DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker records about the Battle of Agua Dulce. Now, every good Texas story has a moment where you can see the disaster comin' from a mile away, and this one starts early. During the Texas Revolution, two men hatched a plan that Sam Houston himself said was a bad idea — and when Sam Houston tells you something is a bad idea, you might want to listen.
Dr. James Grant, born in 1793, was a Scottish-born physician who had found his way to Texas. Francis W.
Johnson, born in 1799, was his partner in this venture. Together, they recruited an army of volunteers with a bold objective: invade Mexico and capture the town of Matamoros. It was an ambitious plan.
Maybe too ambitious. Houston expressed his disapproval of the poorly-organized expedition, and — well — a lot of those volunteers decided they agreed with Houston. Many recruits left before the expedition even reached San Patricio, the settlement along the Nueces River, in January of 1836.
But Grant and Johnson pressed on with whoever was left. Here's where the story gets complicated — because they weren't the only ones making moves. Mexican General Santa Anna was already organizing his army to march on the Alamo in San Antonio.
And Santa Anna discovered the Matamoros plan. He dispatched General Jose Urrea to stop the advancing expedition. On February 16, Urrea's cavalry crossed the Rio Grande, reinforced with three hundred infantrymen.
Three hundred. Meanwhile — and this is the kind of decision that echoes — Grant and Johnson divided their troops to hunt for horses. Split their already-reduced force right down the middle.
Urrea found Johnson's men camped at San Patricio on the morning of February 27. Urrea attacked. Johnson and four others managed to escape.
Eighteen Texans were killed. Thirty-two were captured. That is not a skirmish — that is a rout.
But it wasn't over. On March 2, Urrea's soldiers caught up with Grant's company at Agua Dulce Creek — just three and a quarter miles northwest of where you're standing right now. They surprised them.
Dr. James Grant, the Scottish-born physician who had dreamed of taking Matamoros, was among the twelve Texans killed. Six were taken prisoner.
Six escaped. Now here is the detail the marker wants you to sit with, and it deserves a moment of quiet. That brief skirmish at Agua Dulce Creek — the one that killed Grant and his men — happened on March 2, 1836.
The same day. The exact same day that the Texas Declaration of Independence was being signed at Washington on the Brazos. While men were putting their names to a new nation, other men were dying in the creek bottom not far from here, not yet knowing that nation had been declared at all.
That is the kind of thing history does. It doesn't wait for everyone to be ready.
What the marker says
During the Texas Revolution, Dr. James Grant (1793-1836), a Scottish-born physician, and Francis W. Johnson (1799-1884) recruited an army of volunteers to invade Mexico and capture the town of Matamoros. After Sam Houston expressed disapproval of the poorly-organized venture, many recruits left the expedition before it reached the settlement of San Patricio along the Nueces River in January 1836. Mexican general Santa Anna, who was organizing an army to attack Texan forces at the Alamo in San Antonio, discovered the Matamoros plan and dispatched General Jose Urrea to stop the advancing expedition. Urrea's cavalry, reinforced with 300 infantrymen, crossed the Rio Grande on February 16. Meanwhile, Grant and Johnson divided their troops to hunt for horses. Johnson's men were camped at San Patricio when Urrea attacked on the morning of February 27. Johnson and 4 others escaped, while 18 texans were killed and 32 captured. On March 2, Urrea's soldiers surprised Grant's company at Agua Dulce Creek (3.25 miles northwest). Grant was among the 12 Texans killed; 6 were taken prisoner, and 6 escaped. The brief skirmish occurred on the same day the Texas Declaration of Independence was signed at Washington on the Brazos. (1976)