Let’s go back a ways to the 1830’s. Prior to the 1830’s, frontiersman and settlers from America, Mexico, and other countries came to Texas with a promise of land. Texas was still under ownership of Mexico. In the 1820’s many former Americans assisted the Mexican government in taking control of Mexico from Spain. A gentleman, by the name of Stephen F. Austin, was the number one individual bringing settlers from America to Texas. He established the Texas Rangers to protect those settlers from Indian attacks. Indian attacks were common due to settlers encroaching on Indian land. In Gonzales Texas, the settlers were dealing with vicious Comanche raids. The Mexican government issued the Gonzales settlers a brass cannon to thwart attacks from the Comanche’s. It’s with this brass cannon that my tale begins….
Texians, (as settlers were known in those days) were beginning to grumble about petitioning the Mexican President, Santa Anna, for statehood. Stephen F. Austin was to serve as their emissary and carry the petition to President Santa Anna in Mexico City. When Austin arrived in Mexico City, he was granted an audience with Vice President Gomez Farias. Apparently, Austin and Farias had a falling out, and Austin ended up being sent to a Mexican prison for nearly two years.
The Mexican government, who was nearly broke for various reasons, went back on their word with the Texas people. The settlers who were given land grants to settle in this great state were expected to pay taxes. The Texians were beginning to voice their displeasure with taxation and lack of recognition for statehood. In 1835, Colonel Ugartechea was sent to San Antonio to command the Mexican garrison (first historical mention this blogmeister is making of the Alamo). It’s believed that his goal was to disarm and dissolve any opposition to Mexican authority. He got word of the cannon that was given to the Gonzales settlers several years before. By now this cannon was rusted and had a hole in it. Gonzales sent one of his lieutenants to take the cannon from the Texians in Gonzales.
As soon as our forefathers got wind that someone was on their way with a troop of Mexican soldiers to take their only cannon (their poor old rusted cannon that was dangerous to even fire), the Texians mounted that cannon on wagon wheels and the women created a flag to drape over the barrel. The flag read “COME AND TAKE IT!”.
As stated in the historical novel The Alamo An Illustrated History by Edwin P. Hoyt, The Texains parked that old cannon with the flag draped over it on the west bank of the Guadalupe River. They made sure that crossing the river would be next to impossible by the Mexican force. Then, three hundred Texians stood armed and ready on the west bank of the river beside that rusty old blown out cannon. Imagine the surprise the Lieutenant and his troupe must have felt when they beheld such a sight. Of course, the Lieutenant asked for the cannon to be returned and he was respectfully invited to try to take it (Texans as a whole are a polite bunch). The morning came with the advancing of the Texians within a few hundred yards of the Mexican soldiers. Those heroes from Gonzales then loaded up the holey rusty old cannon and fired. They charged the Mexican line without actually crossing. It is the belief of this writer that the soldiers were so overwhelmed by our intrepid heroes that they turned tail and ran back to San Antonio! The battle ended without any Texian casualties. Next week’s blog: What ever happened to Stephen F. Austin?
