History (or at least the books I got) does not record the sentiments of Ben McCulloch when, after four days on the trail, he rode all night into Gonzales on the morning of the 10th direct from tailing the Comanche party, only to find that possibly the premier Indian fighter of his day, Matthew Caldwell, had left town the previous evening with fifty-nine armed men in exactly the wrong direction.
A second courier was immediately sent out, the people in Gonzales having no way of knowing that Robert Hall ahd caught up to Caldwell that same morning at Seguin, Caldwell immediately reversing course and heading for Plum Creek.
McCulloch waited in Gonzales for Caldwell for what must have seemed a very long 24 hours, while yet another group of volunteers were mustered under Captain James Bird. Before dawn on the 11th, McCulloch's younger brother Henry rode out to a tall hill fifteen miles east of Gonzales and from that eminence saw the Comanches on the move, still shadowed by Tumlinson's group of more than 100 men.
Henry McCulloch returned to Gonzales at the gallop and the party of thirty three men started out at once, pushing hard to get to Plum Creek in time to intercept the Comanches. They must have been well-mounted, because they were the first of all parties to make the rendevous.
Meanwhile, up on the San Marcos, Caldwell's party, with less distance to cover, made slower time...
Captains Ward and Caldwell moved out from the San Marcos River on the morning of August 11th to effect a rendezvous. John Henry Brown of Ward's company recalled...
"The 11th was intensely hot, and out ride was chiefly over a burnt prairie, the flying ashes being blinding to the eyes. Waiting some hours at noon, watching for the approach of the enemy after night, we arrived at Good's cabin, on the Gonzales and Austin road, a little east of Plum Creek."
Also arriving at Plum Creek that same evening were Major General Felix Huston and Captain George Howard. The hot-headed Huston was the guy who had wounded Albert Sydney Johnson in a duel a couple of years earlier. One author characterized Huston as "a typical military adventurer" whose "actual personal service in Texas was more obstreperous than effective". By virtue of rank, Huston would assume command of the Texan force at Plum Creek.
(Point of interest to some here, Huston would relocate to New Orleans that same year to practice law.)
Captain Howard of the First Regiment will appear again on this thread, like Caldwell he would be captured with the Santa Fe expedition the next year. Huston escaped from captivity, made his way through the wilds back to Texas, and went on to serve with distinction in the Mexican War.
The combined party waiting for the Comanches at Plum Creek, approximately 100 men, finally went to camp around midnight, the aforemetioned Robert Hall and Henry McCulloch being given the daunting task of riding south into the night to locate the Comanche force.
While Ben McCulloch had been waiting in Gonzales on the 10th, and Cadwell's force had been making their weary way towards the San Marcos, Captain Edward Burleson over in Bastrop had been sending for volunteers...
Thomas Monroe Hardeman and Susan Burleson, cousin of Edward Burleson, were enjoying their wedding ceremony. Guests from many miles away had assembled to watch the wedding. One of Burleson's riders had appeared just as the happy party was enjoying a toast to the bride.
Just as quickly as the horseman dashed into the yard with the warning from Colonel Burleson, "the table was deserted" as the able men raced to help."
Burleson departed Bastrop on the 11th with close to 100 men, pushing on through the day and most of the night. Jonathan Burleson, brother of Edward, was sent on an errand.
Jonathan Burleson had rounded up Chief Placido and twelve of his Tonkawa scouts. They set out at 10pm on August 11 to join up with Colonel Burleson's main forces. Placido and his men ran on foot throughout the night. Placido keeping one hand on Jonathan Burleson's knee as he trotted with his Tonkawas alongside.
Best guess, Placido (whos Tonkawa name meant "Can't Kill Him") woulda been about forty at the time. Eighteen years later he would still be in the field, at that time scouting for Ford's expedition against the very same Buffalo Hump leading the Great Raid.
Dunno exactly how many folks he might have eaten during that time, but Ford for one wrote highly of him.
Birdwatcher
