394
THE AUSTIN PAPERS
of 1 June were sent by me to Gen. E. P. Gains, by Geo. P. Digges who went express, also my letters to Gen Jackson and Gen Gains, of same date and to Grayson_and Collingsworth and President Burnets letter to Gains approv• ing of the establishment of his head quarters at Nacogdoches, should he, Gains, think proper to do so, for the purpose of keeping the northern in- dians quiet- This letter is dated June 28, and was written by Burnet at my suggestion, the day after my arrival at Velasco from the U. S. Gen Santa Anna's letter to Gen Jose Urrea 3 was delivered to me, open, lo President Burnet at Velasco the 8th of July, and sent by him and a transla- tion of Santa Anna's letter to Jackson the next day to Gen M. B. Lamar in the Texas army by Capt. Roman-- I had previously shown it at Brazoria to Lamar on my way down from Columbia on the 6th July and wished him to take it then, so as to save delay, for he was just starting for the army to assume the chief command, but he preferred that it should be sent to him officially by President Burnet observing that the opinions he had sustained while in the cabinet, against any kind of treaty with Santa Anna, or making any use of him at all for the purpose of terminating the war etc, precluded him from taking any active part in the matter, but that, as commander of the army he would co-operate with the Govt. and interpose no obstacles The day I arrived at Velasco, (late in the evening of 27th June) I repre- sented to president Burnet the great importance of writing officially once a week if possible to the representatives of Texas at Washington City in the U. S. and stated it as my opinion that the omission of this Govt. in not fur- nishing to those representatives, whoever they might be, official reports of the battle of San Jacinto and of the organization of the Texas Govt. and general situation of the country etc had been fatal to the interests of Texas, as I believed that our independence would have been acknowledged by the U. S. govt. and congress if those official documents had been sent in on time-- Nothing of the kind was ever sent on-those of us, (Austin, Whar- ton, Archer, Childress and Hamilton) who were in Washington received nothing, not even one word from their Govt. and had nothing to operate with, in their exertions to procure a recognition of our independence, but news paper accounts and private letters from individuals in Texas New Orleans etc- I was assured that Grayson and Collingsworth (the present representa- tives of Texas at Washington City) should be regularly written to, and on· the 9th July p~esident Burnet wrote to them (by the schooner Comanche bound to orleans) and enclosed certified copies of Gen. Santa Anna's letters to Gen. Jackson and Gen Urrea, and of the treaties of 14th May etc I wrote to them at the same time (see copy 9th July)- The duplicate of Gen Santa Anna's letter to president Jackson ·signed by himself, was given
a/bid., 107-108.
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