The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 108, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 5, 2000 Page: 5 of 16
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: The Baytown Sun and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the Sterling Municipal Library.
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THE BAYTOWN SUN
Sunday. March 5.2000
OP/ED
. m
Native Mexicans played vital role in Texas Revolution
This month, and the next, we
turn our attention to Texas in 1836,
remembering the fall of the Alamo
on March 6 and the victory at San
Jacinto on April 21.
We pay homage to the noble <
souls who made it possible for
Texas to become a republic, sepa-
rate and apart from Mexico.
In my opinion, we’ve never given
enough attention to the vital role
that native Mexicans played in the
Texas Revolution. Anglo settlers
shpwed tremendous courage in
rebelling against the existing gov-
ernment, but think of the extraordi-
nary bravery required of the native
Mexicans. A price was placed on
their heads, especially the former
Mexican government officials who
joined in the struggle for Texas
freedom.
No. 1 on Santa Anna’s hit list
was Lorenzo de Zavala, a Texas
patriot who previously held high
offices in the government of
Mexico' ’ ? -
Disillusioned when his former
friend, Santa Anna, turned into a
despot, Zavala crusaded for Texas’
WANDA
ORTON
independence with articles and
speeches and by raising funds for
the Texas Army.
Elected vice president of the new
Republic of Texas in March 1836,
Zavala signed the Texas Declara-
tion of Independence. Two other
signers with Spanish surnames
were Antonio Navarro and Jose
Francisco Ruiz.
Both Navarro and Ruiz had rep-
resented Bexar in the Congress of
Mexico, and Ruiz had once
served as an office in the Army of
Mexico.
Nearly a decade after the Repub-
lic of Texas was organized, Navarro
served as a delegate to the conven-
tion that framed the constitution of
the state of Texas. He served two
terms as a senator in the Texas Leg-
islature. 1 ' ’
Juan Seguin, one of the most
influential leaders of the Texas
Revolution, left the Alamo on Feb.
25, under orders of Col. William B.
Travis, to rally reinforcements. The
Alamo fell before Seguin could
return with his company of new
volunteers.
Seguin went on to command the
9th company, 2nd regiment, in the
battle of San Jacinto.
Not all of our Tejano heroes had
high-profile names in history.
For starters, ever heard of Dama-
cio Ximenes?
Bill Groneman, in his book
“Alamo Defenders,” said Ximenes
has been recognized only recently
as one of the martyrs at the Alamo.
He was active in the cause for
freedom many months before the
Alamo, participating in rebellions
at Anahuac and later in the siege at
Bexar during which Gen. Cos’
troops were driven out of San
Antonio.
Ximenes, a rifleman, helped
move the big cannon used in the
siege at Bexar to the Alamo where
it became its largesfartillery piece.
Among others killed defending
the Alamo:
Juan Antonio Badillo, Carlos
Espalier, Antonio Fuentes, Toribio
Losoya, Andre Nava and Gregorio
Esparza.
Ever heard about the Esparza
family at the Alamo? What a story.
Like many other Mexicans fight-
ing in the Texas Army, Esparza had
participated in the siege of Bexar.
Esparza’s wife, Ana, and their
four children entered the Alamo
with him on the evening of the first
day of the siege. She was given the
opportunity to leave but refused.
Esparza helped man a cannon in
the Alamo chapel during the battle,
close to his wife and children.
Gregorio’s brother, Francisco,
fought in the Mexican army, but
despite popular belief, did not take
part in the assault on the Alamo.
After the battle, Francisco
obtained permission from Gen.
Cos to look for the body of his
brother. He found him in a small
room of the Alamo chapel with
bullet and sword wounds.
Francisco and other relatives
buried Gregorio on the west sidp
of the San Pedro Creek, where ,
Milam Square is now located.
Gregorio was the only Texan casu-
alty to be buried. The other Alamo
martyrs were put into pyfes and
burned.
Ana died 11 years later. Her
daughter, Maria, remained in San
Antonio, but sons Enrique, Manuel
and Francisco became farmers and
ranchers in Atascosa County.
They built a small chapel near
their homes for family worship. In
1869, Enrique donated five acres to
the Catholic Church and the
Esparza brothers built a larger
church building, called San Augus-
tine, along with a school.
Their father, the Alamo defender,
would have been proud.
Wanda Orton is a regular Bay-
town Sun columnist. Her e-mail
address is wan@ctesc.net.
Guaranteed minimum jackpots may be lowered
“AUSTIN -- Guaranteed mini-
mum jackpots for the twice-week-
ly«Lotto Texas drawings probably
will have to be lowered by $1 mil-
lion because of weak ticket sales,
lottery officials said Feb. -29.
The state has been losing
money on the game and the only
way to deal with the trend is to
change the game or join in one .of
th? muftistate, high-stakes games
such as Powerball, lottery offi-
cials told The Dallas Morning
News.
“I’m sad to say we’ve reached
the limit... with trying to hold
out on our minimum jackpot at $4
million,’! Executive Director
Linda Cloud told lottery Commis-
sioners.
“It is going to be-necessary to
make an announcement to our
players in the next couple of
w?eks that we are going to have to
reduce the minimum jackpot.”
Lotto Texas sales are down 28.5
percent for the first 26 weeks of .
the fiscal year, compared with the
same period in fiscal 1999, offi-
cials said.
. pioud blamed lack of player
interest in Pick Six on small jack-
fk&s.
(MU
HIGHLIGHTS
Professors want
exit test for college
A small group of University of
Texas professors want to require
standardized tests for students
seeking bachelor’s degrees at pub-
lic institutions.
An exit test would provide a
way to judge the quality of
instruction just as the TAAS mea-
sures public schools, they said.
Advocates pitched the idea to
staff at Lt. Gov, Rick Perry’s-
office, the Austin American-
Statesman reported last week.
Ray Sullivan, a spokesman for
Perry, said the lieutenant governor
is intrigued by the idea.
More funds needed
in bonfire probe
Texas A&M University last
week asked the state to increase to
$2 million the Aggie bonfire
investigators’ budget and extend
their deadline by more than a
month.
Hundreds of witnesses, bonfire
workers and A&M officials are
being interviewed about the Nov.
18 collapse that claimed the lives
of 12 students and injured 27
others.
Officials estimate the investiga-
tion will be complete by early
May.
Four consulting firms are
being paid to analyze and test
the bonfire structure, interview
officials and participants and
evaluate safety procedures and .
supervision.
UT students will see
increase in tuition
Students enrolling at The Uni-
versity of Texas next fall will pay
$420 more a year in tuition and
fees.
The tuition hike is meant to
hire more faculty, raise salaries
and help needy students, the
Austin American-Statesman
reported last week.
Part of the increase is being
billed as a library and informa-
tion-technology fee and will be
used to support those services
while freeing up money elsewhere
in the budget.
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Cash, Wanda Garner. The Baytown Sun (Baytown, Tex.), Vol. 78, No. 108, Ed. 1 Sunday, March 5, 2000, newspaper, March 5, 2000; Baytown, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1020028/m1/5/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Sterling Municipal Library.