Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Texas Rangers vs Comanches

There’s five missions in modern San Antonio, the Alamo (AKA Mission San Antonio de Valero, longtime home of a mounted military unit from Alamo de Parras in Mexico proper, giving the nickname prevalent in 1836), all placed 2-3 miles apart along the San Antonio River.

Alamo northmost, third one down is Mission San Jose y San Miguel de Aguayo, maybe five miles downriver from Old San Antonio. Today Mission San Jose sits in the middle of the South Side, along Roosevelt Drive, which used to be a main north-south drag into town before the Interstates.

Today, thanks to the Works Progress Administration it’s the most intact of the five missions, big compound, 10ft walls maybe 100yds on a side. In the middle of the city now, looking at it you’d never guess that, March 28th of 1840, 200+ Comanche Warriors surrounded those walls, challenging the Texians inside to come out and fight.

Unfortunately no one had a camera, must have been a colorful sight.

From Steven L. Moore. Savage Frontier.

Nine days after their council house losses, a war party of at least 200 Comanches rode down to San Antonio on March 28 looking for a fight.

Chief Isomania, veteran of an earlier fight with frontiersman Jack Hayes, boldly came into town with another Comanche. They rode into the San Antonio Public Square, tauntingly circling around the plaza on the horses. Rising in his stirrups, he angrily shook his clenched fist....

The citizens, through an interpreter, told him the soldiers were all down the river at Mission San Jose and if you went there Colonel Fisher would give him fight enough.

Isomania did just that. He and his war party rode up to the mission, located four miles below town, and dared the soldiers to come out and fight. Colonel Fisher was confined to his bed due to a fall from his horse and Captain William Redd was in acting command of the post.

Captain Redd stated that he must hold true to the twelve day truce promised at the Council House. Redd hoped to work out the release of other American captives. He would be happy to fight after the twelve days. The disgusted Indians denounced Redd’s men as liars and cowards and rode away, Isomania being the last to leave town.

Redd’s command decision was not a popular one with the men behind the mission walls. It was hard enough even to get a glimpse of Comanche raiders, and here were two hundred in plain sight asking to be shot at.

Turns out Redd’s decision was a correct one, six days later the Comanche leader Piava came in looking to exchange more captives including the Booker boy.

The Comanches under Isomania went away frustrated but it turns out they actually did precipitate the deaths of two Texian Officers.

Colonel Lysander Wells, also on the scene, accused Captain Redd of cowardice. Both men had fought at San Jacinto so had nothing to prove on that score. Could have been a duel, Texians shot each other that way rather a lot, but Redd refused to be provoked.

Colonel Wells wouldn’t let it rest, continuing to slander Captain Redd. The duel happened on May 7th, possibly fought with Paterson Colts but resolved with a single shot on both sides, both men died.