Texan Santa Fe Expedition

Last updated

The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was a failed commercial and military expedition in 1841 by the Republic of Texas with the objective of competing with the lucrative trade conducted over the Santa Fe Trail and the ulterior motive of annexing to Texas the eastern one-half of New Mexico, then a province of Mexico. [1] [2]

Contents

Texan Santa Fe Expedition
1845 trailmap.png
Map of the Santa Fe Trail (in red) in 1845. A detailed present-day map is also available.
DateJune 19, 1841 – June 13, 1842
Location
Result Mexican victory
Belligerents
Flag of Mexico (1823-1864, 1867-1893).svg Mexico Flag of Texas (1839-1879).svg  Texas
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Mexico (1823-1864, 1867-1893).svg Manuel Armijo Flag of Texas (1839-1879).svg Mirabeau B. Lamar
Flag of Texas (1839-1879).svg Hugh McLeod
Flag of Texas (1839-1879).svg Robert D. Phillips (POW)
Flag of Texas (1839-1879).svg William G. Lewis (POW)
Strength
1,500 320
Casualties and losses
Unknown Unknown

The expedition was unofficially initiated by the president of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar. The initiative was a major component of Lamar's ambitious plan to turn the fledgling republic into a continental power, which the president believed had to be achieved as quickly as possible to stave off the growing movement demanding the annexation of Texas to the United States. Lamar's administration had already started courting the New Mexicans, sending out a commissioner in 1840. Many Texans believed that the New Mexicans would be favorable to the idea of joining the Republic of Texas.

The expedition was a failure. Historian David Lavender called it "one of the most cockeyed ventures in American history." [3] The Texans, approximately 320 in number, surrendered to the superior forces of New Mexican governor Manuel Armijo. The captives were marched 2,000 miles (3,200 km) south to Veracruz, Mexico. They were released in 1842 and made their way back to Texas and the United States.

Journey

Wpdms republic of texas.svg
The present-day outlines of the U.S. states are superimposed on the boundaries of 1836–1845.
1845 trailmap.png
Map of the Santa Fe Trail (in red) in 1845. [4]

The expedition set out from Kenney's Fort in present-day Round Rock near Austin on June 19, 1841. The expedition included 21 ox-drawn wagons carrying merchandise estimated to be worth about $200,000. Among the men were merchants that were promised transportation and protection of their goods during the expedition, as well as commissioners William G. Cooke, Richard F. Brenham, José Antonio Navarro, and George Van Ness. Although officially a trading expedition, the Texas merchants and businessmen were accompanied by a military escort of some 320 men. The military escort was led by West Point graduate and New York-native Hugh McLeod [5] and included a company of artillery. New Orleans-based journalist George Wilkins Kendall [6] of the Picayune and English jurist Thomas Falconer also accompanied the expedition and wrote first-hand accounts afterwards. [7]

The journey to New Mexico during the summer was blighted by poor preparation and organization, sporadic Indian attacks, and a lack of supplies and fresh water. After losing their Mexican guide, the group struggled to find its way, with no one knowing how far away Santa Fe actually was. McLeod was eventually forced to split his force and sent out an advance guard to find a route.

Map showing route of the first Santa Fe expedition Route of the first Santa Fe expedition.jpg
Map showing route of the first Santa Fe expedition

The expedition finally arrived in New Mexico in mid-September 1841. Several of their scouts were captured, including Capt. William G. Lewis. Having expected to be welcomed on their arrival, the expedition was surprised to be met by a detachment from the Mexican Army of about 1500 men sent out by the governor of New Mexico, Manuel Armijo. One of Armijo's relatives who spoke English, probably Manuel Chaves or Mariano Chaves, parleyed with the Texans, with Captain Lewis supporting his statements. Both said that Armijo would give the Texans safe conduct and an escort to the border, and Lewis swore to it "on his Masonic faith". [8] After the Texans' arduous journey, they were in no state to fight a force that outnumbered them so heavily, so they surrendered. The New Mexicans gave them some supplies.

However, the following morning, Armijo arrived with his army, had the Texans bound and treated harshly, and demanded the Texans be killed, putting the matter up to a vote of his officers. That night, the prisoners listened to the council debating the idea. By one vote, the council decided to spare the Texans. The latter were forced to march the 2,000 miles from Santa Fe to Mexico City. Over the winter of 1841–42, they were held as prisoners at the Perote Prison in the state of Veracruz, until United States diplomatic efforts secured their release. [9]

After the surviving Texans were released on June 13, 1842, one of the prisoners, Robert D. Phillips, wrote to his father that: "Many of the men are waiting only for the party of a man named Cook to arrive so they may continue on to Vera Cruz and then to New Orleans. [10] The men found their way to New Orleans on board various ships, among them the Henry Clay, which, according to the ship's manifest, arrived in New Orleans on September 5, 1842, carrying 47 "Volunteers of the Texan Army Santa Fe Prisoners."

