her remarkable childhood experiences and the price in suffering
that was paid for the independence of Texas. The poem clearly reflects the passionate feelings
of someone who has experienced war. It also reveals nineteenth-century attitudes and stereo-
types regarding the conflict and its participants. Rebecca Stukes died November 12, 1899, in
Colorado City, Texas. The poem and portrait were made available to us through the generosity
of Mrs. Stukes's great-granddaughter, Mrs. Glen E. Harkins of El Paso.