5
T/1e Begimungs of Revol11tion in Texas, r8IO-r812
sent possibly from Saltillo or Monterrey, were discovered working among the troops, and were imprisoned. Charged with inciting rebellion, Lieu- tenants of Militia Francisco Ignacio Escamilla and Antonio Saenz were confined in old Mission Valero. 9 The revolutionary spirit in the capital of the remote Province of Texas was not confined to the military. While the Cabitdo remained unshaken in its loyalty, the rank and file of the populace had begun to take to the idea of independence. Sibley, in a letter from Natchitoches to Secretary of War Eusiis, written in November of 1810, reported that he had learned from two reliable informers that a group of citizens in Bexar:-with more than a few notables among them-had declared in favor of independence and had elected as their representative a priest, who was holding himself in readiness to attend the proposed Mexican Congress. 10 Revolution was in the air. Soldiers and civilians alike felt liberty stirring in their hearts. Thus came to a close the first year of the Mexican Revolution. The new year dawned with an overcast of dire forebodings for the Governor of Texas. The triumphant forces of the Insurgents were almost at the Rio Grande; the sympathies of the people were with the Revolution; French agents and American adventurers were becoming ever bolder and more threatening along the eastern frontier. Governor Salcedo was calling for a concerted effort to crush the rebellion before it could gain strength from Anglo-American sympathizers. But he himself had little hope of receiving aid from Viceroy Venegas to prevent the inhabitants of Texas from following the example of Nuevo Santander, Coahuila, and Nuevo Leon. Governor Salcedo knew that if the revolt in the interior provinces was to be crushed, the loyal subjects in Texas would have to deliver the decisive blow at the earliest possible moment. To the faithful inhabitants of Texas Governor Salcedo, therefore, made one last plea for their support. He attempted once more to dispel the doubts and fears that made them falter in their attachment to the King. He vehemently denied and branded as false the charge that vice- regal officials were planning to deliver them to the French, and warned them against French propaganda spreading hatred for European-born Spaniards in order to create dissension and bring about their own ruin. He appealed to them in the name of religion, patriotism, and gratitude to remain loyal to the King. 11 9 Garrett, Green Flag Over Texas, 40-41; Chabot, Texas in 1811, 23-25, 55. 10 Letter cited Qy Garrett, oj. cit., 40-41. 11 Manuel de Salcedo to the Faithful Inhabitants of Texas, January 6, 1811, Bexar ArcMves.
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