6. Early Texas Statehood (1846-1861)
Selected Texas History Primary Source Documents
Suggestion: One might also find it useful to consult the list of documents and collections of documents at List 2 , "Texas in the Nineteenth Century: General."
"Correspondence from the British Archives Concerning Texas, 1837-1846." In this series, which was published in The Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association/Southwestern Historical Quarterly, there are many letters pertaining to the period covered by this list. The correspondence is mainly from British diplomats in Texas (and occasionally elsewhere) to officials in the British Foreign Office in London. They shed light on political, social, and economic conditions in Texas and deal with various diplomatic issues. Click on this link for an introduction to the entire series of correspondence.
Link to correspondence dated January 5-February 15, 1846.
Link to correspondence dated February 15, 1846-March 27, 1847.
Ulysses S. Grant. Account of his experiences in Texas just before and during the early months of the Mexican War, September 1845-May 1846. Chapters IV-VIII of his Personal Memoirs (1885-1886). [At the conclusion of each chapter, click on "Next" to move to the next chapter.] Link to document
George C. Furber. The Twelve Months Volunteer; or, Journal of a Private, in the Tennessee Regiment of Cavalry, in the Campaign in Mexico, 1846-7 (1857). [The preface is dated January 1848.] The Texas material is in chapters I, II, and IV.] Account of the journey of the regiment in Texas from a point near present-day Texarkana to Fort Brown on the Rio Grande from August 24-November 7, 1846. Author describes the land—and sometimes the people—along the route. [Note: a few pages at the end of Chapter II were not scanned.] Places mentioned include Crockett, La Grange, Victoria, and Corpus Christi. Link to document
Texas slave narratives. Twenty narratives from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938. They are included in this particular list because of their subject matter. In many cases there are few clues to the exact time period being discussed. To find these narratives, select the link at the end of this entry, then type "Texas" in the "Search Descriptive Information" field. Then click on the "Search" button. This will take you to a list of the narratives. Select a narrative. This will take you to bibliographic information about the individual. Then select "View Page Images" to read the typed transcript of the narrative. See note on the language of the narratives. Link to documents
Navarro County slave narratives. There are thirteen narratives at this site. They are included in this particular list because of their subject matter. Some are identified as being from the Federal Writers' Project, 1936-1938. Others are not, although they probably come from that project as well. They are all in dialect. Link to documents
Republic of Mexico. Reports of the Committee of Investigation Sent in 1873 by the Mexican Government to the Frontier of Texas. [Published in 1875] This excerpt deals with ill treatment of Mexicans in Texas during the period 1846-1857. [Excerpt begins with the paragraph beginning "The Committee has already . . . ."] Link to document
Mrs. T. P. O'Connor. My Beloved South, 1913. Reminiscence. Only the early part of the book (through p. 69) deals with Texas. The author grew up in Austin before the Civil War. Writes of some of her experiences there as a child. Mentions Sam Houston when he was governor. Also writes of earlier Texas history. Note: There are few identifying dates in the book. Link to document
Abbe Emmanuel Domenech. Missionary Adventures in Texas and Mexico: A Personal Narrative of Six Years' Sojourn in Those Regions (1858). Author, a Catholic priest, did missionary work in Texas (primarilly in Castroville, Eagle Pass, New Braunfels, and Brownsville) in 1848-1850 and 1851-1852. In addition to narrating aspects of his religious duties in Texas, Domenech comments upon various Texas towns (including Houston and Austin) and upon various Texas people and places he observed. Link to document
Anson Jones. Valedictory address, February 19, 1846. The outgoing president of the Republic of Texas' address at the ceremony in Austin in which the officials of the Republic transferred power to those of the new state. Link to document
Francisco Mejia. Proclamation, March 18, 1846. Denounces Zachary Taylor's march south toward the Rio Grande. Issued from Matamoras. Is addressed to the "general-in-chief of the forces assembled against the enemy, to the inhabitants of this department and the troops under his command." [Click on "Link to access page," then on the link to the document.] Link to access page
J. Pinckney Henderson to Benjamin Loyd Beall, April 13, 1846. Governor Henderson notes that a number of German settlers will leave New Braunfels shortly to settle on the Pedernales River. Believes it prudent for the recipient to detach a company of Rangers to protect the settlers as they travel. Link to document
