SONS OF DEWITT COLONY TEXAS John (Juan) McMullen For additional biographical information, Search Handbook of Texas Online John McMullen observed his colony during the year 1834, perhaps thinking, "Such peace will not soon be seen again." He watched the magic of a Texas spring color the undulating countryside with shades of green and scattered bunches of wildflowers: yellow buttercups, wine cups, phlox, daisies, and lavender verbena. The river flowed a short distance from the block on which he lived. He had only to walk less than a quarter of a mile to reach its bank lined with giant moss-draped live oaks looped with wild grapevines. There on a stump in this retreat he could sit in quiet isolation and watch the river as it made its way eastward to the Bay of Corpus Christi, thence to the Gulf of Mexico. There he could think more clearly of the decision he had made to quit the mercantile business in Savannah and Matamoros in order to pioneer in Texas. It was the lure of land that had brought him. If only the infant Republic of Mexico had had time to stabilize before the pressing problems of Texas evolved. Santa Anna could solve problems in only one way---by conquest and complete subjugation. Would the Texians be subjugated? These and many other questions relevant to Texas came into his mind. What bothered him most was that the capital of his colony was divided in its allegiance. Some were loyal to the Mexican government; others agreed with the attitude of the Anglo-Americans. To his colonists John McMullen seemed remote and detached; sometimes he was impatient when listening to their complaints. According to oral tradition, he was not generally liked by his colonists. John McMullen was well aware of conditions in Mexico and where they might lead Texas, but he did not discuss it with his colonists. They were short-tempered at times because they were weary of waiting for their land grants. McMullen had to keep them from open rebellion until they got their land titles. While the McMullen-McGloin colonists were waiting for their lands, Empresario James Power arrived in May 1834 with his colonists from Ireland. Their voyage was fraught with disasters: storms, disease, and death. Cholera struck them in New Orleans. Seventy died there. Two ships of household goods and farm implements were abandoned by the immigrants on the coast of Texas; there, on the beach of a deserted island, 150 sick Irish struggled to live. Even Empresario Power almost died of cholera. [Oberste, Empresarios, pp. 102-104] Nevertheless, the coming of the Refugio colonists was a boon to those of San Patricio. They could talk to someone lately come from Ireland; this made their native country seem a little closer. On one count the Power-Hewetson Irish were luckier than the McMullen-McGloin immigrants. They did not have to wait years for their land grants. In the fall of 1834 their land commissioner, José Jesus Vidaurri, came and their land titles were issued. Many discouraged San Patricians deserted to obtain land grants in the Power-Hewetson empresa. McMullen bristled at the desertions. But had he not been an empresario, he would have been tempted to join them, too, since he had a great desire to accumulate land as we shall see later. Eighteen thirty-four brought to San Patricio the return of a priest of the Dominican Order, who became pastor "without a salary" of the picket church on the McMullen block west of Constitution Square. [Archives of the Catholic Chancery, Austin, Texas. See index of pastors, and application for land grant by Rev. J.T. Molloy, O.P., PA/GLO] It was consoling to Esther Cummings McMullen to have Father Molloy to talk to after hearing of the death of her son, John, in Santa Rosa, Coahuila, Mexico. It was only a step from her cabin to the church. Daily Mass would in time assuage her grief. Besides, she now had grandchildren as near as the south side of Constitution Square, the children of her daughter, Eliza, and Empresario James McGloin. At most there were four priests in all of Texas. The Mexican Government did not comply with its promise to supply priests for the colonies. San Patricio was fortunate to have Father Molloy, who had come to serve as pastor. He also came to acquire land for himself and his nephews, John and Patrick Fadden. The church was the center of activities in San Patricio, and Father Molloy administered the sacraments of baptism, confession, communion, matrimony, and extreme unction (the sacrament of the sick and the dying). The church was a place to gather, and it gave to the colonists, both Irish and Mexican alike, a sense of belonging. Spring had come and gone, and the sun bore down upon the colonists as they tended the plots of ground that they had cleared for vegetable gardens. They had raised corn, beans, calabazas, and melons. Texas could boast of her springs, but when summer came, with it they must bear the scorching rays of the sun which became more severe as summer progressed. Even September by its heat was counted as a summer month, hot, muggy, and oppressive. But dusk in San Patricio country, to this day, is the most delightful hour. Then, even