In the midst of our celebration of Texas Christmas Traditions, it provides an instructional counterpoint to remember that in 1835 our Texas ancestors were trying desperately to retain their rights and identity. Many thanks to Tom G. Glass for this guest post:
Before the Alamo fell to the dictator, Santa Anna, San Antonio had to be taken from government forces by the citizens of Texas. The taking of San Antonio began on December 5, 1835 and after 5 days of house-to-house fighting, San Antonio fell into Texas hands.
After the start of the Texas Revolution on October 2, 1835 in Gonzales, many Texans converged on San Antonio, but because it was well fortified, they surrounded and waited, many groups coming and going. Sam Houston came and told those that were there that they were crazy and should return home. But Ed Burleson stayed in command, with Ben Milam as one of his seconds in command.
Accounts differ about how the battle started. Some say that Burleson made the decision to attack and that Milam was sent out to get the troops ready to attack. Others remembered Ben Milam going around the camps saying, “Who will go with old Ben Milam to San Antonio?” and gave him credit for leading the charge.
Milam was killed in battle on December 7.
Milam and Burleson Counties are named after the heroes of this battle, as well as numerous streets all over Texas, the cities of Burleson in Johnson County and Milam in Sabine County.
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To be honest, when I first began to research Texas History, the significance of the siege and battle of Bexar were still a little fuzzy to me. Things became clearer when I realized that the only two battles the Texians won were this one and the Battle of San Jacinto–the first one and the last one.
As it turns out, these two were enough.
I began to wonder, though…what would it have been like to live in a city under siege and then survive a terrifying house-to-house battle and to know that when Santa Ana found out we’d beaten his top general he’d be back to take revenge? And those families caught in the middle between the Siege and Battle of Bexar in December 1835 and the Siege and Battle of the Alamo in February 1836…how could they possibly celebrate Christmas in the midst of all that?
So when I collaborated with friends to put together stories about Hill Country Christmases during “hardscrabble times,” this was the first holiday season that came to mind, because hope was sorely needed! I chose to write about the family of “Deaf” Smith for several reasons:
- No one was more central to almost every event of the Texas Revolution than Erastus “Deaf” Smith.
- His family naturally represents the cultural tapestry that has always been Texas–a physically handicapped Anglo immigrant who comes to Texas, marries a Hispanic widow, and apprentices a Free Black man who becomes his son-in-law.
- I was curious about the family’s backstory and a few gaps in history…and boy! Did I ever discover some plot twists!
Because you’ve followed Discover Texas History, and because I want to demonstrate the power of quality historical fiction to help us experience the past vicariously, I’d like to give you a copy of this story.
Click here to download your FREE copy of A Candle in the Window
If you agree that good historical fiction can be “the next best thing to living then,”
you might enjoy the other inspirational stories we’ve collected in
A Hill Country Christmas-Hope for Hardscrabble Times,
which won TWO awards last year–the Selah Award for inspirational fiction, and the Will Rogers Medallion Award for excellence in western fiction. This year we added an all-new collection of stories to the series–
A Hill Country Christmas-Truths for Troubled Trails.
