DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about Camp Resolution of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, out here in Floyd County. Now, 1841 was a bold year in the Republic of Texas — and nobody was bolder, or perhaps more optimistic, than President Mirabeau B. Lamar.
He had an idea. Establish a western trade route. Expand Texas jurisdiction all the way out to Santa Fe.
Simple enough on a map. Considerably less simple on the ground. So Lamar sent them out — merchants, along with a military escort, the whole expedition departing from Brushy Creek, north of Austin, in June of 1841.
They were heading into territory that none of them knew particularly well, and the land was about to remind them of that fact, repeatedly and without mercy. By August, they had made it to this vicinity — right here in what is now Floyd County — and they set up campsites at the confluence of the Los Lingos and Quitaque creeks, about a mile to the east of where you're standing. That much, they managed.
But the hardships had been piling up the whole way. Provisions were running low. Food and water had dropped to dangerously low levels.
And bands of Kiowa Indians had been harassing the group continuously along the route, killing some of the men. And then, right here, they ran up against the Caprock — those impassable ravines that simply would not let them through as a single body. The military commanders made a decision.
Split the group. One party would push forward, find New Mexican settlements, seek help. The second party would stay and wait.
Commander Hugh McLeod put the whole arrangement down in writing — drew up a resolution detailing the decision to divide the command — and just like that, this place earned its name: Camp Resolution. Now, you might think the worst was behind them once they finally reached New Mexico in September. You would be wrong.
The men were met by Mexican soldiers, and they were forced to march — all the way to Mexico City — where they were imprisoned. The expedition touched off a diplomatic controversy between the United States and Mexico. And for all the suffering it cost, it did aid Texas' western land claims.
Mirabeau Lamar sent them west chasing commerce and jurisdiction. What they found was the Caprock, the Kiowa, and a very long road to a Mexican prison. The marker calls this place Camp Resolution.
That name has a ring of stubbornness to it — and out here on the South Plains, where the land doesn't negotiate, stubbornness might be the only honest response.
What the marker says
In an effort to establish a western trade route and expand Texas jurisdiction, Republic of Texas President Mirabeau B. Lamar sent an expedition of merchants, along with a military escort, to Santa Fe in 1841. The group left Brushy Creek north of Austin in June and in August arrived in this vicinity, where they established campsites at the confluence of the Los Lingos and Quitaque creeks (1 mi. E). Traveling across unfamiliar territory, the expedition encountered numerous hardships. Provisions, food, and water were reduced to dangerously low levels, and bands of Kiowa Indians continually harrassed the group, killing some. Facing the impassable ravines of the Caprock, the military commanders decided to divide the group. One party was sent to find New Mexican settlements and seek help, while the second remained. Commander Hugh McLeod drew up a resolution detailing the decision to split the command, and the site became known as Camp Resolution. Finally reaching New Mexico in September, the men were met by Mexican soldiers and were forced to march to Mexico City, where they were imprisoned. Resulting in a U.S.-Mexico diplomatic controversy, the expedition also aided Texas' western land claims. Texas Sesquicentennial 1836 - 1986