The Llano Estacado, not the Mexican Army, defeated the Santa Fe Expedition. |
After the Battle of Plum Creek, in August of
1840, Mirabeau Lamar, President of Texas, still faced problems. He had been elected by an overwhelming
majority of the votes, largely because both his opponents committed suicide
before the election. His policies
differed greatly from those of Sam Houston, who preceded him and would follow
him as president of the republic.
Unlike Houston, Lamar
mistrusted all Indians and felt that they should be forced out of Texas by
whatever means available, up to and including extermination. Houston was against slavery and wanted Texas to
become a state of the Union. Lamar
wanted to continue slavery and did not want to be annexed by the United
States—he wanted to build a nation that stretched to the Pacific Ocean and was
recognized as a world power. Lamar felt
that Texas, with all its land and its vast potential, would be foolish to become
subservient to any other country.
Lamar wanted
immediate recognition of the Republic of Texas by France, England, and other world
powers, which he hoped would enable the republic to borrow money from world
banking institutions. Texas was dead
broke, unable to collect taxes and, even after formal recognition by Britain
and France, unable to borrow. During
Lamar’s three year tenure, the republic generated a bit over one million in
revenue, and spent almost five million.
To distract the
public from these problems and as a first step toward expanding the empire to
the Pacific, Lamar started a campaign to annex New Mexico, at least that part
east of the Rio Grande, which Texas had claimed since San Jacinto. The trade along the Santa Fe Trail would go a
long way toward alleviating Texas’ financial situation and Lamar was convinced
that the people of New Mexico were ready to join Texas and split from the
despotic rule of Santa Anna, who had returned to power in Mexico. Lamar believed when he announced Texas was
ready to assimilate New Mexico, the New Mexican people would jump at the chance
to become Texans.
Lamar tried to
get support, financial and otherwise, from the Texas Congress for his plan to
send a “trade mission” to New Mexico.
The legislature would have nothing to do with the idea, so Lamar, on his
own, appropriated $89,000.00 to finance the mission. No doubt he exceeded his authority and
went against the constitution, but he managed to get the expedition organized
and funded. He chose his young friend,
Hugh McLeod, now a 27 year-old brigadier general, to lead the military
component of the expedition.
McLeod was lap-dog loyal to Lamar. He was red-headed, freckle-faced, a bit rotund and a quite jolly fellow. A lot of fun at parties. He was also dumb as a post. There was a reason he was last in his class ar West Point.
McLeod was lap-dog loyal to Lamar. He was red-headed, freckle-faced, a bit rotund and a quite jolly fellow. A lot of fun at parties. He was also dumb as a post. There was a reason he was last in his class ar West Point.
The Santa Fe
Expedition consisted of 21 ox-drawn wagons carrying about $200,000.00 in
merchandise, several businessmen, four civil commissioners, one newspaper
editor, five companies of infantry, and one artillery company. Including the soldiers, the expedition
totaled 321 men. General McLeod was in
command of the military forces, which were there to lead and protect the
expedition, not for any aggression against New Mexico.
With Mexican
guides, eighty head of beef cattle for food, provisions for ninety days and high
hopes, the wagon train left Brushy Creek, in the vicinity of present-day Round
Rock, on June 19, 1841. The guides must
have been dandies. Six weeks later, heading for Santa Fe, they were closer to Oklahoma City. They made it to the vicinity of present-day Wichita Falls,
and mistook the Wichita River for the Red River. After following the Wichita for twelve days, McLeod realized their mistake and sent scouts north to hunt for the Red
River. The Mexican guides deserted.
McLeod eventually
found the Red River, and followed it west.
His command was in trouble—supplies were running low, there was little
food, no one knew how far it was to Santa Fe, progress was slower than
anticipated, and Indians had stolen some of their horses and all of the
beef cattle. When the little group found the
Llano Estacado, McLeod split them up and sent a patrol west on horseback to
find a route to the trading villages of New Mexico, while he and his group camped in the valley. They couldn't find a place to climb the Caprock with twenty-one wagons.
The men in both
groups were starving. According to the
reporter Kendall, they ate snakes, prairie dogs, toads, and anything else they could
catch, and they didn’t cook it long.
Indians had stolen their cattle and most of their horses. They lost six soldiers fighting Comanche, and
morale was non-existent.
On September 12,
the advance patrol sent back a guide to lead McLeod and the wagons into New
Mexico, where the Texans expected a hero’s welcome. In the meantime, the
Mexican guides who deserted made it to Taos and told of the expedition headed
toward New Mexico. The Mexican
authorities were less than pleased.