James K. Holland. Diary of experiences in the Mexican War. [Covers the period, May, 1846-February, 1847.] Holland was a resident of Harrison County. Recounts journey into Mexico and participation in the Battle of Monterrey. Link to document
J. Pinckney Henderson to Eli Chandler, May 2, 1846. Governor Henderson authorizes Robertson County resident Chandler to raise a company of mounted riflemen to serve under Zachary Taylor in the Mexican War. Link to document
T[homas] C. Moore. Daybook, May 9-July 27, 1846. Record of a journey of a Mississippi planter into (and back out of) central Texas via the Old Spanish Trail for the purpose of locating land for a plantation. Detailed description of people, places, topography, wildlife, etc. [Source has "A. W. Moore?" as the author, but this in incorrect.] Link to document
Edgar S. Hawkins to W. W. S. Bliss, May 10, 1846. Captain Hawkins' official report of the siege of the fortifications opposite Matamoros. [Click on "Link to access page," then scroll down to "May 3-9, 1846: Siege of Fort Texas (Fort Brown").] Link to access page
James K. Polk. Message to the United States Congress, May 11, 1846. In it the president asks for a declaration of war against Mexico; mentions Texas several times. Link to document
United States. Congress. Senate. Debate on President Polk's asking for a declaration of war against Mexico, May 11, 1846. Senators mention Texas several times. Taken from Abridgement of the Debates of Congress, 1789-1856, Vol. XV (1863) pp. 487-496. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] [The link will take you to the title page. Use the "go to page" pull-down menu to find page 487.] Link to document
United States Congress. Senate. Debate on bill from the House of Representatives "for the prosecution of the existing war between the United States and Mexico," May 12, 1846. Senators (including Sam Houston) mention Texas several times. The debate ended with an affirmative vote on the house bill. Taken from Abridgement of the Debates of Congress, 1789-1856, Vol. XV (1863) pp. 496-510. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] [The link will take you to the title page. Use the "go to page" pull-down menu to find page 496.] Link to document
United States. Congress. House of Representatives. Debate on the Mexican War, May 13-19, 1846. The question of whether the Rio Grande was the western boundary of the Republic of Texas was an important issue in this debate. Participants included Joshua R. Giddings of Ohio, Stephen A. Douglas of Illinois, John Quincy Adams of Massachusett, and Robert Toombs of Georgia (among others). [The debate material, a portion of which is paraphrased, ends on p. 366.] Link to document
William A. McClintock. Journal of a trip through Texas and into Mexico, September 1-1846-January 10, 1847. The author was a volunteer in the Second Kentucky Regiment. Was on his way to fight in the Mexican War. Makes observations about plants, animals, topography, people, towns, etc., that he encountered along the way. The route was southwestward from Little Rock, Arkansas. Towns described include Austin, San Antonio, and Corpus Christi.
Part I (September 1-25, 1846)
Part II (October 1-27, 1846)
Part III (October 28, 1846-January 10, 1847)
Thomas H. Crawford to Pierce Butler and M. G. Lewis, September 12, 1846. [Two extensive excerpts, plus a brief quotation.] The federal commissioner of Indian affairs instructs Butler, Cherokee Indian agent at Fort Gibson in the Indian Territory, and another federal agent, to proceed to Texas to confer with the leaders of the Comanches and "other wild tribes of Indians" to gain their adherence to "a course of peace & amity with the United States." Other details about white captives. [The negotiations resulted in the important treaty of May 10, 1846.] [Scroll down for the first excerpt. The relevant material continues on pp. 315 and 316.] Link to document
Joshua Reed Giddings. Speech in the U.S. House of Representatives, December 15, 1846. Ohio congressman's lengthly negative response to President James K. Polk's arguments in his recent annual message that the claim of the Republic of Texas to the Rio Grande as its western boundary was legitimate and thus justified the U.S.'s going to war with Mexico earlier that year. Link to document
[Mirabeau B. Lamar] to Z[achary] Taylor, February 1847. The former Texan President Lamar, serving as a volunteer on Governor J. Pinckney Henderson's staff in the Mexican War, reports from Laredo that, while all is tranquil there, the frontier to the northwest is not as quiet as it had been with respect to Mexican activity. [Document is incomplete.] Link to document
Mirabeau B. Lamar to David G. Burnet, March 1847. Unfinished draft. The former Texan president is unhappy that the U.S. Army has shunted him aside in the war with Mexico. Has asked Governor J. Pinckney Henderson for authority to raise troops. Makes negative remarks about Sam Houston. Link to document
