The Papers of Mirabeau Buonaparte Lamar, Volume V

96

TEXAS S'l'.l'l'E LIBRARY

breasts galant spirits wc-re sealed by the influence of Ben Milam of a flag was planted and volunteers cald for to attempt to storm the town before <lav Just at thi~ time a lutenant deserted Cos and come to us and inr.o~rage us YPr_y nnwh the :Mexican familys that hnd fle1l to our camp for proiectio11 were in a distressing condition :Milam rillegib}eJ prirnte in Yorks comp with whom got 300 volun- teers after making the nr.cessary lll'l'angements we were . . . r faded J taking hold together by j\IiJarn who was chosen as our leader or- ganized and ordered to take a ~reat . [fadecll every thing still as death there on the morni11g of 5 Deer 200 of us with 2 pieces of artillery going to storm of strong fort of 1100 men 100 of our men having backed out we marc·hed in and divided in two divisions fired on only by 4 sentinels one of them with our guide shot on entering we took possessions of 2 huge stone house which the ocupants left to us one was Verrimendus the other I do not :know the public square was suroundc>d with large stone buildings covered with cement such as no combustablP could set on fire extending from the enterence of one St to another in this was a large stone church surounded by a strong wall well fortified at the entrence of each street was a dich 9 feet deep and l 5 wide ruul imbankment throwed on sides a Breast work and mounted cannon to rake every St a11d cannon 18 in number about the time we entered these houses tneir cannon were discharged together with other small guns which seamed to set fire to earth and skie kiling every beast in the 8ts and one old mexican who ran accross panic struck was ridled . . . [faded] in about 20 minutes before daylight as we could see them We fireu on them. the 2nd division was very much exposed until the first engaged part of the enemy's fire we mad~ port holes diches & Breasts works and preparing to paly [play ?l on them with our cannon the walls of the houses extend above the Roof som of the N O Grays ascPrnled one of them to shoot through the trap hole but found themselves so 1Jxposed they had to decend through by making a hole with their Bowie knives one of them being larger than the Rest was flhot III the foot while pulling him through. The tremdious fire of the 11exican would have been alarming had it not been for the composr1l contellllnr.l' of ~I ilam and ,Johnson and several Brave captains Euwards york Landrum l'eac-ock l\ls. volunteers )!orris & Cook N. 0. grays Col Nail & ]franks of the Artilery who were the little Band that had Resolved to obtain a glorious conquest Drive Gen1 Cos ancl his armv from the Borders of Texas or leave our Bones to Bleach on the plains of San Antonio the Battle now Raging Almost to nespera- tion ahout 8 oclock after much toil and clanger we built II small Breast work in tlw St. with Bags of dirt &c and marched . . . rfoc)e1ll I was the1:1 orclere<l with G or 7 other soldicrs to effect i r posihie a r.omrnuniration with the ( 'amp. 1 milefl 111111 bring in the halance of the balls for the . . . r faded l this was ll vrr~· hazardous llllller- takinrr hut wr wt•rl' with tho~<' that 1 clitl not wi,.:h to shear tlw honors ~ . with out thr da11).!PI" WI' !-houtc,1 the mu!-'k<'I hall,.: c-i1ml' a I tt~r n~ a,.: soo11 ns WP wrre out of t·orpr of our position 11,.: far a:-: the~· t·ould Bf'111·l_1 anrl II f"ro,.:,.: fire of grapt• from the Alamo thl' whole Rout WI' Hl'tnnwcl takei11rr ahout l"orty· me11 with us this wns ~till greater indusemcnt for th<' l'll7.m~· thr~· !-t•amed drtPrtni11C'd to Bnkc- u,.: of tl11• f111·P or tlw (•arth

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