Role of Native Americans

New Mexico enlisted Puebloans in their effort to repel Texas from expanding its borders in the early 1840s. In 1843 the effort "fell heavily on Taos Indians who were impressed into service to ward off the Texas invaders." [11]

Aftermath

The Texas prisoners were marched south on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro to a prison in Veracruz. CaminoRealAdentro.png
The Texas prisoners were marched south on the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro to a prison in Veracruz.

Lewis was widely considered a traitor by the people of Texas, but the options facing the Texans were stark, and standing and fighting would almost certainly have led to their annihilation. Furthermore, there is no information on whether Lewis or Chaves knew Armijo's real intentions. For the rest of his life, Chaves vehemently insisted that he had personally acted in good faith in dealing with the Texans.

Already under serious criticism for his mishandling of the Texan economy, Lamar was widely held responsible for the disaster and the expedition further tarnished his presidency. More importantly, the episode offered clear and convincing proof that Texas did not have the resources to maintain even a tenuous control over its claimed western territories. In Texas, where the majority of voters were born in the United States, unenthusiastic at best with respect to Lamar's ambitious expansionist agenda and skeptical of the very existence of a Texan national identity distinct from the U.S., such a fiasco was enough to convince many citizens to abandon whatever aspirations they had to maintain Texan independence, as they became convinced that a fledgling Republic effectively hemmed in at the Nueces River and constantly threatened with Mexican invasion could not realistically hope to be a viable country on its own. Whereas Lamar had openly boasted of plans to turn Texas into one of the continent's great powers, following the expedition Texans turned to Lamar's predecessor, the Texas Revolution war hero Sam Houston who was the leading political figure advocating annexation to the United States. In 1845, Texas was admitted to the Union.

The annexation changed the ongoing border dispute from being a quarrel between Mexico and Texas to one involving Mexico and the United States. This (combined with controversy over Mexico's treatment of Texan prisoners) helped to increase tensions between the United States and Mexico, leading up to the Mexican–American War. [12] After Armijo surrendered Santa Fe to the U.S. Army without firing a shot, Chaves formally switched allegiance to the U.S.

The war ended in victory for the United States and gave the U.S. undisputed control of all of the lands that at this point were still claimed by the State of Texas. However, Texas faced stiff opposition from within the U.S. in its bid to actually administer these lands. This resistance came largely from other Southern states, which wanted Texas' western territorial claim carved into new slave states that would maintain the balance of power in the United States Senate.

As part of the wider Compromise of 1850 between slave states and free states, the Texan state government agreed to relinquish its northwesternmost territorial claims, including the Santa Fe region that had been the focus of Lamar's expedition. In return, the federal government agreed to assume responsibility for Texan state debts. Texas was left in control of its present boundaries, which was still an area around twice the size of the territory it had ever effectively controlled as a Republic. Most of the remaining lands were organized into the New Mexico Territory while the northernmost strip remained unorganized. Armijo, who returned to New Mexico after the war, died there in 1853.

The final disposition of these regions was not settled prior to the outbreak of the American Civil War in 1861, during which the Confederacy attempted to establish its own control of the region based in part on the old Texan claims. The conflict placed Chaves and the Texans on opposing sides once more, as Chaves remained loyal to the Union. Texan troops fighting under the Confederate banner would play a major role in the Confederates' unsuccessful attempt to control present-day New Mexico, while Chaves himself played a key role in the decisive Battle of Glorieta Pass.