J[ames]. E. Ralston to George Croghan, March 6, 1847. The author, an assistant quartermaster of volunteers at San Antonio, writes to the inspector general of the U.S. Army, criticizing the Texas Legislature for passing a resolution the previous year, stating that Indians residing in Texas had no title to any land in the state. He believes that most of the problems on the frontier have stemmed from white encroachments on Indian rights concerning land. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
Anson Jones to John Henry Brown, [October 13, 1847]. [Extract.] [From Jones' Memoranda and Official Correspondence Relating to the Republic of Texas . . . . ] After a rather obscure reference to some possible negative action concerning him, former Texan President Jones quotes Hamilton Stuart's prediction about him that "public opinion will yet do you justice in Texas." Jones considers that it will be after his death. Suggests a bizarre epitaph for his gravestone. Link to document
Several citizens of Houston, Texas. Petition to the Texas Legislature, November 1, 1847. Petitioners ask that the African-American slave, Liley (a female), be emancipated and allowed to remain in the state. Link to document
James K. Polk. State of the Union Message, December 7, 1847. In it the president mentions Texas three times in discussing negotiating for a treaty to end the war with Mexico. Link to document
Abraham Lincoln. "Spot Resolution," December 22, 1847. [Excerpt] In it, Whig Congressman Lincoln questions whether the spot to which President Polk had referred in his call for a declaration of war against Mexico in 1846 was really U.S. (and Texas) soil. Mentions Texas several times. [Click on "Link to access page," then scroll down to the images at the bottom. Click on each. They constitute the second and third pages of a manuscript in Lincoln's handwriting.] Link to access page
__________ Hanchett to Henderson Yoakum, December 30, 1847. [No other name given or found for the author, who seems to have been a member of the legislature.] Author writes from Austin that Governor George T. Wood's legislative message was read to a joint session of the legislature. Was well received, except by western members. Saw Senator "Three-legged Willie" Williamson "drunk as usual" [probably in the senate chamber]. Link to document
__________. "The Mexican War Its Origin, Justice, and Its Consequences," United States Magazine and Democratic Review, January and February, 1848. [Probably written by the magazine's editor.] Part I mentions Texas several times. Part II is about the boundary of Texas. The writer defends Texas' claim to the Rio Grande to its source. Part I
Part II
Abraham Lincoln. Speech to the U.S. House of Representatives, January 12, 1848. The first part of the address, whose theme is the war with Mexico, is an attack on President James K. Polk's arguments that Texas' southern boundary definitely extended to the Rio Grande, therefore justifying the presence of U.S. troops there in the spring of 1846, a presence that led to the outbreak of hostilities. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
United States of America and the Republic of Mexico. Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, February 2, 1848. This was the treaty ending the Mexican War. Although the term Texas does not appear in the text, this treaty established the southwestern boundary between the State of Texas and the Republic of Mexico and delineated certain rights of persons living in areas confirmed to Texas but formerly considered by Mexico as being under its jurisdiction. Link to document
Texas. Legislature. An Act to Provide for Ascertaining the Debt of the Late Republic of Texas, March 20, 1848. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
George T. Wood to James K. Polk, October 6, 1848. Governor Wood defends Texas' claim to much of New Mexico. Link to document
James K. Polk. State of the Union Message, December 5, 1848. In it the president mentions Texas many times, mainly in relation to boundaries. Link to document
______________. Narrative of a trip from San Antonio, Texas, to El Paso del Norte, Mexico, [1849]. This is the first installment of reminiscences by an anonymous member of the expedition. Seems to be the only installment which has been put online. Interested readers might consult Appletons' Journal: a Magazine of General Literature (the source for this installment) for the possibility of additional installments. This installment appeared in Volume 4, Issue 89 (1870). [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
Cornelius C. Cox. Diary of a journey from Texas to California in 1849-1850. Inclusive dates: April 14, 1849-February 1, 1850. Describes a Harrisburg resident's journey to join the gold rush. The Texas portion of the journey is recounted in Parts I and II. There are several letters appended to the conclusion of the diary in Part III. [Scroll down roman numeral II for the beginning of Part I.]
