THE SPANISH TEXAN FILIBUSTEROS
They were dreamers of freedom and opportunity. The royal Spanish government considered them revolutionaries and filibusteros. These men were often called Filibusteros or Pirates. Pirates who were stealing Texas from Spanish rule. Pirates who needed to be eliminated.
Three events occurred in those last 25 years of the 1700s that changed these men and their world forever: (1)The successful American Revolution of colonies against British Rule in 1776, (2) the successful violent overthrow of the French monarchs and aristocracy in the French Revolution in 1789, plus (3) the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799 and his takeover of Spain in 1808 and making his brother the King of Spain.
Spain’s American colonies did not take this last event well as saw their chance for freedom from Spanish tyranny, based upon the first two events. Father Miguel Hidalgo led the first challenge to Spanish authority in September 1810. His call for independence and freedom resounded even to the remote Presidio (or fort) of Béxar.
JUAN BAUTISTA DE LAS CASAS
Juan Bautista de las Casas, born in San Fernando, Nueva Santender (on the northern Mexican Gulf Coast and not to be confused – like I was until I looked at the map below – with San Fernando de Béxar in Texas) was an officer in that province’s frontier defense force. He retired from his life in the military to the Villa or town at Béxar, now San Antonio.
Within the Béxar Presidio’s troops were two agents of Father Hidalgo’s revolution: Lieutenant Francisco Escamilla and Antonio Saenz who were quickly discovered and imprisoned in the old Alamo. Their message of hope and change was appreciated and shared. Royalist Governor of Texas Manuel Maria de Salcedo, who had arrested them, now knew of the plots to overthrow Spanish royal control by both Father Hidalgo’s followers and suspected agents of the United States. In January, 1811, he ordered the Bexar garrison’s troops to the Rio Grande to begin cleaning out the Father Hidalgo rebels in the area of Revilla. No one would overthrow Spanish control of northern New Spain with him in charge. Troops of the Béxar presidio, however, did not want to go and leave their families in Béxar unprotected as danger from Lipan, Comanche, even bandits that regularly surrounded them.
Retired Captain Juan Bautista de las Casas was asked, and did take over command of the remaining garrison at Béxar. But, on January 22, 1811, de las Casas, upon hearing from other unhappy soldiers and community leaders, took the chance to lead these rebellious militiamen of Béxar in arresting Governor Salcedo and his supporters while releasing Lieutenant Saenz and Escamilla. Now it was apparent that with Captain de las Casas’s actions, Hidalgo’s revolution had arrived at the Presidio de Béxar, Texas.
Captain De las Casas’s rebels at Béxar openly supported Father Miguel Hidalgo’s idea that every government of the new, independent Mexico would have no gachupines, those haughty, born-in-Spain aristocrats and officials. The revolutionaries firmly believed authority in the new Mexican government was to be the right of only native Texas and Mexican born men, criollos. De las Casas was a criollo, native born.
For 30 days de las Casas served as the appointed Governor of Texas until the arrival of the Spanish Royalist army led by General Juan Zambrano. Zambrano then chased de las Casas fron San Fernando de Baxar (San Antonio) to Monclova where he was captured then court marshaled. On August 3, 1811,de las Casas was shot in the back, beheaded, his head sent to Béxar, and there placed on a pike in Military Plaza for all to see. The Juan Bautista de las Casas’ Revolt was over.
CAPTAIN JOSÉ FELIX MENCHACA and JOSÉ BERNARDO GUTIERREZ DE LARA
Historian Jack Jackson tells us that José Felix Menchaca was from a military family associated with the Béxar Presidio. His first duty, in 1771, was that of an alferez (ensign) at this presidio.
By 1775, he was a First Lieutenant of Cavalry with his unit of 25 men stationed at the new fort on the Cibolo Creek. From here his command patrolled between Béxar and La Bahia at Goliad, protecting the several remote ranchos from Indian attack.
Governor Domingo Cabello y Robles, after almost year long absence in 1780, learned of a feud between the Menchaca and Cabello families. During his absence, José Felix Menchaca had become commander of the Béxar garrison. On his arrival at Béxar Governor Cabello returned to this new development and was not pleased. He arrested Menchaca. Yet, in need of capable solders on the frontier, Governor Cabello returned Menchaca to duty and sent him to command the Presidio Agua Verde.
