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WRITINGS OF 5AM HOUSTON, 1855
188
so as to keep the enemy ignorant of their number and positions, and to sleep upon their arms. He, himself, reposed for half an hour upon the ground, with a coil of rope for his pillow. Next morning Gen. Sherman being anxious to retrieve his character from the disgraceful retreat of the evening before, requested to be permitted to take his regiment and reconnoitre the enemy, and ascertain his position, to ·which he assented, with strict orders not to go within gun-shot of the enemy. But contrary to orders, he went near enough to provoke an attack. He made a cowardly, precipitate retreat, and sacrificed two brave men. In this re- treat, he was not in the rear, but far in advance of his men. Sherman has said that he (Gen. H.) sent him out to make these attacks for the purpose of having him killed, to get him out of the way; and Gen. Foote, in his history of Texas, (yes, he came to Texas and remained two weeks, and wrote a History of Texas, the facts of which he got from Sherman,) says that he, Houston, ordered Sherman to make the attack and promised to sustain him with the infantry, which he failed to do, his object being to get him killed, which is basely false every word of it. He was determined to maintain his position, and not show the enemy his strength. After Sherman's retreat, the enemy came in sight and kept up a fire from their artillery all day. Mean- time, he had sent deaf Smith and Carnes out as spies to ascertain whether Santa Anna had received the reinforcements. They returned and informed the General that they had dis- covered General Coss' camp fires, and from Smith's knowledge of their mode of camping, he could tell their exact numbers, which amounted to 550. He then ordered.Smith to say that no rein- forcements had reached yet, and he treated the report of re- inforcements as a trick and hoax of Santa Anna's to alarm his army. The Mexicans kept up a constant fire all day, and he himself remained in saddle all day, and had fifteen or twenty shot from the enemy's cannon, to cut the timber just above his head. He ordered the cannon to be brought to the point of timber nearest the Mexicans. After a few shots, Santa Anna retired to his camp and commenced throwing up breast works. He then ordered the men to rest upon their arms, and he him- self being very much fatigued with the labors of the day, and having nothing to rest upon, not even a· saddle blanket, having taken that to make cartridges for the cannon, he rested comfort- ably upon the ground all night, and did not awake until the sun was shining in his face next morning, it being the first good night's rest for forty preceeding days. When he awoke there
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