F,-enc/z. Intervention in, Spain and Its Reaction in Texas
389
all his efforts to place the province in a state of defence against attack by the United States, Bonavia gave a detailed account of his repeated efforts to organize two regiments of volunteers in Coahuila and Texas, and enclosed a copy of Commandant General Salcedo's refusal to consent to the proposed reorganization. He advised Corne! of the great need for reviving the old discipline of Spanish troops which had covered Sixteenth Century Spain with glory. When Spain conquered America, he boasted, Spanish troops were renowned the world over for their discipline. Their easy victory over the large native population resulted from this kind of discipline and superior arms. But conditions had changed during the intervening years. The Indians had learned to excel the Spaniards both in horsemanship and marksmanship. They had the advantage of the troops in night attacks; for their arrows disposed of the guards silently, so as to permit them to murder the troops in their sleep. They were so dextrous with their bows at close range that they could shoot six arrows with deadly accuracy before a soldier could reload and fire his second shot. Discipline was the only salvation of regulars engaged in Indian fights; lacking discipline, regulars were unable to stand up against even Indians. The frontier troops, he declared, were as brave and courageous as any he had ever seen, but poor training and poor discipline were responsible for their serious defeats. It was for this reason that he advocated the organization of two regiments of militia. The danger of attack by the disciplined troops of the United States made this measure all the more imperative, he informed Cornel. 87 The sincerity of Bonavia can hardly be doubted. Unfortunately, the commandant general obsti- nately persisted in retaining his narrow and shortsighted army policy. Immigration exclusion. The commandant general was losing his patience with his subalterns for insisting that he adopt a more liberal immigration policy in the face of unmistakable signs of an approaching storm. Irritated by what he considered their blindness to the real issues in the situation along the frontier, he bluntly told Bonavia that the recent proposals were not only officious, but also bordered dangerously upon disloyalty to the king. 88 The commander of the frontier remained undaunted. When he again suggested relaxing the immigration regula- tions in favor of the Spaniards, Nemesio Salcedo wrote: "The measures I 17 Bonavia to Antonio Corne!, August 9, 1809. Nacogdocltes Arcllives, XI, pp. 39-42. 88N. Salcedo to Bonavia, August I 3, 1809; 1\1. de Salcedo to Bonavia, September 15, I 809. Be:rar Arcllives.
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