in the summer, when it was dry and no mosquitos flew about, there was a soft, caressing breeze that soothed the spirit and made them wish that the short summer twilights would never end. At every opportunity colonists sat outside their cabins on summer evenings when supper was over. Why should they go inside to face stark reality when the moon hung like a jewel in the sky and the cool of night refreshed them? They had never experienced such heat in Ireland, a cold country made temperate by the Gulf Stream. But here in Texas the heat of summer almost paralyzed them into inactivity. As every year must come to an end, so did 1834. With the entrance of 1835 there were signs of worse times to come. The seeds of war were being sown while the Irish in San Patricio were still waiting for the land commissioner. As far as is known, McMullen stayed in San Patricio during the period from his return from Monclova (February 1834) until the fall of 1835. During the three summer months Balmaceda, the tardy land commissioner, distributed land grants to the colonists. All together he issued seventy-six so that these added to those issued by Saucedo in 1831 made 84 happy landholding colonists in the McMullen-McGloin empresa. By September Balmaceda had left, and in November the land office was closed. No more land was granted. [Castaneda, Catholic Heritage, p. 217] Meanwhile, what was going on in Mexico City? In October of 1834 President Santa Anna held a council to consider Texas affairs. At the meeting there were present four members of the cabinet, three army generals, three members of the Congress of Coahuila and Texas, Lorenzo de Zavala, patriot and friend of Texas, and the ex-prisoner, Stephen F. Austin. The results of this meeting were immensely important, not only to San Antonio but also for Texas and all Mexico as well. Texas was not to be separated from Coahuila; the repeal of the law of April 6, 1830, was confirmed; a mail system was to be established; and four thousand of Santa Anna's troops were to be stationed at Bexar and other forts and camps. [Brown, Texas History, Vol. 1, p. 275] To the latter Austin objected and told Santa Anna that Texas would pay her taxes and duties and guard her own frontier. Santa Anna would not listen. Troops would be stationed in Texas. When McMullen heard of these concessions and the determination of Santa Anna to station troops in Texas, he knew the Anglo-Americans would not submit to that. Austin's idea was to have an Americanized Texas as a separate state, sufficient unto itself, but to remain within the Mexican Republic. Even after this meeting, Austin thought that this could be peacefully accomplished. August of 1835 had shown portents of times that were to come. Lynch's Ferry on the San Jacinto was the place and Lorenzo de Zavala, the steadfast friend of Texas, having left his office as minister to France, came to Texas when he found that Santa Anna was destroying all democratic institutions in Mexico. Because he was sick with a fever, he sent his message in writing. The message was an analysis of the military despotism which Santa Anna had created and a call for a consultation to be held at San Felipe de Austin including delegates from all the municipalities of Texas. He even selected a date for the election of delegates and the day the meeting should begin. The dates were October 5 and the 15th, respectively. The place, San Felipe de Austin. [Castaneda, C.E., Our Catholic Heritage, Vol. V1, p. 265-266, Wortham, Louis, A History of Texas, Vol. 11, pp. 281-285] During the summer of 1835 "couriers were passing to and fro over the country, bearing communications from individuals and committees." [Brown, Texas History, Vol. 1, p. 246] There had been rumors of large bodies of troops gathering to descend upon Texas. This had created great apprehension among the colonists. Some of the municipalities, such as Gonzales and Mina, were wholeheartedly for remaining with Mexico. San Patricio was said to be one among that group although there was no meeting or resolutions to prove it. On July 28 orders had been received from Santa Anna for all Texas municipalities to disband their militias. The order read thus:
San Patricio had no militia, or rather, no evidence can be found of its having had one, aside from the group that McMullen had to scare away the Indians while they were still in Refugio. Some colonists felt that they, as Mexican citizens, and as Catholics should stand by Mexico and the faith regardless of its form of government. Then there were those who resented a centralist government and deplored Santa Anna's disregard of the national constitution. Some were frightened at the prospect of an invading army led by Santa Anna himself, and would of necessity take up the cause of independence if it should be the only way to rid themselves of his dictatorial program. As had been seen, these San Patricians had just received their grants of land which had been long in coming, but they would fight to save them even though they preferred the plow to the sword. San Patricio did not hold its election for delegates to San Felipe on the appointed