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Beginning a "war of extermination" in Texas...
Beginning a "war of extermination" in Texas...
Item # 705236
November 07, 1835
NILES' WEEKLY REGISTER, Baltimore, Nov. 7, 1835
* Texas War for Independence begins
* Battle of Gonzales TX
Inside has 2 1/2 pages of news under the heading: "Texas" concerning events from the beginning of their war for independence. The reports seem to reference the Battle of Gonzales (first battle of the Texas war for independence) but there is no direct mention of it.
Included are: "...It was confidently asserted at Vera Cruz that the government was determined to put down the insurrectionary movements in Texas..." At a: "Meeting at Natchitoches" is reported: "...to express our sympathy with the inhabitants of Texas who are about to suffer from the lawless & tyrannical attempt to trample their liberties under foot & to deprive them of the rights & immunities to which as men and as freemen, they are entitled...Whereas, the rights & liberties of our fellow countrymen of the neighboring province of Texas are endangered by the violent & despotic course of general Santa Anna..." with more.
Included also is a letter: "To his Excellency Andrew Jackson, President of the U.S." which is signed in type by 7 men, including Samuel Houston.
Yet another item includes: "A WAR OF EXTERMINATION has commenced in Texas, and our fellow countrymen are to be driven (if assistance is not rendered), AT THE POINT OF THE BAYONET from their homes & fire sides!...".
There is also much on the needed protection from Indians in the vicinity, which is also related to the Battle of Gonzales.
Sixteen pages, 6 1/4 by 9 3/4 inches, very nice condition.
background: The Battle of Gonzales, fought on October 2, 1835, marked the beginning of the Texas Revolution as Texian settlers resisted Mexican attempts to reclaim a small cannon previously given to them for defense against Native raids. As political tensions escalated between the centralized Mexican government under President Santa Anna and the increasingly defiant Anglo-American settlers in Texas, the demand for the return of the cannon became a symbol of oppression. When Mexican soldiers arrived in Gonzales to retrieve the weapon, the settlers delayed them, called for reinforcements, and prepared to resist. Approximately 140 Texians gathered, raised a makeshift flag emblazoned with the defiant slogan “Come and Take It,” and fired the cannon at the Mexican forces, forcing them to retreat after a short skirmish. Though militarily minor, the confrontation ignited full-scale rebellion, galvanized Texian resistance, and became a lasting emblem of Texan independence and determination.
As noted in Wikipedia, this title: "...(was) one of the most widely-circulated magazines in the United States...Devoted primarily to politics...considered an important source for the history of the period."
Category: Pre-Civil War
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