When Governor Manuel
Armijo heard of the expedition, he considered it an armed invasion. He brought 1500 troops to San Miguel and
captured the advance party on September 17th, then surrounded and
captured McLeod’s main force near Tucumcari on October 5th. Captain William G. Lewis, who spoke Spanish,
convinced both Texas parties to surrender, which may not have been a difficult
task. The troops were thirsty, hungry,
tired, and unwilling to fight a much larger force. Captain Lewis lied when he assured them that the Mexicans
would treat them kindly and send them back to Texas with full bellies. Whether or not he knowingly lied is a matter for debate. Surrender to a friendly army may have
appeared to be a good option to the starving troops, but Armijo’s army was not friendly.
The Texan captives were
bound and listened as the Mexican officers debated their fate. Governor Armijo was determined to execute all
the prisoners, the accepted Mexican way of dealing with revolutionaries. When
the officers' vote was taken, the prisoners were spared by one vote. Early the next morning, they were bound
together by twos and started a march to Santa Fe, then El Paso, on to Mexico
City and finally to Vera Cruz and Perote Prison, where they arrived in December
of 1841. Many died during the march from
Santa Fe to El Paso, but the sadistic commander (an officer named Salazar) was
replaced by a more lenient individual in El Paso and the rest of the 1200 mile march was
less strenuous. Most of the prisoners
were released in April of 1842, after diplomatic pressure from the United
States Ambassador, Waddy Thompson.
Governor Armijo
confiscated all the trade merchandise for his own use and continued to rule New
Mexico with an iron fist. He was known to
be corrupt—rumors persist that he started his fortune by stealing sheep from his
employer and selling them back. In 1846,
he was prosecuted for treason and cowardice during the Mexican/American war, but
was acquitted.
Captain William
G. Lewis was released by Armijo and rewarded with his choice of items from the
Texan merchandise wagons. He was widely
considered a traitor and was shunned by both Texans and Mexicans for the rest
of his life. His intervention resulted
in the surrender of all the Texas troops without a shot being fired. He may or may not have been aware of Governor
Armijo’s plans.
Even though Hugh McLeod was popular with his men and with President Lamar, he was not a good choice to lead the expedition. His choice of guides was obviously flawed, he allowed the beef cattle and over eighty horses to be stolen by Indians, he had no idea of the whereabouts of Santa Fe or how far it was from Austin, he split his troops and surrendered without a fight. All in all, not unforseeable results from an officer who was considerably less than bright..
Even though Hugh McLeod was popular with his men and with President Lamar, he was not a good choice to lead the expedition. His choice of guides was obviously flawed, he allowed the beef cattle and over eighty horses to be stolen by Indians, he had no idea of the whereabouts of Santa Fe or how far it was from Austin, he split his troops and surrendered without a fight. All in all, not unforseeable results from an officer who was considerably less than bright..
General
McLeod was treated leniently while in prison, because of his rank in the Texas
Army. He returned to Texas and retired
from the military when Sam Houston regained the office of president. McLeod, a lawyer, opposed Houston on every
major issue for the rest of his life. He
died of illness during the Civil War while serving as a Lt. Colonel in the unit that became Hood’s Texas Brigade. In honor of his contributions, Hugh McLeod’s
grave was moved to the Texas State Cemetery in Austin.
Mirabeau Bonaparte Lamar--Georgia Fire-Breather, Statesman, Poet, Visionary, and President of the Republic of Texas |
Mirabeau B. Lamar
was blamed for the failure of the expedition.
A “Letter to the Editor” in the Austin newspaper of the time suggested that
he be traded for the Texan prisoners in Mexico.
His political opposition considered him a much better poet than President. Lamar truly believed that Texas should stretch from the Gulf to the
Pacific and worked tirelessly toward that end.
He believed strongly in education and introduced legislation that forced
each new county to set aside three leagues of state land to finance a school
system. His work resulted in the
establishment of Texas A&M in 1871 and Texas University in 1876.
George Wilkins
Kendall of the New Orleans Picayune, who
went on the expedition and wrote a book-length report about it, wrote
at the time,
President Lamar’s
estimation of the views and feelings of the people of Santa Fe and vicinity,
was perfectly correct. Not a doubt can
exist that they all were, and are (1843), anxious to throw off the oppressive
yoke of Armijo, and come under the liberal institutions of Texas; but the
Governor found us divided into small parties, broken down by long marches and
want of food; discovered too, a traitor amongst us; and, taking advantage of
these circumstances, his course was plain and his conquest easy.
Had this mission
proved successful, Lamar would have been heralded a greater hero and the
history of Texas, Mexico, and the United States would have been drastically
altered. Lamar was a dreamer, who, like
his rival, Sam Houston, dreamed big dreams.
History will remember him for his substantial contributions to education
in Texas and no one will blame him for his grandiose dreams. That sorta comes with the territory….
Thanks Jimmy, for the idea for this series. Hope you enjoy....
Thanks Jimmy, for the idea for this series. Hope you enjoy....
You are more than welcome. I have thoroughly enjoyed all of these articles.
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