Refugio County Press (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 45, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 16, 2011 Page: 4 of 14
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Page 4A
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Hefugto Olmmtu fflve&s
Texas Rangers were the thin line in Republic
For the nine years of the Republic of
Texas, 1836-1845, the Texas Rangers
were the thin line between the Republic
and Indian depredations, Mexican
incursions, lawlessness, and anarchy.
They were thin because the Republic
had only debts, and no way to raise
money except by import duties. How
thin were they? There was only one
company of Rangers, numbering from
15 to 50, to cover all of Texas for several
years.
The first ranging company had been
started by Stephen F. Austin in 1823,
then consisting of only 10 men. The
rangers were reauthorized early in the
Republic, but Sam Houston kept them
small. Ranger privates made $1.25 per
day, but had to supply their own guns,
horse, and rations.
Mirabeau Lamar changed that pol-
icy when he became President of the
Republic in 1838. He authorized one
company of 56 rangers and then five
more companies. Lamar also initiated
a more aggressive policy toward the
Indians.
For three years, the rangers fought
many successful battles against the
Comanche and forced them to move
north to Oklahoma. Lamar and the
rangers achieved a period of relative
peace on the frontier.
When Houston was reelected presi-
dent of the Republic in December 1841,
he furloughed most of the rangers, but
Coastal
Bend
Chronicles
By C. Herndon Wil-
liams, Ph.D.
did keep one company of 150 rangers
under legendary Captain John Coffee
Hayes.
The Republic could not afford a stand-
ing army, so it was only the rangers
who in 1842 opposed two invasions of
Texas by Mexican forces. Both of these
incursions successfully captured Bexar
(San Antonio) before retiring.
The first invasion was led by General
Rafael Vasquez in March 1842. His
force numbered 700 and was composed
of Mexican infantry, artillery, 200 Texas
rancheros and Caddo scouts.
Hays had only 100 rangers at the
time and could not challenge Vasquez
directly, so he fell back and Bexar
was abandoned and occupied on March
5. The abandonment of Bexar start-
ed another panic among the settlers
along the Guadalupe River just like the
Runaway Scrape of 1836.
But after looting what little was left
in the town, Vasquez returned south
to Mexico on March 7. Houston finally
issued a call to arms for the volunteer
militia on March 10. The rangers could
only follow the Mexican forces to the
Rio Grande.
The tardily assembled militia force
soon went back home and again left the
defense of the Republic to Hayes and
his few rangers.
The second invasion commenced
when General Adrian Woll crossed the
Rio Grande on August 30 heading for
San Antonio with a force of 1,300. On
the morning of September 11, Woll’s
forces surrounded Bexar and took the
city with barely a shot being fired.
Hayes attempted to raise the Texan
militia from Seguin while still keeping
the Mexican force under surveillance.
By Sunday, September 18, Hays had
225 men assembled, but only 38 of these
had good horses.
Hayes succeeded in drawing out of
Bexar a Mexican force of 500 with two
cannons and leading them to a Texan
ambush position on the raised banks
of Salado Creek. The Mexican artillery
was ineffective, first firing well up into
the trees and then into the ground.
At the end of the day, the Mexican
forces retreated to Bexar with about 60
dead or seriously wounded. Only one
Texan was killed. The next day Woll
began moving his forces to the south
with about 250 Texans now in pursuit.
Woll, by superior generalship, caused
his rearguard to deflect the Texans
from engaging his retreating forces and
they reached the Rio Grande without
further significant losses. Disagreement
among the Texan leaders also broke out
which prevented any concerted action.
Ultimately, the Texans felt they let
the Mexicans slip away largely unpun-
ished.
Anger over these two Mexican incur-
sions led the Texans to launch their own
border raids on Mexico later in 1842,
with rangers acting mainly as scouts.
Despite the political uproar caused by
the two Mexican incursions in 1842,
Houston and the Republic’s Congress
still did nothing about the military
strength of Texas.
At the start of 1843, Hayes’ rang-
er company consisted only of himself
and fifteen privates. As a result of
Houston’s futile peace initiatives and
the small numbers of rangers, the
Indians resumed their attacks on the
frontier settlements in 1844 and 1845,
even venturing to the outskirts of San
Antonio and Austin.
Herndon Williams is affiliated with
the Bayside Historical Society and the
Refugio County Historical Commission.
He is the author of a new hook, Texas
Gulf Coast Stories, published in Dec
2010 by The History Press. Email at
coastalbendchronicle@yahoo. com.
Letters to the editor
We need help!
Editor:
The Fourth of July
Committee is between a
rock and a hard place.
We don’t have
enough help to put the
“Celebration” on and we
don’t have enough people
helping with the activi-
ties.
