“We have marched a long way to meet the enemy and I do not intend to return without meeting them. I had rather die than retreat.” Thus did old frontiersman Zadock Woods cast the deciding vote sending his companions to slaughter.
The situation was this: The Mexican Army invaded Texas and captured San Antonio on September 11, 1842. Couriers raced across the settlements drumming up volunteers to drive off the invaders. Zadock and his sons, Norman and Henry Gonzalvo (Gon), answered the call. Snatching up rifles and cornbread, the three rode for San Antonio, joining more volunteers from nearby La Grange along the way.
Two days hard riding later, the 53 volunteers, through a series of missteps and just plain bad luck, found themselves between the Texan and Mexican forces, slugging it out on Salado Creek north of San Antonio. One hundred and fifty Mexican dragoons started galloping in their direction.
Their captain, Nicholas Mosby Dawson, laid out the options: fall back four miles and join up with other reinforcements they had passed earlier in the day or seek shelter in a nearby mesquite motte and fight it out. The older men grumbled at the very thought of retreat and Zadock roared out his own challenge sealing their fate.
Bu hikaye True West dergisinin May 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye True West dergisinin May 2020 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Where Did the Loot Go? - This is one of those find the money stories. And it's one that has attracted treasure hunters for more than 150 years.
Whatever happened to the $97,000 from the Reno Gang's last heist? Up to a dozen members of the Reno Gang stopped a Jeffersonville, Madison and Indianapolis train at a watering station in southern Indiana. The outlaws had prior intelligence about its main load: express car safes held about $97,000 in government bonds and notes. In the process of the job, one of the crew was killed and two others hurt. The gang made a clean getaway with the loot.
Hero of Horsepower - Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
Los Angeles lawman William Hammel tamed one of the West's wildest towns with hard work and horseless carriages.
From the Basin to the Plains
Discover Wyoming on a road trip to Cody, Casper and Cheyenne.
COLLECTING AMERICAN OUTLAWS
Wilbur Zink has preserved the Younger Gang's history in more ways than one.
Spencer's West
After the Civil War, savvy frontiersmen chose the Spencer repeating carbine.
Firearms With a Storied Past
Rock Island gavels off high profits from historic firearms.
She Means Business!
An energetic and ambitious woman has come to Lincoln, New Mexico, to restore the town's legendary Ellis Store.
Ride that Train!
HERITAGE RAILROADS KEEP THE OLD WEST ALIVE ACROSS THE UNITED STATES.
Saddle Up with a Western
Old West fiction and nonfiction are the perfect genres to fill your summer reading list.
RENEGADES OF THE RAILS
RAILROADS WERE OPEN SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA AND INDIAN TERRITORY OUTLAW GANGS.