A Texas Ranger is mentioned as being a "Santa Fe expeditioner" in The Lone Ranch: A Tale of the Staked Plain (1860) by Capt. Thomas Mayne Reid, having "spent over twelve months in Mexican prisons." The expedition also forms the backdrop to Clarence E. Mulford's 1922 novel Bring Me His Ears and to Larry McMurtry’s 1995 novel Dead Man's Walk ; also the 1996 TV miniseries - which is part of the Lonesome Dove series.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe de Nuevo México</span> Provincial kingdom of New Spain (1598–1821); territory of Mexico (1821–48)

Santa Fe de Nuevo México was a province of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The first capital was San Juan de los Caballeros from 1598 until 1610, and from 1610 onward the capital was La Villa Real de la Santa Fe de San Francisco de Asís.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Carlos Fortress</span>

The San Carlos Fortress is an 18th-century fortress in the city of Perote, in the Mexican state of Veracruz. It is also known as the Fort of San Carlos, Perote Castle, the Castle of San Carlos, Perote Prison, San Carlos de Perote Fortress, and San Carlos de Perote Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Santa Fe Trail</span> 19th-century route through central North America between Franklin, MO, and Santa Fe, NM

The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe. Santa Fe was near the end of El Camino Real de Tierra Adentro which carried trade from Mexico City. The trail was later incorporated into parts of the National Old Trails Road and U.S. Route 66.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Capture of Santa Fe</span>

The Capture of Santa Fe, also known as the Battle of Santa Fe or the Battle of Cañoncito, took place near Santa Fe, New Mexico, the capital of the Mexican Province of New Mexico, during the Mexican–American War on 8 August through 14 August 1846. No shots were fired during the capturing of Santa Fe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Falconer (jurist)</span> English jurist and explorer

Thomas Falconer was an English jurist and explorer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Antonio Chaves</span> New Mexican soldier

Manuel Antonio Chaves or Chávez, known as El Leoncito, was a soldier in the Mexican Army and then became a rancher who lived in New Mexico. His life was full of incident, and his courage and marksmanship became literally legendary in his own time. In documented history, as an American soldier he helped win the American Civil War Battle of Glorieta Pass and was in command during an important fight in the Navajo Wars. As a Mexican soldier he probably negotiated the surrender of a large part of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition.

The Río Arriba Rebellion, also known as the Chimayó Rebellion, was an 1837 Pueblo-Hispano popular revolt in New Mexico which succeeded in briefly placing José María González and Pablo Montoya as governor of Mexico's Santa Fe de Nuevo México territory. González and Montoya were both Taos Pueblo Indians and led the independent Junta Popular or Cantón, which was the most ethnically inclusive government in the history of New Mexico. They remain the only Pueblo governors of New Mexico to this day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manuel Armijo</span> Politician and governor of New Mexico (c.1793-1853)

Manuel Armijo was a New Mexican soldier and statesman who served three times as governor of New Mexico between 1827 and 1846. He was instrumental in putting down the Revolt of 1837; he led the military forces that captured the invaders of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition; and he later surrendered to the United States in the Mexican–American War, leading to the capture of Santa Fe and occupation of New Mexico by the American army. Armijo attempted to expand Hispanic settlements and bolster the security of New Mexico by granting large acreages of land to prominent individuals. Armijo has been vilified by Americans participating in the conquest of New Mexico and some subsequent historians.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Henry Connelly</span> Governor of New Mexico Territory

Henry Connelly was Governor of the New Mexico Territory during the American Civil War. He was appointed by President Lincoln and served from September 4, 1861, until July 6, 1866. During his term, the territory broke into two, and then three parts due to the Civil War and administrative problems.

This is a timeline of the Republic of Texas, spanning the time from the Texas Declaration of Independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836, up to the transfer of power to the State of Texas on February 19, 1846.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mier expedition</span> Texian military operation

The Mier expedition was an unsuccessful military operation launched in November 1842 by a Texian militia against Mexican border settlements; it was related to the Somervell expedition. It included a major battle at Ciudad Mier on December 26 and 27, 1842, which the Mexicans won. The Texian attack was launched partly in hopes of financial gain and partly in retaliation for the Dawson Massacre earlier that year, in which thirty-six Texas militia were killed by the Mexican Army. Both conflicts were part of continuing efforts by each side to control the land between the Rio Grande and Nueces River. The Republic of Texas believed that the territory had been ceded to it in the Treaties of Velasco by which it gained independence, but Mexico did not agree. The expedition is best known for the Black Bean Episode, in which the Mexican Army decimated escaped prisoners, selecting for execution one in ten prisoners by drawing beans from a pot.

Texan schooner <i>San Antonio</i>

The Texan schooner San Antonio was a two-masted schooner of the Second Texas Navy from 1839-1840. She was the sister ship of the San Jacinto and the San Bernard. In 1840, San Antonio was part of the Texas Navy flotilla led by Commodore Edwin Ward Moore which was dispatched to assist Yucatecan rebels that had taken up arms against Mexico. In February 1842, while re-provisioning in New Orleans, the crew of the San Antonio mutinied and the Lieutenant was killed. This was the only mutiny in the history of the Texas Navy. That fall, the San Antonio sailed for Campeche and was never heard from again.

