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124 WiTtH THE Makers or SAN ANTONIO
Cos capitulating in December, 1835, Travis’ and Seguin’s companies
were detailed to pursue the Mexican forces, and capture from them a
cavallado which they had in the Parrita, Laredo road; they succeeded,
taking nearly 100 head of horses, which were sent to San Felipe de
Austin, for the benefit of the public service. Seguin was afterwards
Cetailed to the ranchos on the San Antonio river, to see if he could
find more horses belonging to the Mexican troops.
On the 2nd of January, 1836, Seguin received from the Provisional
Government the commission of Captain of Regular Cavalry, with
orders to report to Lieut.-Col. Travis in San Antonio.
During the siege of the Alamo a Council of War resolved that
Seguin should leave the fort, and proceed with a communication to
Colonel Fannin, requesting him to come to their assistance. Seguin
met General Houston at Gonzales, who ordered Captain Salvador Flo-
res with 25 of Seguin’s company to the lower ranchos on the San An-
tonio to protect the inhabitants against Indian depredations. After-
wards, Seguin was ordered to take possession, with the balance of his
company, of the Perra, distant about 4 mi. on the road to San Anto-
nio, with instructions to report every evening at headquarters. Thus
his company was forming the vanguard of the Texan army, on the
road to San Antonio. On the 6th of March, he received orders to go
to San Antonio with his company and a party of American citizens,
carrying, on horses, provisions for the defenders of the Alamo. He
arrived at the Cibolo, and not hearing the signal gun which was to be
discharged every 15 minutes, as long as_ the place held out, they re-
traced their steps to convey to the General-in-Chief the sad tidings.
A new party was sent out, which. soon came back, having met with
Anselmo Vergara and Andres Barcena, both soldiers of Seguin’s com-
pany, whom he had left for purposes of observation in the vicinity of
San Antonio; they brought the intelligence of the fall of the Alamo.
Their report was so circumstantial as to preclude any doubts about
that disastrous event. “In 1873 and again in 1874, Juan N. Seguin
gave to Reuben M. Potter a list of nine soldiers who were under his
command, and who with himself constituted ten of the 25 men who
went to the Alamo with Travis, February 3, 1836. These soldiers were
enlisted for 6 months. They were a part of a company of 24 Mexicans
who had served under Seguin as captain at the storming of Bexar in
December, 1835. In February 1836, several of the 24 were on furlough,
the others were with Houston’s troops at Gonzales. Seven of the ten
who went to the Alamo died there. Seguin and two of his men, An-
tonio Cruz y Arocha, and Alexandro de la Garza, were sent out as
messengers. The bounty and donation files fully verify four of the
seven whom Seguin listed as Alamo victims. E. M. Pease, Frank Tem-
pleton, and J. J. Linn include these seven Mexican names on the lists
of the Alamo dead which they compile. Seguin’s nine soldiers were:
Juan Abamillo, Antonio Cruz y Arocha, Juan Antonio Badillo, Grego-
tio Esparza, Antonio Fuentes, Alexandro de la Garza, José Maria
Guerrero, Toribio Losoya, and Andrés Nava.”—Quarterly, XXXVI, 243
When the Texan army began its retreat towards the center of
the country, Seguin was put in command of the rear-guard, with