More Loose Ends at San Jacinto and Elsewhere in Texas

 

David G. Burnet, the Interim President of Texas from March until October of 1836.  He was very articulate but made a series of  disastrous mistakes.  He hung around Texas politics for thirty more years, mostly taking up space and proving that a complete idiot who talks a good game can survive in politics.

      History changes depending on who is telling the story.  Honest historians tell an imperfect story because they don’t know any better.  They spend years researching a subject, then publish their findings as historical fact and are to be commended for their efforts, even if some of their “facts” are a bit skewed.  Further research and new information always reveals flaws in their work and history is re-written to fit a new set of “facts.”

      Less-than-honest historians, for reasons of their own, slant a story to fit their personal agenda, whether or not it is factual.  News commentators have also been known to do this.  Dan Rather comes to mind.

       It would be nice if mankind was always motivated to take the moral high ground, but experience tells us this is not the case.  It would be nice if Democrats and Republicans were always on the side of honor, truth and justice, but don't hold your breath. Evil people exist.  Humans have needs, and some people are programmed to service their own needs without regard for others.

      That’s about as far down that road as I wish to go, so let me get to the point.  I found several discrepancies in the works I used for research in my studies on the Texas Revolution.  They are mostly variations in detail, and don’t present any great problem, but I want to clear the air and expose some contradictions.

     I found Houston’s friend, Chief Bowles of the Cherokees, listed as Chief Bowles, Chief Bowl, Chief Boles, and in one reference, simply as The Bowl.  I prefer “The Bowl” and wonder if it was not the proper translation of his Indian name.  Historian are tempted to “correct” a name like that.

     Weeks before the battle at San Jacinto, Houston put Sidney Sherman and all his men under the command of Burleson’s First Volunteers. When the army grew, Sherman was promoted and put in charge of an entirely new regiment, the Second Volunteers.  He kept his cavalry until the day before the battle when Houston stripped him of that and assigned it to Lamar.  As for "discrepancies," I noticed several references to Sherman and his “Kentuckians,” who were listed on the far left end of Houston’s skirmish line.  Sherman’s Kentuckians were centered in the line with Burleson and Sherman was on the far left, leading a new group of volunteers.

     In more than one account, Sidney Sherman is credited with initiating the cries, “Remember the Alamo,” and “Remember Goliad!”  According to a reliable source,  Secretary of War Thomas Rusk, “Remember Goliad” was not a battle cry at San Jacinto, because, at the time, Goliad was known as La Bahia.  Houston's troops yelled, "Remember the Alamo," and "Remember, La Bahia."

      The glove that Private James A. Sylvester attached to the shaft of the Miss Liberty Flag was described as red in some accounts and white in others.  All described a long glove that was presented to Sylvester by the daughter of the host of a going-off-to-war dance in Cincinnati, but they disagreed as to the color.  (For what its worth, I choose to believe the glove was red.  White would be a natural assumption, and I feel that some researcher along the way made that assumption.)

The story of the glove was more important than its color.  I wondered if the young beauty gave the glove to James, and if so, under what circumstances.  Young women sometimes bestoy precious gifts on departing soldiers.  Then again, perhaps she lost the glove and he found it and made up the story. Soldiers do that.  Imagination does wonderful things for a lonely young man.

     James Sylvester was a well-respected soldier, so he may have told the truth.  I found him listed as Second Sergeant for Captain William Wood’s “A” Company, in Burleson’s First Volunteer Infantry, so he gained several promotions after leaving Kentucky as a private.  He was, a bit surprisingly because of his rank, listed as “flag-bearer.”  I suppose he retained that position  because he wanted to keep the glove near and sniff it every now and then.

     The complete rout of the Mexicans can be inferred from the fact that Sylvester was not wounded in the battle.  Flag bearers were favored targets, and he would have been front and center with the Miss Liberty flag.  Further evidence that he was a good soldier is provided.  He was listed as one of the patrol which captured Santa Anna on the day after the battle.  I find no other reference to him, so, for me at least, he is lost to history.

     Conflicting stories abound as to the appearance of Miss Liberty on the flag.  Some had her bare to the waist and others said she was completely covered.  Some covered her with transparent fabric. These riddles were answered when the flag was put on display in 1933, and the lady had one lovely breast exposed. (My bias is showing—that’s the story I wanted to believe.)

A replica of the Dodson Flag, which most likely flew over the Alamo.  Santa Anna  took the Alamo flag back to Mexico and put it in a museum, where it remains despite all efforts to have it returned to Texas.