Part I
Part II
Part III
Robert S. Neighbors to William S. Harney, June 4, 1849. Report on an expedition from Central Texas to El Paso. The author, a U.S. Army major, addressed the report to General Harney, commander of the Eighth Military Department. The purpose of the expedition was to establish the feasibility of establishing a portion of a military road between the Gulf of Mexico and California. The expedition began at Torrey's Trading Post, near Waco, on March 23. Details. Link to document
John N. Reed. Bill of Sale for female slave Loise, July 25, 1849. Harris County Tax Assessor sells the slave to the state of Texas to satisfy taxes not paid by the woman's owner. Link to document
Alva Fitzpatrick to Phillips Fitzpatrick, August 20, 1849. The author, a cotton planter in Victoria County, writes to a nephew in Alabama, urging him to move to Texas rather than Louisiana. Explains why in some detail. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
George T. Wood to the Texas Senate, November 30, 1849. The governor explains his decision to send Texas Rangers to protect Corpus Christi against Indian attack. Link to document
A[dolphus] Sterne to [Charles S. Taylor], December 4, 1849. Nacogdoches merchant and politician writes from Austin that Governor Peter H. Bell has vetoed a joint resolution of the legislature "demanding of the President of the U.S. the removal of the U.S. Indians out of our Territory." Doesn't know why. Calls Austin a bad place, where amusements were apparently limited to gambling rooms, grog shops, and billiard parlors. Link to document
Petition from several citizens of Limestone County to P. H. Bell, December 15, 1849. The petitioners, citing Indian raids upon livestock and property, ask the governor to get the U.S. army to remove the Indians beyond the line of settlement. Link to document
Beaufort J. Watt to Sam Houston, December 20, 1849. Forwards to U.S. Senator Houston, in the name of South Carolina's governor, resolutions from that state's legislature, approving the call of the state of Mississippi for a southern convention to meet in Nashville, Tennessee, on the first Monday in June of the following year. [Click on "Link to access page, then scroll down to "SHH I:44" for the links to this document.] Link to access page
United States Bureau of the Census. State of Texas Federal Census: Free Population Schedules, 1850. As of August, 2006, about eighty counties were included, some of them incomplete. The goal of the sponsoring group, TXGenWeb Project, is to place the entire 1850 census online. Link to documents
W. D. Wood. Reminiscences of Reconstruction in Texas, and Reminiscences of Texas and Texans Fifty Years Ago (1902). Author was a resident of Centerville, Leon County, where he practiced law and published a local newspaper during the middle years of the nineteenth century and served in the state legislature in the 1870s. The second section of the book has to do with the 1850s. It includes sketches of lawyers and judges with whom Wood had personal acquaintance, including R. E. B. Baylor, Roger Q. Mills, W. L. Moody, and Richard Coke and also makes observations about life Leon County and beyond. [The second section begins on p. 25.] Link to document
Memorial of the Officers of the Late Texas Navy, to the Congress of the United States. January 1850. The thirteen signatories note that by the terms of the joint resolution inviting Texas to join the Union the Texas navy was to be added to the U.S. navy. Yet, the officers of the Texas navy were not incorporated into the officer staff of the U.S. The memorial, which includes supporting documents, asks that this situation be rectified. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
Louisa Jo Holmes to her father and mother, January 8, 1850. A Corsicana resident writes to her parents in Arkansas of the recent deaths of her husband and a son. Is illustrative of the hardship and loss many women faced in rural Texas during that period. Link to document
Texas. Legislature. An act to extend the provisions of an act entitled, "An act to provide for ascertaining the debt of the late Republic of Texas," approved March 20, 1848. Enacted February 8, 1850. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
Thomas J. Rusk to Peter H. Bell, September 7, 1850. Rusk, a U.S. senator from Texas, writes to the state's governor approvingly that the Texas boundary bill had passed the U.S. House of Representatives the previous day by a ten-vote margin. Link to document
Chubb & Schenck to P. H. Bell, September 7, 1850. The Washington banking firm of Chubb & Schenck sent Governor Bell this letter, complete with references, offering to help Texas handle the money it was to receive from the recently passed boundary settlement bill that was part of the Compromise of 1850. Link to document
Daniel Webster to Peter H. Bell, September 9, 1850. U.S. Secretary of State informs the governor of Texas that Congress has passed and President Millard Fillmore has signed legislation proposing to settle the northern and western boundaries of Texas. [Encloses the act. See below.] Link to document
United States. Congress. "Act proposing to the State of Texas the Establishment of her Northern and Western Boundaries," etc., September 9, 1850. The remainder of the title is "the Relinquishment by said State of all Territory claimed by her exterior to said Boundaries, and of all her Claims upon the United States, and to establish a territorial Government for New Mexico." [Scroll down to the document, which is very long.] Link to document
Millard Fillmore. State of the Union Message, December 2, 1850. In it the president mentions Texas several times, including reference to Indian matters and the question of the state's western boundary. Link to document
