81
Revolution Flares Agai.n
the "Republican Army of the North" on the bank of the Sabine was five hundred strong; that the men were experts with their long rifles and that they had plenty of ammunition. Three pieces of artillery had been secured and six more were expected momentarily. The daring band expected to march triumphantly within six days into Nacogdoches, where they knew they would be welcomed by the people as liberators. Once in possession of this advance post, they would march along the coast into the heart of Texas and evade the troops that would be rushed from Bexar along the Camino Real. To La Bahia they would go, these daring conquerors, then to Bexar, and, who knows, to Mexico itself. 45 Along the dusty road leading from Natchitoches to the Sabine rode a well-mounted young man. It was August 2. Augustus Magee had set out on the road of destiny to lead his little army into the promised land of glory, adventure, and opportunity. Little did he realize the far-reaching consequences of his dream. The way had been paved two weeks before by Judge Sibley, who had sent a special message to all the Indian tribes in Texas as far as the Rio Grande. He addressed himself to the Indians of Texas as if they were already under the jurisdiction of the United States. Making use of the Caddo and Nadaco chiefs, he sent talks to all the coastal tribes to inform them of the causes of the war with England, the possibility of hostilities against Spain, and the probability of an American march into Texas. He assured the Indians they had nothing to fear, because the Americans were not going to molest them in any way, and he instructed them to take no part in the war. 46 Sibley's conduct was clearly a flagrant violation of neutrality. Futile countermeasures. Governor Manuel Salcedo fully realized what a declaration of war against Great Britain meant for Texas. The moment he heard the news, he made one last frantic appeal for help. The time had come for determined action. To the Commandant General in Chi- huah\la he communicated the fateful news and prophesied that the Ameri- cans would not be long in coming from the Neutral Ground to aid the Insurgents. If the danger should not be met with overpowering force and sedition stamped out the minute it raised its ugly head, Texas would be lost and the whole of New Spain would be endangered. The same day he wrote apprehensively to the governor of Vera Cruz to entreat him to rush by water to Matagorda Bay urgently needed food,
45 Garret, op. cit., 144-146. 46 Sibley to Eustis, July 14, 1812, cited by Garrett, op. cit., 149-150.
Powered by FlippingBook