132
TEXAS STATE LIBIL\R
l 0. 148 1832 July 1, REPORT OF UG.c\RTECHE.c\ 0
Report made by Lieutenant-Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea to His Excellency, the Commanding General, of the action su tained by him at Fort Velasco on June 26th and 27th of the present year.
E..'WELLENT SIR:
1 0n the 23rd of la t month about four o'clock in the afternoon four individual carrying a white flag were seen approaching. Upon being answered by a similar sign, they came up to the limits of the fort. \Vhen asked what the object of their mi ion wa , they ans,,·ered that they were member of an a embly which had been formed in Brazoria, ~ (for all of that jurisdiction and the other jurisdictions of Au tin's Colony had declared in favor of the plan of Vera Cruz headed by 'General Santa Anna) and that they came representing, aid assembly and the chief of their divi ion to invite me to revolt. From the first I refused their propo al, making them fCC that the ofl'en e or trans- gres ion they had committed again t the military po t of .Anahuac had cau ed them to accept that in urrection, thinking that they could thus J1idc their real purpose. T informed them that if the:v would onlr with- draw their demand, I was certain that the Supreme Government would forgive them; but that in the contrary event, they would only injure their cause. They answered that they did not wish to fight me, al- though they had a strong force with which to do it; but since I' did not wi h to revolt, I should allow them pa sage on the schooner Brazoria which was in ill'ht. I replied that I knew that that chooner was coming armed with four cannon, and that it wa bringing many people who were on their way to Anahuac. To this they an wered that it was true that they only \vanted to go to fight Col. Bradburn; but that . if I did not con ent, they had order to intimidate me into urrender. I refused to do thi with all the energy nited to my po ition auu the du,ty of a l\Iexican who i intimidated by nothing; whereupon the aid eommi sioners were dismi secl. A bout twelve o'clock thi ame night one of my spies ob ened that quite a force was approaching by the Brazoria road, and immedi- ately we fired upon them. I. at once ordered two of the cannon to be fired in that direction, which wa enouih to make them retreat. On the next day which was the twenty-fourth, at about elcn•n o'clock in the morning, a body of avalry nnmbcring nearly one hundred and fifty men· were een approaching in the direction of t11e fort. They made seYeral skirmi hes at a cli tance. I did not wish to fire on them with cannon, because I did not want to wa te powder when it wa o scare<'. In half an hour they retired. On the morning of the twenty- fifth the schooner approached omcwhat clo er, and when about half n mile from land t11e crew which appeared to number between two hun- dred and two hundred and·fifty mounted men l11ndcd. All tiny on the twenty-sixth mounted men could be een acting a entinels for their "Printed.
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