The Grass Fight

Near this site on Nov. 26, 1835, occurred The Grass Fight, one of the least decisive but certainly most unusual battles of the Texas War for Independence. For more than a month, the Texan forces, composed of both Anglo- and Mexican-Texans, had camped near San Antonio de Bexar waiting for an opportunity to engage the army of the Centralist regime stationed in the city. Erastus "Deaf" Smith, a Texas scout, learned that a Mexican pack train carrying silver to pay the garrison would arrive in Bexar. On Nov. 26 Smith sighted an approaching caravan and alerted the Texas camp. Col. James Bowie led about 100 volunteers, while others followed Col. Edward Burleson. Near the junction of Alazan, Apache and San Pedro Creeks, the Texans overtook the pack train. Soldiers from the garrison in Bexar rode to aid their comrades, but the Texans forced them to retreat and captured the pack animals. About 50 Mexican Soldiers were killed in the clash; two Texans were wounded. In the packs the Texans found not silver but hay that Mexican troops had foraged for their livestock. Two weeks later, supported by a contingent under Juan N. Seguin, Ben Milam led Texan volunteers in the storming of Bexar, expelling the Centralist army and setting the stage for the Siege of the Alamo, Feb. 23 - March 6, 1836. (1982)