     Historians place other flags at San Jacinto—T. R. Fehrenbach, in his consummate history of Texas, Lone Star, described the Troutman Flag as being carried there.   Houston did send Miss Troutman a place setting—an oversized fork and spoon--from Santa Anna’s silver chest as a thank-you gift for her flag, but all evidence shows that flag was destroyed at Goliad.  
    
      Captain Hugh McLeod, who brought the Troutman Flag to Texas, supposedly fought at San Jacinto, but I could not find him listed on any roster.  I have since discovered that he was delayed on his trip to Texas and stayed at Nacogdoches helping prepare for the defense of the city until after the battle at San Jacinto, when  he immediately joined Burnet and Lamar in Galveston.  Lamar took McLeod under his wing and they became close friends and dedicated enemies of Sam Houston.  

     The Miss Liberty flag was returned to Mrs. Sidney Sherman and the ladies of Newport four months after the battle.  In an attached note, Alexander Somerville testifies that the flag flew over the fight at San Jacinto.  This note is proof enough that the Miss Liberty Flag was the dominate flag of the Texians at the battle.  It is likely other flags were carried that day—most military units carry colors of some sort—and there is no evidence that only one flag was present. 

     Speaking of Alexander Somerville, I found him called “Somervall,” “Somervell,” and “Somervill.”  I used “Somerville” because that’s the way he spelled his name in the note to Mrs. Sherman.  At the time of that letter, in August 1836, David G. Burnet was still interim president of Texas.  He served just over seven months and negotiated both Treaties of Velasco with Santa Anna.  He otherwise busied himself writing thank-you notes, rewarding friends with political appointments, and plotting against Sam Houston. 

     Robert Potter, a friend that Burnet appointed Secretary of the Texas Navy, is listed in some journals as having fought at San Jacinto, but he remained at Galveston, along with Burnet and DeZavala, during the battle.  The three immediately left Galveston and went to San Jacinto after the victory.  They were furious to find Houston had used funds from Santa Anna’s captured war chest to pay his troops, instead of turning the money over to them and the provisional government as Burnet had ordered.

     Over the next thirty years, David G. Burnet took up space in the Rebublic and the State of Texas, but contributed little to the overall good.   His greatest contribution to Texas came from his brother  Isaac, who was mayor of Cincinnati when that city voted to donate the Twin Sisters to the Texas cause.

Loose Ends at the Battle of San Jacinto--A Family Affair

The red-headed fire eater, Mirabeau Bonaparte Lamar

     When General Houston decided to fight at San Jacinto, he was on the verge of losing his command to mutiny.  Several of his officers were actively speaking out, questioning his leadership.  Sidney Sherman, Alexander Somerville, Mirabeau B. Lamar, and John Wharton were all critical of Houston.  Wiley Martin and Mosely Baker had decided to follow him only if he fought.  Officers loyal to Houston included Henry Millard, Edward Burleson, and Thomas J. Rusk, the Secretary of War for the Republic.  Houston kept his his plans to himself and only shared his thoughts with Secretary Rusk.

     Around noontime on the 21^st, Houston, fed up with second-guessing subordinates, told Wharton, “Fight and be damned.” Houston knew his poorly trained troops were ill-prepared for battle, but he also knew their best opportunity for victory was immediate action.  The rank and file were lusting for a fight, the enemy was just across a pasture, and Houston had seen an eagle drifting above when he awoke that morning.  The eagle--Houston's Indian Totem--was a good omen and its message was not lost on Houston--it was time to fight.

      Houston prepared his men for battle.  Starting on the left and facing the enemy, Sidney Sherman’s infantry from the Second Volunteer Regiment was spread out next to the swamp.  Mosely Baker and his men were next in line, then the steadfast Edward Burleson’s First Volunteer Regiment which contained Sherman’s original Newport volunteers. The “Twin Sisters” from Cincinnati stood in the center of the line.  Col. Henry Millard’s A and B Regiments of Volunteers completed the line to the right with Mirabeau B. Lamar’s cavalry on the far right, to protect that flank and prevent the enemy from escaping across the open prairie.

      Whether or not it was intentional, this arrangement separated Houston’s adversaries and grouped his friends at his back, in the center of the file.  Lamar’s Cavalry protected the far right flank and cut off enemy escape.  Sherman’s infantry filled in on the far left and the swamp protected that flank.  Separation of these two dissenters may have been coincidental, or it may have been keen insight on the part of Sam Houston. 

