Bexar

On October 13, 1835 the Texan army, under the command of Stephen F. Austin, headed to San Antonio de Bexar, the only remaining garrison of Mexican troops. Austin did not beleive his smaller force could breach the fortified city so he prepared for a siege. On October 22nd Austin sent Jim Bowie & Juan Sequin with 90 men on a reconnaissance mission & by the end of the day they had siezed the Espada Mission from Mexican pickets. They continued their search for a defensable position & made camp near the Mission Concepcion. Mexican Cdr. Cos saw an opportunity to attack the divided army so on October 28th he sent Col. Ugartechea to lead an assault on the reconnaissance party. The Mexicans, though having superior numbers, were outgunned & after 30 minutes of fighting retreated back to Bexar. The stand off continued & reinforcements joined both sides bringing the Texian force to 600 & the Mexican force to 1,200. Shortly after November 18th, Austin resigned his command & the Texans elected his second in command Edward Burleson as their new Commander-in-Chief. Even with the addition of a group of volunteers known as the New Orleans Greys, morale was beginning to wane with supplies running low & winter setting in. So, Burleson decided to retreat to winter quarters. Ben Milam would have none of it. He marched into camp & cried, "Who will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?!" Three hundred men cheered so on December 5th Milam & Col. Francis Johnson led a two column attack on the city. The brave Ben Milam would fall dead to a sniper's bullet so Robert Morris took command of Milam's division. The fighting went from house to house until the Mexicans retreated to the Alamo. Many of the Mexicans escaped with Cos chasing after them. On December 7th the Mexicans waved the white flag of truce & after a few days of haggling over terms, the Mexicans surrendered & left for Mexico leaving the Texans in control of Bexar & the Alamo.