George M. Brooke to P. H. Bell, December 26, 1850. U.S. army commander in Texas encloses a treaty just negotiated between the federal government and the Indians residing in the state. States that the agreement is important, as the Indians pledge friendship, etc. Link to document
Samuel Cooper. Report of and inspection of Indian villages on the upper Brazos River, June 14, 1851. Colonel Cooper was assistant adjutant general of the U.S. Army. Reports that the Indians he had observed were peaceable and cooperative. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
John M. Swisher and James B. Shaw. Statement of the debt of the late Republic of Texas, Sepember 1, 1851. Swisher was state auditor. Shaw was state comptroller. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
John M. Swisher and James B. Shaw. Auditorial Report on the Public Debt of Texas, November 12, 1851. The state auditor and state comptroller report to the legislature about the debt of the late Republic. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
Jane Lockhart. Petition to the Texas legislature, November 23, 1851. Asks for such financial assistance "as her services and losses" in the Texas Revolution may entitle her. Includes details about them. Link to document
Millard Fillmore. State of the Union Message, December 2, 1851. The president makes references to matters relating to the settlement of the Texas debt arising out of the Compromise of 1850. Link to document
William P. Duvall. Argument of Wm. P. Duval, on Claim of the Citizens of Texas for Compensation for the Property Taken from Them by the Camanche [sic] Indians, since the Annexation of that State to the United States. 1852. Addressed to the Committee of Indian Affairs of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress. Argues on behalf of several Texan claimants. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
Randolph Barnes Marcy. Exploration of the Red River of Louisiana in the Year 1852, 1854. This report, written in 1852 by U.S. Army Captain Marcy (assisted by Captain George B. McClellan), deals with the exploration of the upper reaches of the river. Has much material on portions of northwestern Texas hitherto unexplored. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document. Another edition of the same report can be found at this link.
Randolph Barnes Marcy. Thirty Years of Army Life on the Border . . . . , 1866. [Relevant material deals with 1852.] Begin with Chapter V (p. 114) and continue through Chapter VII. This material recounts (in much more summary terms than the source just above this one) U.S. Army Captain Marcy's expedition to explore the headwaters of the Red River in 1852. Includes information on other aspects of northwestern Texas, including Fort Belknap, Indian tribes, etc. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.]Link to document
Texas. Legislature. An Act Providing for the Liquidation and Payment of the Debt of the late Republic of Texas. January 31, 1852. Link to document
[Twelve named persons.] Petition of Citizens of New Orleans, Creditors of the Late Republic of Texas, to the Thirty-second Congress, February 1852. The petitioners complain about their inability to obtain full payment for loans they made to the Republic and ask for redress. Details. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
Letters from Norwegian immigrants to a recipient in Norway, July, 1852. Four letters by four authors to T. A. Gjestvang in Norway. All written from the Four Mile Prairie Norwegian colony in Kaufman and Van Zandt counties. They tell of agricultural possibilities, soil conditions, excursions to the west and northwest (including Indian encounters), visiting a camp meeting, etc. [Scroll down for the documents.] Link to documents
Millard Fillmore. State of the Union Message, December 6, 1852. In it the president makes three references to Texas (boundary and Indian matters). Link to document
___________. "Keeping School in Texas." [Written no later than 1853.] Anonymous author writes of teaching experiences in a log cabin school in an unspecified location in Texas. [Continues for several pages.] Link to document
William H. Seward. Speech to the U.S. Senate, March 2, 1853. The New York senator speaks in favor of a plan by the Senate committee on finance to settle the Texas debt issue arising out of the Compromise of 1850. Link to document
W. G. Freeman. Report on the Eighth Military Department. October 1, 1853. Freeman, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, reports on his inspection tour of military posts on the Texas frontier that had been established pursuant to a provision of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) that called for the U.S. to prevent Indian raids across the Rio Grande into Mexico. Freeman recommended that some posts be abandoned, others retained, and some new ones established. Very detailed report. At that time,, one-third of all U.S. army troops were in the Eighth Military Department in Texas.
Part I
Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part V
Part VI
Part VII
Part VIII
Part IX
Part X
Part XI
Part XII
Part XIII
J. P. Cole to Gail Borden, November 19, 1853. The author, a Galveston businessman, writes to Borden, then living in New York, giving details about the yellow fever epidemic that was raging in Galveston. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
Sam S. Smith to J. W. Henderson, November 23, 1853. San Antonio correspondent asks Gov. Henderson to appoint a friend as notary public; mentions that Sam Houston would now be most welcome in San Antonio, as "his enemies here have dwindled down to a small number." Link to document
James G. Bell. Log of a cattle drive from Texas to California, 1854. The drive began in San Antonio. [Scroll down for Part I.]
