01'r Catlzolic Heritage in Texas
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The Loyalists remaining behind immediately took the initiative, organized a temporary city council, proceeded to arrest Republicans, proclaimed their allegiance, and reported to Arredondo. The rider met the victorious commander just as he was about to enter San Antonio. Pleased with the zeal and loyalty of the good subjects of the King at La Bahia, he immediately dispatched Captain Luciano Garcia with eighty men to garrison the important post and help the Loyalists restore law and order. 61 Republicanism had been uprooted. Anglo-American aid to rebels in Mexico through Texas had been cut off effectively. Royal authority had, indeed, been restored throughout Texas. But from San Antonio to the Sabine the country had been laid waste. More than a thousand terrorized residents and Indians had fled to the Neutral Ground and into Louisiana. The scars of merciless war were visible on every side. Vacant homes, neglected crops, untended herds, desolation, and destruction bespoke the price of victory. The stillness of death proclaiming the restoration of order was broken only by the low moaning of the women inside the Quinta, heightened by the shrill blasts of the north winds signaling the advent of winter. The direst prophecies of Salcedo and Herrera had come true. Shaler, the mastermind on the frontier, felt his mission was finished. He notified Monroe on September 19 that he was returning to Washington. Toledo, too, realized the futility of renewing the struggle for a while. 61 Arredondo to Viceroy Calleja, Bexar, September 13, 181 3, u;storia, Operaciones ••• Arred,mdo, IV, 151-152, A.G. M .
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