The Begi1111ing of Formal Colonization
Godoy, the king appointed on May 22, 1804, Colonel Pedro Grimarest commandant general of the Eastern Interior Provinces of New Spain with a salary of 10,000 pesos. Grimarest had been commander of the third battalion of the Regiment of Infantry of Extremadura. At the same time Lieutenant Colonel Luis Baccigalupi, sergeant major of the Royal Corps of Engineers, was named his assistant and second in com- mand.11 Orders were immediately issued for the soldiers and settlers intended for Texas to assemble without delay in Cadiz, where they were soon to embark for America. On July 31 Godoy gave instruc- tions for two sergeants, one corporal, and sixteen men from the fourth regiment of artillery stationed at La Corrufia to proceed at once to Cadiz. They were to be joined there by one sergeant, three corporals, and twenty-nine artillerymen from Segovia, and by one sergeant, four corporals, and twenty-seven men from Sevilla, to complete the company of mounted light artillery for the Texas expedition. They were to be ready to embark on September 1. Lieutenant Antonio Vasquez was to be in command. ii A careful selection was made for the eighty-six ranking officers and officials, who were formally appointed by the king on August 6. It is interesting to note that among them, the Presbyter, Jose Gonzalez Olivares, theologian, preacher, confessor, and consultant of the bishop of Astorga, was appointed chaplain for the Texas regiment of infantry, and Bachiller Jose Flores y Garcia, former chaplain in the Royal Factory of China, chaplain for the regiment of cavalry. A distinguished surgeon, Don Bernardo Herrera, attached to the Prince's Regiment, was named surgeon general of the Tercios de Texas, and Don Antonio Bastus y Faya, chemist and botanist with a licentiate in pharmacy, had charge of the military medical supplies. 13 On August 12 the Generalfrimo Prince of the Peace ordered "all officers, troops, families, and supplies destined for the Province of Texas in North America to assemble in Cadiz by the end of the month," and he authorized the chartering of the necessary vessels for their trans- portation to Cuba. The expedition was to be convoyed by the royal frigates of His Majesty. 14 11 Jose Caballero to Miguel Cayetano Soler, Minister of War, May 22, 1804. A. G. I., Audu11cia de Guadalajara, 103-6-17. (Dunn Transcripts, 1800-1819, pp. 74-75.) llRoyal orders of July 31, and August 13, 1804. Ibid., pp. 77-78. 13 Real Cedula, August 6, 1804. Ibid., pp. 78-83. 14 Antonio Samper and Jose Navarro to Miguel Cayetano Soler. Ibid., p. 84.
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