Part I (June 3-July 31, 1854)
Part II (August 2-September 22, 1854)
Part III (September 23 to probably sometime in December, 1854)
W. B. Parker. Notes Taken During the Expedition Commanded by Capt. R. B. Marcy, U.S.A., Through Unexplored Texas, in the Summer and Fall of 1854 (1856). The expedition was in accordance with an agreement between the state of Texas and the federal government to locate, survey, and establish reservations in northwestern Texas for peaceable native American tribes. Parker recounts the movement across much of northern Texas to the upper reaches of the Brazos. He describes the geology of the land through which the expedition passed. There is much detail and commentary about the Native Americans the expedition encountered. Link to document
Rodney Gilsan, Journal of Army Life, 1874. The author was an army physician. Entries on pp. 141-142 (in 1854), mention that Captain Randolph B. Marcy is going from Fort Arbuckle south into Texas to survey a tract for an Indian reservation. Entry on p. 149 states that some immigrants into Texas return from it giving their opinion that "that country is inferior in some respects to the one left behind." [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
United States. Congress. Senate. Report of the Committee of Finance on the subject of the settlement of the debt of the Republic of Texas, July 1, 1854. The author was Jesse D. Bright of Indiana. The issue had arisen out of a provision of the Compromise of 1850 having to do with claims of holders of bonds representing most of the debt of Texas at the time of its annexation to the United States. The committee report helped lead to the settlement of the issue by an act of Congress, February 28, 1855 and the subsequent concurrence by the Texas legislature. Link to document
Randolph B. Marcy and Robert S. Neighbors to P. H. Bell, September 30, 1854. The authors, representing the federal government, write to Congressman Bell of efforts to locate suitable lands for a reservation for some of the Indians tribes then resident in the central part of the state. Link to document
James Shaw, Comptroller, State of Texas, Certificate of payment to heirs of David Crockett, December 2, 1854. In December 1854, Elisabeth Crockett, widow of David Crockett, received this certificate from the State of Texas, entitling her to the sum of twenty-four dollars owed to her late husband for his service at the Battle of the Alamo. Link to document)
Robert S. Neighbors to E. M. Pease, December 7, 1854. Federal Indian agent reports to the governor that many friendly Indians are ready to settle on reservation lands allotted to them. Expresses concern that troops stationed nearby will not distinguish between them and the Comanches. Asks Pease to contact the U.S. army commander in Texas about this. Link to document
Isaac McGary to J. Smither, December 8, 1854. Statement of tuition and fees due for sessions ending February 1 and June 30, 1854 at Austin College, Huntsville, Texas. Link to document
Frederick Law Olmsted. A Journey Through Texas; or, A Saddle Trip on the Southwestern Frontier (1857). Recounts trip through Texas in 1854-'55 down the Old San Antonio Road into Central Texas, then into northern Mexico, then back into Texas and eastward out of the state by way of Houston. Has many observations about Anglos, slaves, and German settlers. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
George G. Shumard. A Partial Report on the Geology of Western Texas, Consisting of a General Geological Report and a Journal of Geological Observations along the Routes Traveled by the Expedition between Indianola, Texas, and the Valley of the Mimbres, New Mexico, during the Years 1855 and 1856; with an Appendix giving a Detailed Report on the Geology of Grayson County. 1886. The expedition journal begins on p. 53. The expedition, commanded by Captain John Pope, left Indianola on April 4. The route took the party through San Antonio, Fort Clark, and up the Devil's and Pecos rivers, then westward into New Mexico. The expedition returned by a somewhat different route and ended in San Antonio on or about September 19, 1856. Link to document
David G. Burnet to M. B. Lamar, April 7, 1855. Burnet, president ad interim of Texas in 1836, writes to former President Lamar of recent publications of anti-Houston writings by him and others. Asks if Lamar plans to write and publish something as well. Link to document
E. D. Burleson to E. M. Pease, September 8, 1855. Author, a Texas Ranger, reports to Governor Pease on a fight with Indians near Bandera. Link to document
John R. Baylor to Robert S. Neighbors, October 7, 1855. "Special Indian Agent" Baylor writes to federal Indian agent Neighbors about violent behavior of some Comanches and retaliation by some Delawares, etc. Link to document
Eliza Johnston. Diary, October 29-1855-May 7, 1856. The author kept this diary while accompanying her husband, Albert Sidney Johnston, as he led the 2nd Cavalry Regiment on a expedition from Jefferson Barracks, Missouri, to Fort Mason on the upper Colorado River and then to San Antonio. The expedition's purpose: to attempt to control the Comanches on that part of the Texas frontier. For more on the diary, see the article on Eliza Johnston in the Handbook of Texas Online.