day, October 5th. Even though McMullen had received a letter from Thomas G. Western, merchant of Goliad, on October 8th urging him to send what men he could spare for the cause of liberty and the constitution, [Western to McMullen and McGloin, Oct. 8, 1835 Jenkins, Papers, Vol. 11, P. 73] and Linn had written to Alcalde Thomas Henry in the same vein, [Linn to Henry, Oct. 8, 1835, Vol. 11, pp. 69-70], nothing was done. McMullen knew that most of his people had no appetite for war or confrontation with the Mexicans. True, there were a few like himself who saw the handwriting on the wall---John Turner, John White Bower, John Hart, and others, but those that leaned toward the Mexican Government wanted peace above all and a chance to settle on their land grants. McMullen realized the weakness of his colony caused by their divided allegiance. They were not ready to hold an election; therefore, the election was postponed. Besides, there was turmoil and excitement over what was happening in the neighboring municipalities---General Martin Perfecto de Cos and his troops had left Goliad for Bexar on October lst after a stay of ten days in Refugio; the citizens of Gonzales had rebelled against Mexican troops sent to take their cannon on October 2nd and had made them flee. At the time Western's and Linn's letters were written some Texans under Capt. George M. Collinsworth were on the verge of capturing the fort at Goliad. So San Patricio waited with apprehension to hear further news and could not settle down to holding an election. Phillip Dimitt, now commandant at Goliad, was determined to capture, raze, and burn the fort at Lipantitlan. He consulted with Captain Ira Westover. It was no sooner decided upon, than 40 men had volunteered to go on that expedition November 3, 1835. John J. Linn was among those who went, and he has left in his Reminiscences a detailed account of it. After the Battle of Lipantitlan Linn wrote:
Another version of the results of the battle is found A.H. Jones' letter to Fannin. Linn's version was written many years after he had participated in the battle, whereas Jones' version was written immediately after while he still felt the headiness of victory; therefore, it is a draw as to which is the more correct. Jones reported:
In Ira Westover's official report to the general council he stated that the judge, the alcalde, and the sheriff were wounded by the Texians. Empresario James McGloin does not mention in his account of the Battle of Lipantitlan that the above were wounded. Also F.W. Johnson mentions that only the alcalde was wounded. [Barker, Eugene C. (ed) Johnson, F.W., Texas & Texans, Vol. 1, p. 7] It is now plain to see why Linn never received an answer to his letter to Alcalde Thomas Henry written on October 8th asking him to rally the colonists to the support of the Federalist cause against centralism. Soon after the capture of Fort Lipantitlan, Governor Agustin Viesca, deprived by Santa Anna of his power as governor of Coahuila and Texas, came through San Patricio on the 8th of November. [NOTE: Governor Viesca was an affable gentleman, a thorough scholar, an eloquent writer, and a sagacious statesman. His publication of the impending crisis portrayed with prophetic insight the events that would naturally follow Santa Anna's usurpation, insofar as Texas was concerned. Linn's Reminiscences p. 123] With him was Col. José María Gonzales and a party of cavalry who were for upholding the Constitution of 1824. Viesca called upon McMullen while he was in San Patricio and asked him for a loan, the receipt of which was as follows:
When Ira Westover and his men left San Patricio, Governor Viesca and his party left with them, all heading for Goliad. There were mixed feelings in San Patricio in the aftermath of the fight at Lipantitlan. Some were relieved that the garrison of Nicolas Rodriguez was dispersed; many felt free to join the Texians when the time came, while there were a few who doggedly clung to the Mexican side. The election of delegates to the Consultation of 1835 had been held on November 19th; John McMullen, John White Bower, and Lewis Ayers had been elected. They left immediately for San Felipe de Austin, a distance of 200 miles. On the day that they arrived (November 30) the consultation had adjourned, but they were presented with certificates. [Binkley, Official Correspondence of the Texas Revolution, Vol. 40 (N.Y.: Appleton-Century Co.)] On this day, November 30th, John Turner in San Patricio wrote a letter to Phillip Dimitt, commandant at Goliad. [NOTE: Turner to Dimitt, San Patricio, November 30, 1835 in Biographical Sketch of John Turner in a coming chapter] It gives as clear a picture of conditions there as any account that may be written. He wrote him that he was sending dispatches that had been taken from the Mexicans, that the people were still divided, that Nicolas Rodriguez had written a threatening letter, and that they have neither men nor bread. In analyzing this letter a number of things became apparent. The people of San Patricio were still divided even though most of their men had joined the Texian Army and few remained. Nicolas Rodriguez took the liberty of disannulling the newly elected alcalde [There is no record of the alcalde who followed Thomas Henry] and aldermen, and invited the San Patricians to join their ranks or punishment would follow. There were those who wished to support the Constitution of 1824 with their lives. In the postscript there is a poignant plea for protection and bread. [Turner to Dimitt, Nov. 30, 1835, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. 