Not long afterward, Captain Menchaca with 29 years in service to Spain, retired from that service, returned to Texas and Bexar, and married Maria E. Rodriguez in 1800. At Béxar, he sold his properties including his dead father ‘s ranch and his own property on the west side of the Presidio’s Military Plaza. This last west side property, now known as the Spanish Governor’s Palace, he sold to Ignacio Pérez.
José Felix Menchaca.
Father Hidalgo’s call in September 1810, beckoned him and he joined them until their cause seemed lost. He then returned to the Royal Spanish cause where he helped to capture Father Hidalgo in 1811.
José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara
When he returned to Béxar to clear his name, the commander, Nemecio Salcedo was not happy with him. Menchaca had the good sense to flee back to Revilla (just across the Rio Bravo/Rio Grande) where he found a safe haven with one of Father Hidalgo’s supporters, José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara. (Yes, Menchaca helped capture Father Hidalgo. Confused yet? Just wait for more ….)
Menchaca went with Gutiérrez de Lara east to Louisiana in July, 1811 in hopes of enlisting American aid in the cause of Mexican independence from Spain. In Natchitoches, Louisiana, they found a sizeable group of volunteers awaiting them.
Gutiérrez de Lara sent Menchaca back to Béxar to (1) seize this Texas capital with the volunteers then return to(2) bring Gutierrez de Lara the needed credentials so American agents can see that he, Gutierrez de Lara, was an “official representative” of this new Texas government.
In Washington, D.C. President Thomas Jefferson and Secretary of State James Monroe were planning on how to keep England from returning and taking back their rebellious thirteen colonies. One way was if Texas and perhaps Mexico could become part of the United States. This would this keep the British out of New Spain and insure that the relatively new United States of America had a very friendly neighbor to its west.
(NOTE: Remember that Great Britain/England was fighting Napoleon’s France and Spain –Napoleon’s brother had been placed on the Spanish throne. IF the British won, then the Brits won the Spanish Empire of the Americas and literally surrounded their old ‘Thirteen Colonies” from Canada to Louisiana, the Caribbean, and Mexico/Texas. There would be virtually no chance for the United States to survive. They would be colonies once again.)
Captain José Felix Menchaca, leading those 300 “American volunteers,” (AKA filibusteros or “pirates“ by the Spanish royalists) across the Sabine River in October 1811, was intending to take the Spanish fort at Nacogdoches. When they found determined Spanish troops awaiting them, Menchaca, as before, when faced with overwhelming enemies, switched sides and became a Royalist once more.
A pardon was offered and thinking he was safe, he did not realize that that higher authorities in the Spanish government were not amused with his fluctuating allegiances. Authorities had Menchaca arrested for sedition. He was tried at Béxar, found guilty and imprisoned in Chihuahua where he died in 1820.
Historian Jack Jackson does say that José Felix Menchaca is often confused with his relative Miguel Menchaca who died from wounds received in the Battle of Medina.
AND MORE …. KEEPING UP WITH THE MENCHACAS
Luis Antonio (1713-1793); José Felix (see also above) (1746-1820); Miguel (1710-1813); and José Antonio (1795-after 1870)
I think we often forget that our Presidio of San Fernando de Béxar, aka San Antonio, was created to be, and for 300 years has been, a military outpost. Its mission then as today is to protect the frontier of the old empire or the modern nation, against forces that could invade and destroy. Into this new frontier outpost in 1718 came the Menchaca family who served their king for decades as officers in the military and in ranching.
In the photo below, Battle of Medina reenactors hold the flag of Spain and uniforms of the period. The man at right is a Texas citizen-soldier, who made be on loyal local scout or likely was representing those men fighting against his Spanish royalist “friends” to his right.