Link to the diary
John Neely Bryan to Alexander Cockrell, February 25, 1856. Dallas founder writes from the Indian Territory to his best friend in Dallas, expressing surprise that some attorneys in the town have turned against him. Wonders if he has any friends there. Scroll down to the document. Link to document
J. K. F. Mansfield. Report of his inspection of the army's Department of Texas, December 29, 1856. Colonel Mansfield, inspector general of the U.S. Army, reports on the various commands and posts throughout the state, including evaluations of their operations, needs, etc. [Scroll down for Part I.]
Part I
Part II
Part III
Southern Pacific Railroad. Acceptance letter, 1857. Notification that the company has agreed to the provision of Texas law that allows it to operate in the state. Note: This is not the major railroad by that name later but rather the successor to the Texas Western Railroad that had been chartered by the state in 1852. Link to document
E. M. Pease to the Texas Legislature, November 30, 1857. Governor Pease reports on the "Cart War," a recent attack by Anglo freight haulers upon Mexican cart men on the road between San Antonio and Indianola. Link to document
Obituary of Anson Jones. [1858.] Clipping from an unidentified Texas newspaper, copying an obituary in the New York Herald. [The clipping is from the University of North Texas Libraries site.] Jones was the last president of the Republic of Texas. Link to document
J. C. Wood. Report to Hon. A. Brown, Postmaster General on the Opening and Present Condition of the United States Overland Mail Route Between San Antonio, Texas, and San Diego, California. March 1858. Includes extracts from his journal of a trip over the route to California and back to Texas. [The Internet collection of which this document is a part is the University of Michigan's "Making of America" website.] Link to document
H. R. Runnels to John Salmon ("Rip") Ford, March 10, 1858. Governor Runnels expresses to Texas Ranger Captain Ford his opposition to augmenting "for any length of time the number of men in service." Explains why. Link to document
Edward Burleson, Jr., to John Salmon ("Rip") Ford, March 30, 1858. Texas Ranger lieutenant reports to the Ranger commander of a mission he led to pursue raiding Indians who had been raiding near the reservation on the upper Brazos River. Link to document
John Salmon ("Rip") Ford to H. R. Runnels, June 3, 1858. Texas Ranger commander writes to the governor about funding problems for the Rangers. States that he will be scouting the upper Colorado River area and the San Saba country. Believes it best to put off an expedition against the Comanches until the fall. Link to document
H. R. Runnels to James Barclay, July 7, 1858. The governor reports to the agent for the Alabama-Coushatta Indians that he has just met with federal Indian agent Robert S. Neighbors. Both agree that it would be in the best interest of those Indians to join the other friendly Indians on the reservation on the upper Brazos River. Link to document
United States. Executive Department. Department of the Interior. Bureau of Indian Affairs. Report of the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Accompanying the Annual Report of the Secretary of the Interior, for the Year 1859. 1860. The Texas documents are on pp. 220-334. The consist mainly of reports from Robert S. Neighbors, [federal] supervising agent for Texas Indians, to the commissioner of Indian affairs in Washington, D.C. but include copies of reports of agents in the field as well. The first is dated January 10, 1859; the last, September 15 of the same year. Link to document
Juan Seguin to H. R. Runnels, January 8, 1859. Long-time Tejano leader in Texas writes the governor about a proposed treaty between the state of Texas and the state of Leon and Coahuila for the extradition of slaves, criminals, etc. Facsimile is in Spanish; transcription is in English,. Link to document
H. R. Runnels. Proclamation [to persons living in counties adjacent to the Indian reservation in northwestern Texas], March 12, 1859. The governor notes the unlawful attacks on the reservation Indians by settlers. Strongly appeals for their cessation. Warns of consequences if they do not. Link to document
_____________ to H. R. Runnels, May 24, 1859 [fragment of document]. Unidentified author informs the governor that the previous day John R. Baylor had appeared, with a private army of 300 men, on the Indian reservation on the upper Brazos River with the intention of attacking some resident Indians. They succeeded in killing two persons, whereupon warriors pursued the renegade military force. They caught up with Baylor and his men and engaged them in battle. [The fragment does not give the outcome of the fight.] Link to document
H. R. Runnels to Allison Nelson, June 6, 1859. The governor writes to Bosque County resident and Indian fighter, stating that he is appointing commissioners to come to the upper Brazos River area to try to prevent bloodshed between local settlers and U.S. army troops over the issue of the local reservation Indians. They will work to remove said Indians north of the Red River as soon as possible. Link to document