111, p. 51] McMullen left McGloin and John Turner in care of the starving colonists while he pursued the more exciting path of politics. Upon his arrival at San Felipe he found that only one of the three delegates could be seated, and the honor fell to Lewis Ayers by vote of the San Patricio delegation. John McMullen and John White Bower were alternates. Meanwhile, on December 2nd Dimitt, after receiving John Turner's letter, wrote to Governor Smith telling him in detail the necessities at the fort at Gollad---men, food, medical care, and horses. A part of the letter states that Turner had intercepted two pieces of information from Commandante Rodriguez which shows that an active spy system was being carried on in spite of the capture of the fort. [Dimitt to Smith, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. 111, p. 74-76] John McMullen, aware of the desperate situation of his colony, arrived in San Felipe; no sooner than he had reported, his services as a translater were engaged which the following certifies:
Upon the resignation of Lewis Ayers on December 12th, John McMullen was seated to represent San Patricio. It was only twelve days from his arrival that he began nearing his "place in the sun" in the General Council. [Binkley, Correspondence, Vol. 1, p. 78] The provisional government was under stress and strain for lack of a quorum in the general council. For one legitimate reason or another some members resigned. This badly fragmented the council. By January 6, 1836, there were only 11 members present. The men eligible for service in the council, such as Austin, Archer, William Wharton, Houston, John A. Wharton, Burleson, Rusk, Travis, and Williamson, were given other assignments. The highly qualified Lorenzo de Zavala had not been elected as a delegate to the consultation. Thus the provisional government was weakened almost to impotence---yet further trouble was to come. It was precipitated by Governor Smith receiving a letter from Col. J. C. Neill in command of the garrison at the Alamo. In it he complained that Col. F. W. Johnson and Dr. Grant had stripped the 104 men that they had left at the Alamo of their clothing and supplies while they had taken 200 volunteers for their proposed expedition to Matamoros. Col. Neill declared that the Alamo should have a garrison of 200 men at all times and 300 while the fortress was being repaired after the shelling from the Siege of Bexar from 5-10 of December, 1835. [Neill to Smith, Jan. 6, 1836, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. 111, pp. 424-425] At first being halfheartedly for it, then totally against the Matamoros Expedition, Governor Smith's opposition was re-enforced by a letter from Houston in which he pled with Smith to act and sent him at the same time a report of Neill's artillery at the Alamo. [Houston to Smith, Jan. 6, 1836, Vol. 111, pp. 425-426] The general council of the provisional government had approved the expedition to Matamoros. As a result the governor and the council were in a deadlock. Houston had advised Smith to meet in secret session with the council to prevail upon its members to give up the expedition. But this was too much to ask of Smith's explosive and vindictive nature. So he sat down and wrote the council what they considered "an insulting and degrading message" about some members of the council. He excluded the Lt. Governor, J.W. Robinson, and some others from blame, but afterwards rescinded their exemption and he called for an adjournment of the "Corrupt Council" until March 1st, when the convention was to meet and ended his message by saying, no audience would be given to any member or committee other than in writing. [Smith to the Council, Jan. 9, 1836, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. 111, pp 458-460] When communication was thus cut off, a break between the governor and the council was total. The council immediately retaliated with a letter suspending Governor Smith saying that it was they who represented the people. John McMullen was on the committee (R.R. Royall, Chairman) that wrote six resolutions to be delivered to Governor Smith telling him that he had been suspended and Lt. Governor Robinson had been elevated to acting governor by the general council. [Royal et al to the Council, Jan. 11, 1836, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. 111, pp. 477-479] The powers of the governor and the council had not been clearly defined in the fundamental law, but it seemed that both had taken action for which there was no authority. From this bitter conflict in the provisional government, John McMullen emerged as president pro tem of the council.
