DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker has to say about the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. Now, there are chapters in Texas history that sound like pure adventure — bold men, big money, open country, and a plan that looked a whole lot better on paper than it ever did on the ground. This is one of those chapters.
Mirabeau B. Lamar was president of the Republic of Texas from 1838 to 1841, and the man had ambitions to match the size of the land he governed. He knew that United States-Mexico commerce was moving along the Santa Fe Trail, up near the Canadian River, and he wanted Texas to cut in on that trade.
So early in 1841, Lamar set the wheels in motion — literally — for what history would come to call the Texan Santa Fe Expedition. He named three commissioners to lead the venture: Dr. Richard F.
Brenham, Colonel William G. Cooke, and Jose Antonio Navarro. Colonel Cooke started recruitin' in April, and by the time he was done, he'd put together an artillery company and five infantry companies.
Add in the merchants hauling two hundred thousand dollars' worth of goods, the teamsters, the guides, and a collection of others, and you had yourself 321 members setting out into the unknown. One of those members was a man named George W. Kendall, correspondent for the New Orleans Picayune.
He came along to write about the journey — and write he did. The book he eventually produced became a classic account of the whole ordeal. The expedition rolled out on 21 ox-wagons, slow and heavy.
The first day's march, June 19, 1841, ended on the San Gabriel River. Right near here, as a matter of fact — this very ground was their campsite at the close of that first day. They had a long way to go.
Some 600 miles north lay the Santa Fe Trail, and between here and there stretched drought and terrain that nobody in that column fully understood. What followed was suffering. The men endured torturing hardships — drouth, unknown country, the land itself working against them.
And then, ill from all of it, they were betrayed into the hands of Mexican authorities and marched as prisoners all the way to Mexico City. It ended hard. No two ways about it.
But here's where the story turns — quietly, almost reluctantly. That painful push into upper Texas, all that suffering and those hard miles, gave the Republic of Texas stronger claims to her northern lands. Sometimes a failed expedition leaves something behind that matters more than its original purpose ever did.
They camped right here on the San Gabriel the night of June 19th, 1841 — full of hope, not yet knowing what the land had waiting for them.
What the marker says
A dramatic chapter in administration (1838-1841) of Republic of Texas president Mirabeau B. Lamar. Aware of United States-Mexico commerce crossing Texas by the Santa Fe Trail near the Canadian River, President Lamar sought similar trade advantages for Texas. He initiated the Texan Santa Fe Expedition early in 1841, with Dr. Richard F. Brenham, Col. Wm. G. Cooke and Jose Antonio Navarro as commissioners. Cooke began recruiting in April, forming an artillery and five infantry companies. Remainder of 321 members included merchants (with $200,000 worth of goods), teamsters, guides and others. George W. Kendall, of the New Orleans "Picayune", joined to write classic book on the venture. Travel was by 21 slow ox-wagons. First day's march, June 19, 1841, ended on the San Gabriel, and expedition's campsite is near here. Before reaching the Santa Fe Trail some 600 miles north, the men were to have torturing experiences with drouth and unknown terrain. Ill from hardships, the group was betrayed into the hands of Mexican authorities and sent as prisoners to Mexico City. However, this penetration of upper Texas gave the Republic stronger claims to her northern lands. (1970)