Samuel Maverick - Texas Revolution

Texas Revolution

Maverick took the brig Henry from New Orleans and arrived at Velasco, at the mouth of the Brazos River, in April 1835. His interest in Texas extended back almost ten years, as in 1826 he noted in his journal that Stephen F. Austin had received a land grant and that Mexico was quickly being settled. When he arrived, there were fewer than 30,000 people living in the territory, which was then part of Mexico. Maverick immediately set out to buy land, making his first purchase on May 20. To officially transfer the title, Maverick had to go to San Felipe, and he spent the next several months traveling up and down the Brazos River from San Felipe looking for more land to buy. After recovering from a bout of malaria, Maverick journeyed to the drier climate of San Antonio, which was surrounded by large swaths of unclaimed land. Fifteen days after arriving in San Antonio he began buying large tracts of land

At this time there was much political unrest in Texas, as the colonists did not trust Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna to abide by the promises that had been made in the Mexican Constitution of 1824. The Mexican government believed that the colonists were preparing to revolt and hand Texas to the United States. After having been held in a Mexican prison for over 18 months, a newly released Austin returned to Texas with stories of what he had seen in the Mexican capital, and on September 19, 1835 he issued a call to arms. The first shot of the Texas Revolution soon occurred at Gonzales. General Martín Perfecto de Cos, the commander of the Mexican army in San Antonio, was distrustful of the Anglos in the area, and on October 16 he placed a guard at the door of the home where Maverick was staying. Maverick, his host John Smith, and another boarder, A.C. Holmes, were forbidden to leave the city. The Texan army soon arrived and, by October 24, had initiated the Siege of Bexar. Maverick had long kept a diary, which provided a "generally faithful eyewitness record of the events" of the siege. During this time, Maverick and his fellow prisoners sent missives to the Texans with information about the occurrences within the city, with many of them going to his childhood friend Thomas Jefferson Rusk.

On December 1, Cos allowed Maverick and Smith to leave the city. They approached the Texan army, offered their first-hand knowledge of the situation, and urged an attack. The commander of the army, Edward Burleson, recommended a retreat instead. Ben Milam offered to lead an attack, and several hundred men volunteered to accompany him. On the morning of December 5, Maverick guided Milam's detachment into the city, while Smith guided a second detachment under Colonel Frank Johnson. For five days the men fought building-to-building. During the fighting, Milam took a bullet to the head, and Maverick caught his body as it fell. Cos surrendered on the morning of the sixth day, and Maverick attended the surrender ceremony with Burleson and Johnson.

The provisional Texas government had decided in November that all land sales in Texas after August 20, 1835 would be voided, but with the hostilities temporarily over, Maverick continued to buy land in and around San Antonio. He remained with the army stationed at the Alamo. The garrison was prohibited from voting in the election for San Antonio delegates to the Texas independence convention because they were considered transients. The men held their own election, and chose Maverick and James Butler Bonham, who had worked as a lawyer in Pendleton at the same time as Maverick. Bonham declined to accept his nomination, and Jesse Badgett was elected in his place.

Although Badgett left for the convention, Maverick remained at the siege of the Alamo until March 2, the same day the other delegates were signing the Texas Declaration of Independence. By this time the Alamo was surrounded by Mexican troops, and according to Maverick's children; when Maverick left, William Barret Travis (the commander of the Texan forces at the Alamo) urged him to convince the convention to send reinforcements. Maverick arrived at the convention on Saturday, March 5, with his friend Smith, who carried one of Travis's final missives. The convention was in recess for the weekend, but a special session was called for the following day. By the time the special session concluded, the Battle of the Alamo had concluded, and the Alamo defenders were all dead. Maverick signed the Texas Declaration of Independence the following day, and remained at the convention to help draft the new Texas constitution. Despite his efforts, the new constitution rendered his land claims after August 20 invalid, but it also provided land grants to each resident as of March 2. On March 16, the convention adjourned, having completed a constitution and elected an interim government. Maverick traveled with another delegate to Nacogdoches, where he remained for several weeks while suffering from an illness. After recovering, he returned to Alabama to help his sister.