The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919 Page: 262
521 p. : ill. (some col.), ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
The Southwestern Historical Quarterly
Mexico City and imprisoned.6 This act called for retaliation, and
the militia. under General Somervell began operations along the
lower Rio Grande for the purpose of making "such reprisals upon
Mexico as civilized and honorable warfare would justify."'7 But
when the commander decided to disband his force after occupy-
ing Laredo, about three hundred of his men set out to capture
Mier. The result was a parallel for that of the Santa P6 expedi-
tion, 226 of them being captured and marched off to the Mexican
capital to be imprisoned.'
The disastrous outcome of these operations in the lower Rio
Grande valley proved to the Texans the futility of any efforts at
retaliation in that direction; but in the meantime they were turn-
ing their attention to the northwestern part of the territory over
which the government claimed jurisdiction. The previous lack of
knowledge concerning the country had been dispelled to a large
extent by the wanderings of the Santa. FP expedition, and the
Texans now understood more adequately how to operate there. In
addition, two, factors of more importance seem to have been re-
sponsible for the determination to conduct operations, in this
region. In the first place, the treatment which had been accorded
to the members of the Santa FP expedition by the military au-
thorities in New Mexico, together with the fact that the region
itself still remained to be subjugated, had its influence on the
Texan attitude. The other incentive was the fact that across this
district ran the Santa F trail, still serving as the principal route
of commercial intercourse between the United States and north-
ern Mexico. Since regular Mexican troops had not penetrated
this far north, it seemed that here were possibilities for effective
retaliation at a minimum risk.
The Plan for Warfield's Expedition.-The officials of Texas
took the stand that "a just retribution (and if need be, an in-
structive one) for injuries and cruelties inflicted by an enemy is
always legitimate warfare," and for the purpose of having such
retribution administered, the Secretary of War and Marine on
8Winkler, The Bexar and Dawson Prisoners, in THE QUARTERLY, XIII.
294-313, publishes the diary of Anderson Hutchinson, one of the captives.
At the time of his capture, I-Iutchinson was judge for the fourth judicial
district of Texas.
'Green, Journal of the Texian Expedition against Mier, 479.
slhid., 106.262
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Periodical.
Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 22, July 1918 - April, 1919, periodical, 1919; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117156/m1/277/: accessed April 28, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.