Guadalupe Miranda was a Mexican public official who was mayor of Ciudad Juárez and recipient of the 1,700,000-acre (6,900 km2) Beaubien-Miranda Land Grant.

George Wilkins Kendall (1809–1867) was a journalist, war correspondent, and pioneer Texas sheepman, known as the father of the Texas sheep business. Kendall County, Texas is named for him. In 1837, Kendall and Francis Lumsden established The New Orleans Picayune newspaper. By 1838, the paper had extended its coverage to the Republic of Texas. Kendall was given a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark in 1989, Marker number 2169, as a gravestone. During the Civil War, Kendall produced wool for Confederate uniforms and blankets.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Diego Archuleta</span>

Brigadier General Diego Archuleta, was a member of the Mexican Congress. He joined the Mexican Army to fight against the United States in the Mexican–American War. Later, he was appointed an Indian Agent by President Abraham Lincoln, and joined the Union Army during the American Civil War. Archuleta became the first Hispanic to reach the military rank of Brigadier General.

Manuel Álvarez was a Spanish-born Santa Fe trader who became lieutenant-governor of New Mexico.

José Mariano Chaves y Castillo was a wealthy Spanish-American landowner who was the acting governor of New Mexico for a few months during 1844. Chaves County, New Mexico is named after him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Gordon Cooke</span>

William Gordon Cooke was a New Orleans druggist from Virginia, who volunteered for service in the Texas Revolution; fighting at Béxar and San Jacinto, he rose to the rank of major in the Texian Army. In the Republic he held a number of military and civilian appointments; as commissioner to the Comanches he participated in the Council House Fight, and as colonel of the First Texas Infantry he became the last commanding officer of the Regular Texas Army. After its disbandment, Cooke participated in the Santa Fe Expedition and sat imprisoned in Mexico City. Back in Texas, he fought the Mexicans at Arroyo Hondo, and in the naval battles of Campeche. The last Secretary of war of the Republic, he was also the State of Texas' first Adjutant general.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Texas raids on New Mexico (1843)</span>

Texas raids on New Mexico in 1843 consisted of two expeditions sanctioned by the still independent country of Texas to raid Mexican commerce on the Santa Fe Trail and to assert control for Texas of New Mexico east of the Rio Grande, long inhabited by Hispanic settlers and Pueblo Indians.

The Snively Expedition was a military operation launched by the Texan Jacob Snively to attack the merchants of New Mexico. It happened along with an invasion carried out by Mc Daniel and Warfield which ended in a failure.

References

  1. "Santa Fe Expedition". Lone Star Junction. 1998. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
  2. Kendall, George Wilkins (1846). Narrative of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition: Comprising a Tour Through Texas and Capture of the Texans. London: Sherwood, Gilbert, and Piper. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  3. Lavender, David (1954). Bent's Fort. Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Co. p. 199.
  4. "Santa Fe National Historic Trail Map" (PDF). National Park Service . Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  5. "TSHA | McLeod, Hugh". www.tshaonline.org. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  6. Kendall, Geo Wilkins (1844). Narrative of the Texan Santa Fé expedition: comprising a description of a tour through Texas, and across the great southwestern prairies, the Camanche and Caygüa hunting-grounds, with an account of the sufferings from want of food, losses from hostile indians, and final capture of the Texans, and their march, as prisoners, to the city of Mexico ; with illustrations and a map. Harper and Brothers. Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  7. Falconer, Thomas (1963). Letters and notes on the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, 1841-1842. Chicago, Rio Grande Press. ISBN   9781258028725 . Retrieved 1 January 2023.
  8. Simmons, Marc (1973). The Little Lion of the Southwest: a life of Manuel Antonio Chaves. Chicago: The Swallow Press. ISBN   978-0-8040-0633-0.
  9. Seymour V. Connor, "PEROTE PRISON," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/jjp02), accessed February 22, 2015. Uploaded on June 15, 2010. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
  10. Phillips, Robert D. (1842–1844). Phillips Family Texan Santa Fe Expedition Letters and Documents. University of Texas Arlington Library: Unpublished.
  11. White Shell Water Place: An Anthology of Native American Reflections on the 400th Anniversary of the Founding of Santa Fe. Santa Fe: Sunstone Press. 2010. p. 97. ISBN   978-0-86534-786-1.
  12. Texan Santa Fe Expedition at Lone Star Junction website