CAPTAIN, LUIS ANTONIO MENCHACA
Captain Luis Antonio Menchaca (1713-1793) was the son of a career soldier Francisco and Antonia Menchaca. Francisco was in the first garrison of the Presidio de Béxar in 1718. Young Luis who was 5 years old at that beginning, grew up to also serve in the military becoming a captain in 1763, serving in that capacity for ten years. After retirement, Luis served as the chief justice for the town of San Fernando (San Antonio). Here he became a landholder of a great ranch he called, El Rincón, one of the oldest and the largest grants of land, having “11 leagues and 4 caballeras.” It lay between the San Antonio River and Cibolo Creek. Of three sons and a daughter, his son José followed him in the army. (NOTE: A League was 4,428.4 acres of land and a caballera was about 108 acres. Do the math… a little over 49,000 acres or about 77 square miles.)
Luis Antonio’s brother, Juaquín Menchaca (1730-?), was father of Colonel Joseph Eduardo Miguel Menchaca (1771-1813), who will be mentioned shortly.
JOSÉ FELIX MENCHACA
José Felix Menchaca(1746-1820), as mentioned with earlier with Gutiérrez de Lara, José followed his father Luis Antonio Menchaca into the army, but to review: His first command placed him, 1st Lieutenant Menchaca, in charge of a Royalist cavalry unit on the Cibolo Creek, outside the Presidio de Béxar. He was then reassigned to presidios across northern Mexico. Returning to Béxar, he found himself living in the house that would later be called the Spanish Governor’s Palace; was instrumental in the capture of Father Miguel Hidalgo (yes, THAT Fr. Hidalgo); and returning to Béxar, he ran afoul of that Presidio’s commander. He quickly headed to Natchitoches, Louisiana, where he joined the republican Gutierrez-Magee army (yes, he switched sides), then when given a task to return to Bexár (he switched sides again.) He was jailed, found guilty of sedition, and imprisoned in Chihuahua where he died in 1820. Whew!
COLONEL JOSEPH EDUARDO MIGUEL MENCHACA
Colonel Joseph Eduardo Miguel Menchaca (1771-1813) was a son of Juaquín and Juana Delgado Menchaca. As Joaquín and Luis (mentioned earlier) were brothers, Joaquín’s son Miguel was a nephew of Luis Antonio Menchaca and first cousin to José Menchaca. Now that you understand this connection, you may also now begin to understand why Miguel and José are still often confused and mistaken for each other when readers of this era’s history hears of a “Menchaca” doing something.
Miguel was stationed at the presidio at Nacogdoches for a time, but by March, 1813, he was a revolutionary, with warrants out for his capture for “deserting his post and distributing seditious literature of Gutierrez de Lara at the Béxar Presidio.” In 1813, his life rapidly became that of a republican warrior as:
1. His unit, “commanded with distinction” was victorious in the Battle of Rosillo;
2. He; urged many frightened and discouraged American volunteers to stay to fight after the new Governor Salcedo was murdered
3. He gained his colonelcy when he led the men of Gutierrez-Magee insurgents to victory in the Battle of Alazán Arroyo near San Fernando de Béxar.
With victories on his side he and his 300 Mexican and Tejano scouts next faced the might of the Spanish General Juaquín de Arredondo. Ordered to scout for the location of the advancing Spanish forces and harass them by running off their herd of horses and mules, Colonel Miguel figured his scouts could try to retrieve those same horses after the battle, so he disobeyed this order and did NOT run off the Spanish horses. Critics of the action say this contributed to the republican loss in the coming Battle of Medina. For now, General Arredondo’s cavalry still had all their corralled, rested horses at hand, ready for the fight.
Our Colonel Miguel Menchaca was killed as a result of the Battle of Medina. General Arredondo said he found the body, but family said, no, Miguel escaped and died later at his ranch located generally east of the battle.
JOSÉ ANTONIO MENCHACA
Our last Menchaca is José Antonio(1795-after 1870). It is not now known if he is related to “our” San Antonio family at all. He had a son, José Antonio Menchaca (often confused with another our other Menchaca family with a similar name. He fought in The 1836 Revolution and was a captain in the Texas Militia in 1838, but found he did not like Texan treatment of Tejanos in the new Republic and left his command. He participated in the Cordova Rebellion, was told by his commander return to duty, did not, was captured, tried, then pardoned by Texas President Lamar in 1839. He died in Nacogdoches after 1870.
NEXT: PART 3. THE PLOT THICKENS