      At three-thirty that afternoon, Houston drew his sword, the drummer and fifer struck up Come to the Bower, the flag-bearer (Second Sergeant James A. Sylvester) moved Miss Liberty forward, and the unwieldy line stepped off toward the Mexican fortifications.

      Among the soldiers in that skirmish line were two young men named McLaughlin.  Private Robert McLaughlin lined up with the First Regular Texian Volunteer Infantry, commanded by Col. Edward Burleson.  Robert was in Company F, under Captain Heard, and near the center of the line, immediately behind one of the Twin Sisters.  His company was near General Houston and the Miss Liberty Flag.  On the far right, at the end of the line, First Sergeant Stephen McLaughlin took his place, riding with Lamar’s Calvary. 

      No documentation shows the relationship of these two men, but it is probable that they were related and that they came to Texas with Sidney Sherman.  Sherman’s original Newport Volunteers were put under the command of Colonel Edward Burleson, but the Cavalry stayed under Sherman’s command until the day before the battle, when Houston replaced him with Mirabeau B. Lamar.  

     During a clash with the enemy on the morning of April 20th, Lamar exhibited coolness under fire, extreme bravery, and superb horsemanship while saving the life of acting Secretary of War Rusk.   Col. Sidney Sherman demonstrated lack of experience and a tendency for rash judgment in the same engagement.  Houston immediately promoted Private Lamar to Lt. Colonel and put him in charge of the Cavalry.

     Eight miles away, two other young McLaughlin men were camped across the bayou from Harrisburg.  For greater mobility, Houston left his sick and wounded in a makeshift hospital there, under the command and protection of Major Robert McNutt.  James McLaughlin and William Henry McLaughlin were listed in Logan's Platoon under “Camp Guards, Special Detail, or Sick.”  I know these men were brothers because James was my great-great grandfather.  Family lore says Henry was sick and James asked to remain with him as part of the guard detail. 
 
     It is likely all these McLaughlins were related.  America had few McLaughlins at the time, and, although they might not have known each other, it is possible they were cousins.
 



The flag as it was originally done.  It was reversed, under glass, for display in the Texas House of Represenatives, which toned the colors to more pastel hues.  Other versions have the entire bust area covered, which makes for a pretty boring Miss Liberty.  The artist must have sensed these troops needed something to stir their souls, for it is obvious he spent a lot more time detailing the breast than he did on the face.

      Four months after the battle, in August of 1836, the Provisional Texas Government returned the Miss Liberty Flag to Mrs. Sidney Sherman with the following note:

     “Velasco, August 5, 1836, War Department.  This stand of colors, presented by the ladies of Newport, Kentucky, to Captain Sidney Sherman, is the same which triumphantly waved on the memorable field of San Jacinto, and is by the government presented to the lady of Colonel Sidney Sherman as a testimonial of his gallant conduct on that occasion.  A. Somerville (signed) Secretary of War.  Approved: David G. Burnet”

      The probability that Sherman and Burnet were friends in Cincinnati may have contributed to this "testimonial of his gallant conduct."  Nothing in his conduct during the battle warrents this praise.  He was competent, but not outstanding.

     The Sherman Family kept the flag for many years.  In 1933 a ceremony was held in the Texas House of Representatives, and the flag was given over to the custody of the Daughters of the Texas Revolution.  It was displayed, back side out under glass, behind the Speaker’s platform in the Texas House.

     Houston’s Fife and Drum Corps chose to play Come to the Bower as they moved across the prairie to attack the Mexican Army.

                                       Will you come to the bower I have shaded for you?

                                       Our bed shall be roses all spangled with dew.

                                      There under the bower on roses you’ll lie

                                     With a blush on your cheek but a smile in your eye!

     These words are certainly not that risqué in today’s world, but consider the circumstances.  Houston’s troops knew full well that they might die during this battle.  They were prepared for it.  Who can blame them if they chose to imagine their sweethearts in a brush arbor, lying nude on a pallet covered with rose-petals?  They were dreaming about different ways to put “a blush on her cheek and a smile in her eye.”  Young soldiers dream those same dreams today.

Loose Ends at the Battle of San Jacinto--A Series--The Texian Flag

                

Col. Sidney Sherman, Soldier and Statesman of early Texas.  The first steam locomotive in Texas was named "General Sherman," after this man, not after the yankee general, as many assumed.