We will meet Friday,
June 17, at 6:30 p.m. and
hopefully somebody will
come and offer their help
or the committee will can-
IlrfuguT Cnmthj Press
USPS 564-200
Published Every Thursday
Offices:
412 N. Alamo P.O. Box 10
Refugio Beeville
(361) 526-2397 (361) 358-2550
(361) 526-239^ ^X) <361)
Mail correspondence to:
P.O. Drawer 200
Refugio, Texas 78377
Jeff Latcham &
Chip Latcham,
Co-Publishers
Kenda Nelson,
Editor
Subscription Rates
(Mail/Yearly)
In Refugio County $ 22.00
Out of Refugio County $ 30.00
Student (9 Month) $ 22.50
Entered as periodical postage at
the Post office in Refugio, Texas
78377 and additional entry office.
The Refugio County Press will not
be held responsible for any omis-
sions, deletions, or typographical
errors other than to correct the
same in the next issue of the news-
paper. All advertising is accepted
on this basis. Advertising rates
available upon request.
Postmaster:
Send address changes to The
Refugio County Press, P.O. Box
10, Beeville, Texas 78104.
cel the even during the
meeting. Hope to see you
there.
We might be able to
put a small celebration
together such as bingo,
raffle winners and fire-
works. We will keep you
informed through the
County Press.
Raffle tickets are avail-
able at city hall.
Ray Jaso
Mayor
Retiring after 16
years
Editor:
At this time of my official
retirement, I say “thank
you” to the staff of the
Goliad Special Education
Cooperative (GSEC), the
10 school districts of the
Cooperative - Austwell-
Tivoli, Bloomington, Falls
City, Goliad, Karnes City,
Kenedy, Refugio, Runge,
Stockdale andWoodsboro
- and all of the wonder-
ful folks I have had the
opportunity to work with
for these past 16 years.
In these years as direc-
tor of the cooperative, I
have worked with approx-
imately 46 superinten-
dents, plus interim super-
intendents, countless
principals and teachers,
numerous professional
educators, a few politi-
cians, some attorneys,
and many many parents
and students.
At one time, our num-
ber of students with spe-
cial needs reached over
1,000. I can’t say I have
always pleased all of the
folks, but it has always
been my goal to seek
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quality programming for
students with disabilities
and to guide campus staff
in making good decisions
for students and for the
districts. It has been a
rewarding experience.
I’ve learned so much over
the years!
I greatly appreciate
every expression of kind-
ness that has been given to
me in these days of retire-
ment preparation and cel-
ebration. The cards, gifts,
gracious words and spe-
cial tributes will be pre-
cious in my memory.
In these years, there
were times of laughter
and even times of anguish,
but the great staff of the
GSEC was always there.
They are a great team -
highly skilled, extremely
intelligent and oh so dili-
gent! The 10 districts are
very fortunate to have
them all!
When I came 16 years
ago, I had previously been
an elementary, junior
high/middle and high
school teacher, been a
campus principal, direct-
ed a large church kin-
dergarten/day care, done
much in-service training
and worked at the college
level.
Although all of those
experiences had their
own sets of rewards and
challenges, none of them
compared to working at
the co-op. Oh, how I will
miss everyone and the
daily challenges!
God’s plan is that we
never “rust out,” but that
we keep on going until we
“wear out.” Well, I’m not
worn out yet, so I have
new visions before me.
Thirty-six years of
being an educator ought
to be a reasonably sound
foundation for some new
adventures.
Carrol Norrell-Garrison
Goliad
Mah Jongg on tap
at senior center
The Mah Jongg group will meet today, Thursday,
June 16, from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Delores Gilstrap’s
crochet class will meet at 1 p.m.
Today’s board meeting has been moved to 1:30 p.m.
instead of 3 p.m.
Bernadette Walker from Texas Home Health will
give a presentation on diabetes at 1 p.m. on Tuesday,
June 21.
On Thursday, June 23, the Mah Jongg group will
meet from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.
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226 Edward St.
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CONTINUING EDUCATION
Kenda Nelson photo
Each commissioner on the court received certificates from V.G.
Young Institute of County Government for continuing education
including Ann Lopez, Stanley Tuttle, Gary Bourland and Rodrigo
Bernal. Judge Rene Mascorro, center, presented the certificates
Tuesday morning during commissioner court.
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Nelson, Kenda. Refugio County Press (Refugio, Tex.), Vol. 51, No. 45, Ed. 1 Thursday, June 16, 2011, newspaper, June 16, 2011; Refugio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth740073/m1/4/?q=Lamar+University: accessed June 2, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Dennis M. O’Connor Public Library.