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Texas
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THE RUNAWAY SCRAPEby
Archie P. McDonald, PhD | |
Texans
love the story of the Alamo.
Although it was a battle lost, remembering the courage of its defenders thrills
later Texans, even "adopted Texans," yet. Less well recalled is the Runaway Scrape
produced by the fall of the Alamo
and the massacre at Goliad a couple
of weeks later.
The Runaway Scrape was a mad dash to safety by civilians,
even government officials, to escape the Mexican army in the aftermath of these
two bloody losses. Previous military clashes between Texans and Mexican military
forces resulted in decisive, even one-side victories at Velasco
and Nacogdoches in
1832 and Anahuac,
Gonzales, and San
Antonio in 1835. Given the times, many Texans considered victory over Mexico
inevitable. They reckoned without the overwhelming numbers Santa Anna brought
to Texas to deal with rebelling subjects. With over 6,000 troops in Texas, about
two-thirds of them in San Antonio
facing 180-something Alamo
defenders and the other third at Goliad
to conquer James Walker Fannin's 500 or so men, Santa Anna simply overwhelmed
Texan forces.
When news of the Alamo's
fall reached Gonzales,
made worse by the loss of some member of every household in the community who
had gone to the Alamo's defense after the siege began, grief overwhelmed the nearly
400 men who had gathered there on the way to fight in San
Antonio. Some wanted to attack Santa Anna immediately, but Sam
Houston knew that rashness and bravery would not overcome Santa Anna's great
numbers. He ordered his "army" eastward. Within days, Texans learned of the loss
of Fannin's command at Goliad.
The Runaway Scrape, then, resulted from three items of bad news in close
proximity: losses at the Alamo
and Goliad
and the only remaining Texan military force in retreat. Settlers joined the migration
and became refugees. As more and more crowded roads, panic increased. Food, ready
to eat, was left on tables. Keepsakes hastily packed in saddlebags, valises, or
wagons were cached or simply abandoned along the way when panic forced a quicker
pace. Spring rains enlarged streams, which created bottlenecks at crossings. The
Runaway Scrape was an unpleasant experience.
Some traveled all the way
to Louisiana, considered beyond the reach of the Mexican Army, especially after
President Andrew Jackson stationed US militia commanded by Edmund Gaines there.
Some stopped in Nacogdoches
or east of Harrisburg to await developments. Word of Houston's
victory at San Jacinto brought
relief and the opportunity to return to homes sometimes more likely to have been
burgled by other, less scrupulous Texans than sacked by Mexican soldiers. No wonder
Texans do not like to remember the Runaway Scrape. It does not fit their self-image.
All Things Historical
March 3-9, 2002 column
(Archie P. McDonald is Director of the East Texas Historical Association and author
or editor of over 20 books on Texas)
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