DUANE
Duane's take
Here's my telling of what the official marker near San Lucas Spring has to say — and friend, this one is something else. Now, the Civil War has a reputation for starting with a bang. But near this very spot, just outside San Antonio, one of its earliest armed confrontations ended with nothing louder than a man changing his mind.
February 16, 1861. The ink on Texas's secession wasn't even dry. General David E.
Twiggs, commanding officer of the U.S. Army Department of Texas, surrendered all federal military property in the state to forces under command of Ben McCulloch. The San Antonio Arsenal.
Twenty other installations across Texas. All of it handed over. The U.S. soldiers who were present were permitted to march to the coast and leave Texas as soon as ships could be procured.
Orderly. Civilized. Almost gentlemanly, as these things go.
But then April came. Hostilities broke out in the South. And federal troops still on Texas soil were declared prisoners of war.
Most were already in Confederate custody. Most. Because out in the far western reaches of Texas — marching southeast from Forts Bliss, Davis, and Quitman — there were six companies of the 8th U.S.
Infantry. Three hundred and forty-seven men. Armed.
Free. And very much not yet accounted for. Their commanding officer was Lt.
Col. I.V.D. Reeve, and he was bringing his men in from El Paso on foot.
Now here's where the story gets its shape. Col. Earl Van Dorn, Confederate commander of Texas, knew they were coming.
And he was not about to let that little column just stroll in. He positioned thirteen hundred men near San Lucas Spring — right here — along with six field pieces. A show of force that was, let us say, not subtle.
Reeve's men, after a six-week march from El Paso, had dwindled down to two hundred and seventy. They took up a defensive position on Adams Hill, a half mile out front. Two hundred and seventy trail-worn infantry against thirteen hundred men and six cannon.
May 9th. Van Dorn sends a demand for surrender. Reeve refuses.
Van Dorn sends a second flag of truce with the same mandate. Reeve rejects that one too. Now at this point you have to appreciate the stubbornness involved.
The man is outnumbered by better than four to one, there are six field pieces pointed more or less in his direction, and he has said no. Twice. But Van Dorn was patient.
He tried a third approach — not a demand this time, but an invitation. Come over, see the Confederate strength for yourself, and surrender peaceably. And that third request is the one that worked.
Federal officers crossed over, took in the full picture, and the encounter ended without a single shot being fired. Reeve's two hundred and seventy men were made prisoners of war, interned, and later exchanged. The last of the 8th U.S.
Infantry left Texas in February of 1863 — exchanged for Confederate prisoners at Baton Rouge — after more than twenty-one months of imprisonment. A battle with no shots fired. A surrender that took three tries.
And a hill outside San Antonio where the Civil War almost started all over again — and then, somehow, didn't.
What the marker says
Near this site, an early armed confrontation of the Civil War ended without bloodshed. On February 16, 1861 in San Antonio, General David E. Twiggs, commander of the U.S. Army Department of Texas, surrendered all federal military property in the state to forces under command of Ben McCulloch. Possession of the San Antonio Arsenal and 20 other installations statewide transferred to Texas forces, who permitted U.S. soldiers to march to the coast and leave Texas as soon as ships could be procured. After the outbreak of hostilities in the South in April, federal troops still in Texas were declared prisoners of war. There was, however, one unit still armed and not in Confederate custody. Marching southeast from Forts Bliss, Davis and Quitman in far west Texas were six companies of the 8th U.S. Infantry, a total of 347 men under the command of Lt. Col. I.V.D. Reeve. Here near San Lucas Spring, Col. Earl Van Dorn, Confederate commander of Texas, stationed 1300 men and six field pieces to meet Reeve. Federal troops took up a defensive position on Adams Hill, a half mile in front. After a six-week march from El Paso, Reeve's numbers were down to 270 men. On May9, Van Dorn sent a demand for surrender, but Reeve refused. Reeve rejected a second flag of truce with the same mandate. Van Dorn succeeded with his third request -- that Federal officers come over, see the Confederate strength and surrender peaceably. The move brought an end to the encounter without the firing of a shot. Reeve's men were made prisoners of war, interned and later exchanged. In February 1863, the last of the 8th U.S. Infantry left Texas in exchange for Confederate prisoners at Baton Rouge after more than 21 months of imprisonment. (2007)