Juan N. Cortina. Proclamation "to the inhabitants of Texas, and especially to those in the city of Brownsville," September 30, 1859. The author, a self-proclaimed champion of the rights of Mexican Americans living in the lower Rio Grande Valley, justifies his raid on Brownsville that month. Link to document
Lizzie Bull to unnamed sister and brother-in-law, November 2, 1859. Woman's account of arriving in Denton after many weeks of wagon travel from Iowa. Primarily an account of family tragedies on the journey to her new home in Texas. [The Internet collection where this document is located is the Denton County History Page.] Link to document
Juan N. Cortina. Proclamation to the Mexicans of Texas," November 23, 1859. The author, a self-proclaimed champion of the rights of Mexican Americans living in the lower Rio Grande Valley, calls on Hispanic Texans to right injustices done by Anglo Texans; offers peace to the citizens of Texas. Link to document
James Buckner Barry. Diary, 1860-1862. [First entry, January 1, 1860.] Bosque County resident describes life as a settler on the frontier and his experiences fighting Indians as an officer in the state's Frontier Regiment. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
E. W. Cave to Charles S. Taylor, January 3, 1860. Texan secretary of state writes a friend about the "Cortina War" in the lower Rio Grande valley. Area legislators want Governor Houston to send 1,000 men. Instead, Houston is sending Angel Navarro and Rob Taylor as commissioners to the scene to determine the true situation. Cave states that W. G. Tobin's Rangers there are behaving disgracefully. Gives details. Link to document
E. W. Cave to Charles S. Taylor, January 21, 1860. Texan secretary of state writes that affairs have never been worse. "Men have been living off the government for years." [John S.] Ford and his Rangers have been behaving "infamously in many cases" in the lower Rio Grande valley. Details. Link to document
Angel Navarro to Sam Houston, January 26, 1860. Navarro was one of two persons Governor Houston had sent to the lower Rio Grande valley to investigate the violence in the area associated with Juan Cortina and his followers. Reports the situation as he sees it. Link to document
_____________ Journal of a trip into Texas, [spring], 1860. It is impossible to date the document accurately, although the text proves that the date given by the editor is incorrect. The first date in the text is May 17; the last, June 17. The author journeyed from Missouri to Texas by way of New Orleans. His intention: to take up residence in Texas. He includes descriptions of the land, people, pests (fleas, snakes, etc.), and efforts to obtain work. Places described: Sabine City, Galveston, Houston, Hempstead. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
Robert E. Lee to Sam Houston, April 20, 1860. Col. Lee, commanding U.S. troops at Fort Brown, states, in reply to a letter from Governor Houston, that he [Lee] does not have the authority to accept a Texas Ranger company into federal service. Link to document
Catherine A. King to "Lizzie," July 1, 1860. Writes from Fort Worth to correspondent (probably a family member) in Kentucky of the difficulty of life on the Texas frontier. Says of Texans that it seems that all they do is "drink whisky [sic] and talk about killing Indians." Link to document
William H. Echols. Journal of a reconnaissance expedition into far western Texas, June 24-August 15, 1860. Lieutenant Echols was leading this expedition to take a second shipment of camels into the region. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
Robert E. Lee. Report on Indian combats in Texas, October 30, 1860. Col. Lee was commander of the Department of Texas, U.S. Army. Covers the period September 29, 1859-August 27, 1860. [Scroll down to the document.] Link to document
Geo. K. Anderson to "Dear Cousin Sarah," December 16, 1860. Writes from Fairfield that the Indians on the Texas frontier are "murdering men, women and children by the wholesale." Believes that the Indians there will soon be exterminated. States that Texans elected Sam Houston governor with the understanding that he would protect them from Indian depredations, but conditions on the frontier have worsened since he took office. Link to document
Benjamin Franklin Gholson. Statement made to Felix Williams and Hervey Chesley about the "recovery" of Cynthia Ann Parker from Peta Nocona's Comanche band on December 18, 1860. The statement was made on August 26, 1931. Gholson was a participant in the raid, led by Texas Ranger Captain Lawrence Sullivan Ross on the Pease River. Gholson's statement that Peta Nocona was killed during the incident is convincingly refuted in a footnote to this document. [Scroll down to the document, which continues for many pages.] Link to document
William H. Jones. Memorial to the State of Texas, of Wm. H. Jones, Administrator of the Estate of Lorenzo de Zavala, Deceased, Empresario of Zavala's Colony: Petitioning for the Issue of Twenty Four Leagues and Twenty One Labors of Premium Land Certificates, to the Widow & Heirs of Lorenzo de Zavala, Deceased . . . . . Dated 1861. Link to document
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