For the real cause of the Battle of Nacogdoches, we must go back to
Bustamente’s Law of April 6, 1830, forbidding further immigration from
the United States, while permitting Europeans to come in unimpeded. Juan
Antonio Padilla had been appointed as commissioner general for granting
land titles in East Texas, assuming his duties on January 1, 1830. Upon
the passage of the law of April 6th, Padilla was unwilling to enforce
its provisions, and in the latter part of April he was ordered by Don
Ramon Musquiz, political chief in Bexar, to be imprisoned and suspended
on a trumped-up-charge of murder.
An outbreak was prevented in Nacogdoches only by prompt action on the
part of Col. Piedras, while the people of Ayish Bayou and the Palo Gacho
met and passed resolutions of an inflammatory nature. Stephen F. Austin
refused to cooperate in this opposition and thus for a time the trouble
was delayed.
The military force in Nacogdoches was doubled during 1830, and passports
of all immigrants going through Nacogdoches for Austin’s colony, which
was exempted by Bustamente’s Decree, were required to be signed by
Austin in person.
Under the dictatorship of Bustamente the military comandantes
continually encroached upon the power of the civil authorities, and
finally, in June, 1832, the settlers at Anahuac rebelled and ousted
Bradburn, Piedras arriving too late with troops from Nacogdoches and
Fort Teran. Becoming alarmed at the rising tide of opposition, Col.
Piedras, upon his return, ordered the people of Nacogdoches to surrender
all their arms. This order was followed immediately by an appeal from
the ayuntamiento in Nacogdoches, issued July 28, 1832, to the
neighboring communities to present an united front against this action;
copies of this resolution were sent to Ayish Bayou, the Palo Gacho,
Tenaha and San Felipe de Austin and met immediate response from all
except San Felipe. Two companies came from the Ayish Bayou settlement,
commanded by Capts. Samuel Davis and Bailey Anderson, one from Sabine
and one from Shelby and Capt. James Bradshaw’s company from the Neches
settlement; while the people of Nacogdoches were led by Alcalde
Encarnacion Chirino. On the morning of August 2, 1832, these forces met
in the eastern outskirts of Nacogdoches and elected Colonel James W.
Bullock as commander-in-chief of approximately 500 men.
Colonel Piedras commanded approximately the same number of Mexican
soldiers, and proceeded to fortify the Stone House, the old Catholic
church and the Red House. An Ultimatum from the settlers for Piedras to
declare in favor of Santa Anna and the Constitution of 1824, or
surrender at discretion to an officer to be selected by Colonel Bullock,
brought forth the answer that none of the demands would be complied
with, and that he was prepared to fight.
Colonel Piedras advanced to meet the Americans and the fighting
commenced in the eastern part of town about eleven o’clock. By noon the
Mexicans had retreated to the business part of town, around the Stone
House. Alexander Horton, a member of the American forces, says: “We were
armed with shotguns and various other guns such as citizens used for
hunting purposes, while the Mexicans were armed with splendid English
muskets; so we turned north and marched down North street. As we began
our march we heard a French horn. When we had gotten about opposite the
Stone House the Mexican cavalry made a furious charge upon us, pouring
upon us a heavy fire of small arms; they advanced to within a few steps
of our lines, but were forced back with considerable loss.” This cavalry
charge met the American force near the Catholic church, which had been
used by Piedras as quarters for his soldiers.
The Mexicans about mid-afternoon were driven out of the Stone House, and
the main body of their army was concentrated in the cuartel or Old Red
House, the older part of which was built of adobe, and almost as strong
as stone; it also had the advantage of several dormer windows on the
second floor, from which sharpshooters could better defend the building.
The fighting continued with unabated fury until night separated the
combatants. Colonel Piedras evacuated Nacogdoches during the night of
the 2nd, under the protecting cloak of a heavy fog, retreating westward
toward the Angelina river.
The next morning James Carter, with seventeen volunteers, set out in
pursuit of the Mexican army, overtaking them at Durst lake, and after a
skirmish at that point, Carter and his men went further south, crossing
the Angelina at the Goodman Crossing, and marched northward to the West
side of Durst’s Ferry to oppose the crossing of the Mexican troops. Here
Piedras lost many of his men in an unsuccessful attempt to cross the
river. It was from this event that the name Buckshot Crossing was given
to this place.
During the following morning Colonel Piedras surrendered the command to
Captain Francisco Medina, who in turn declared for Santa Anna and
surrendered to James Carter the entire Mexican force of some four
hundred men.
Col. James Bowie, who reached Nacogdoches a few days after the battle,
agreed to convey the Mexican troops to San Antonio, and in his report
stated that there were 33 Mexicans killed and 17 or 18 wounded; the
Americans losing three men killed and seven wounded.
The Battle of Nacogdoches was the opening gun in the Texas Revolution,
and resulted in the expulsion of all Mexican troops from the territory
east of San Antonio, giving the Texans an opportunity to hold their
Convention without military interference of the enemy.
[Illustration: Peter Ellis Bean Home
Built 1829. Standing 4½ miles east of Nacogdoches near Old King’s
Highway. See page 21.]