      One of the company commanders at San Jacinto, Colonel Sidney Sherman, was born in Massachusetts in 1805, orphaned at age twelve, worked his way to New York City, then on to Cincinnati, and finally across the Ohio River to Newport, Kentucky.  He built a prosperous business there and married a twenty-year-old Southern Belle, Catherine Isabel Cox, in April, 1835.  

      Sherman, along with other Cincinnati friends and acquaintenances, suffered from "Texas Fever."  Cincinnati was a hotbed of Texas sympathisers, filled with men who saw possibilities for untold wealth in the Mexican territory.

      A rally for the Texas Revolution was held there in November, 1835.  Sherman attended and pledged his support for the young, would-be republic.  The citizens of Cincinnati, at the urging of Mayor Isaac Burnet, voted to donate the “Twin Sisters,” two small cannon, to the Texians.  Sidney Sherman asked for volunteers to join him for an expedition to help the Texas patriots secure their freedom.

     Such volunteer groups sprang up all over the South, stirred by the letters of William Barret Travis, Sam Houston, and others commissioned by the Texas government to enlist volunteers.   The Texas rebellion became “the” war for this generation of young Southerners.  Too young for the Revolutionary War or the War of 1812, these young men longed for the romance of a conflict to prove their merit.  The Texas Revolution, viewed as a righteous fight of American patriots against Mexican despots, was made to order for their needs.     

      Sherman's new bride must have approved of his marching off to Texas, for he sold his business and used the money to arm and outfit fifty-two young adventurers, known variously as the “Newport Volunteers,” “ Kentucky Riflemen,” or “Sherman’s Newport Volunteers.” 

     In late December, 1835, at a going-away party for his troops, Sherman’s new bride presented him with a battle flag made by the “Ladies of Newport” for the Volunteers.  This flag depicted Miss Liberty, with her perfectly shaped left breast exposed, holding a sword with the banner, “Liberty or Death.”  Private James A. Sylvester added a lady’s long glove to the flagstaff as a talisman.  The glove had been presented to him by a lovely Southern Belle at the off-to-war dance in Cincinnati.  The flag, with the lady’s glove, was proudly carried to Texas by the Newport Volunteers.

     The Alabama Red Rovers, the Mobile Grays, and several groups from New Orleans were already on the road to Texas. Sherman’s group hurried to get there while there were still enough Mexicans to go around.

      Sherman's Newport Volunteers went directly to San Felipe, planning to move on to San Antonio and join Travis at the Alamo.  The acting governor, Henry Smith, saved their lives when he directed them instead to Gonzales to report to General Houston for orders.  Though disappointed and spoiling for a fight, they obeyed the governor.

      Sherman and his troops joined the Texian army at Gonzales in late February, 1836,  to await the arrival of General Houston.  Houston merged them with the First Volunteer Regiment, under the command of Col. Edward Burleson, and placed Lt. Col. Sherman second in Command.  By the time they reached San Jacinto, the army had grown so large that a Second Volunteer Regiment was formed.  Despite his lack of military experience, Sherman was made a full colonel and put in charge of the new regiment.

     Sam Houston knew the importance of symbolism to the morale of an army, and especially to his ragged little group.   As he prepared for the most important battle of his life, he searched desperately for any symbol to rally his troops.  TheTexian army had no flag, no marching band, nothing to signify and maintain unity. 

     Sherman’s original fifty-two troops had the only real uniforms, so Houston put them near the center of his skirmish line, along with the rest of Burleson’s First Volunteer Regiment.  He noticed the Newport Volunteer's flag and insisted it be moved to the center.  Lady Liberty, with her perky breast displayed prominently, and the lovely Cincinnati Belle’s long glove hanging from the shaft, took front and center, between the Twin Sisters. 

Miss Liberty as carried by the Heros of San Jacinto and sewn by the Ladies of Newport, Kentucky.  This is the reverse side of the flag as it is displayed behind the Speaker's platform in the Texas House of Representatives.




 

      Houston’s call for music was answered by a free black man with a drum and a German boy who played a fife.  Two others joined them with unknown instruments, perhaps a fiddle or something homemade, and to Houston's delight, they played the only song all four of them knew—a ribald saloon ditty considered risqué at the time—Come to the Bower. 

     With nine hundred men lined up in a skirmish line 1,000 yards long, a flag in the center and a makeshift band to keep time, Houston's troops were ready for battle.  At three-thirty in the afternoon, Houston mounted his great white horse Saracen, drew his sword and started his troops across a mile of pastureland for an eighteen-minute battle that would change the history of the world.

To Be Continued….