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By happy chance, official business brung me through Bastrop today, and the locales of this narrative are sorta between Bastrop and San Antone. Finishing in early afternoon, I was able to cover the route in daylight, though the skies were grey with rain (a pleasant sight around these parts).

First off, for reference, here's the map again.



On the morning of the 10th, Robert Hall caught up to Matthew Caldwell in Seguin. Notwithstanding the 30 mile all-night ride just endured by all concerned, Caldwell immediately set out for the Plum Creek crossing of the Gonzales-Austin road, perhaps twenty-five miles away.

As Caldwell and Ward's companies reached the Seguin area on the morning of August 10th they encountered courier Robert Hall, another Gonzales man. He was sent to find Caldwell's men to relay the word of the attacks on Victoria and Linnville.

John Henry Brown noted that Hall arrived "on foaming steed" to announce that the Indians were retreating directly up the trail they had made on the way down.

Captain Caldwell announced that his forces must move at once to meet the Indians at Plum Creek. "After rest and breakfast and strengthened by a few recruits," wrote Brown, "we moved on and camped that night on the Old San Antonio crossing of the San Marcos."

The modern Farm-to-Market 20 (FM20) is the most direct route between Seguin and Bastrop nowadays, passing close by the probable Plum Creek battlefield, hence following the approximate route of both Caldwell and Burleson's forces as they hurried to the fight.

The original prairie is long gone from this ground nowadays, but a few locales give views that likely give an inkling of how it once was.

Here's two views taken along FM20 along the stretch between Seguin and the San Marcos River crossing. Caldwell's force passed this way through the oppressive heat of August 11th, 1840.





And the crossing of the San Marcos, that stream still retaining its spring-fed character at this point.



No telling where the exact crossing and campsite was of course, but somewhere around here. Despite the overnight stop, the horses were likely worn out, Caldwell probably only made twelve miles tops the next day....

"The 11th was intensely hot, and out ride was chiefly over a burnt prairie, the flying ashes being blinding to the eyes.

That would be along this stretch...



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."

Now a map is in order. The only one I found was a Plum Creek watershed map. Here's the relevant section, Lockhart did not exist in 1840.



Caldwell would have crossed from the southwest, crossing the West and Clear Forks of Plum Creek before crossing PLum Creek proper.

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."

The red dots are water-sampling sites. As best I can determine at this point, Isham Good's cabin was located norteast of the top red dot on Plum Creek east of modern-day Lockhart. Perhaps he drew water from that creek emanating northeast from that red dot location.

Here's the marker on MF20 for Good's cabin site, I expect on the evening of the 10th, morning of the 11th, you could have easily found the Texans if you couldn't already see 'em from this very spot...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Sharpshin/frontierfolk/plum5.jpg[/img]

.and from that point looking southwest towards Plum Creek, maybe a mile away...

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Sharpshin/frontierfolk/plum6.jpg[/img]

Plum Creek itself might not look like much, but it winds across this former prairie for fifty-three miles, and back in the day was an important enough landmark that all concerned immediately knew the place to stop the Comanches was along this stream, more or less along this road.

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Sharpshin/frontierfolk/plum7.jpg[/img]

[img]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v148/Sharpshin/frontierfolk/plum8.jpg[/img]



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