McMullen's name heads a list of signatures on a lengthy paper, "Council to the Public" in which they declare Governor Smith impeached and list the causes of his fall from office. [Council to the Public, Jan. 11, 1836, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. 111, pp. 470-475] This was a hasty decision made at the crest of a wave of righteous indignation. One cannot help but wonder to what degree, as president pro tem of the council, McMullen's attitude toward the governor may have influenced the rest of the council in their refusal to conciliate. It was a stubborn stand they took in impeaching Governor Smith before an attempt was made to conciliate. Again, one may wonder what qualifications McMullen had that he would be chosen president pro tem of the council. That he could be an unyielding enemy of Smith was not out of character. He spoke and read Spanish which he might have occasion to use; and, he knew something of financial matters from his experience in the mercantile business. There will perhaps always be speculation regarding his choice to steer the fragmented council through turmoil and chaos. They might have thought they saw in him the quality of leadership so badly needed at that time. Governor Smith had made two overtures to the council in writing, the first asking them to call a secret session to which he was sending secret dispatches from Bexar. The next was a letter in which he admitted he had used harsh language. If the council would do likewise, he concluded, acknowledging their errors and correct them, all differences could cease. [Smith to the Council, Jan. 12, 1836, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. 111, pp. 477-479] But the council had been adamant, and the governor's readiness to conciliate and bury the past was flatly turned down. Meanwhile McMullen was serving as chairman of the committee on finance as is shown by the following receipt:
The council was so plagued with the lack of a quorum that it had to conceive of a device to carry on its business. The last quorum was January 17th. It was decided that an advisory committee of five should be appointed to act in the event that the council should be without a quorum. This committee had several duties; the most important of which was to advise the executive. The appointments to this committee were made on the 17th of January, 1836. [Decrees of the Consultation, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. IX, p. 516. 59. Binkley, Correspondence, Vol. 1, pp. 313-314] John McMullen, president pro tem of the council, and J.W. Robinson, acting governor, ordered in a letter to the late Governor Smith stating that he give up the papers and records of all kinds within two hours to John H. Money, marshal of Texas. [Binkley, Correspondence, vol. I, pp. 313-314] Henry Smith refused to give up the papers. Robinson wrote to the advisory committee to order the organization of the militias of the municipalities. The alcaldes were responsible for this under heavy penalty. John McMullen startred his return journey to San Patricio on January 26th if we are to judge by the following document,
On this day when McMullen mounted his horse at San Felipe for his return trip to San Patricio, two hundred miles of freeze-burnt prairie and rolling hills lay before him. Winter, slow to take hold, was now at its peak. Northers came in rapid succession. Some were "wet northers" chilling to the bone only to last a few days until the wind shifted to the southeast again. Then another would build up. The northern sky banking with blue would break into gales, then into gusts that swept the earth and leveled the grass. When the norther stabilized into a "cold spell" it might bring days of freezing weather. It took McMullen eight days or more to make the trip from San Felipe to San Patricio at twenty-five miles a day. He had time to experience a complete cycle of winter weather in Texas---muggy and oppressive warmth, fast-changing winds from south to north, and freezing nights and teeth-chattering days. All the while he rode, his thoughts were riveted on Texas---her predicament---a government almost without authority, no army to speak of, and volunteers pouring in from the United States. They had come to fight, and they wanted action. The council had approved the Matamoros Expedition against the governor's wishes. If it worked, it would keep the war off Texas soil, and satisfy the eager Anglo-American volunteers. Texas needed these volunteers because not all Texans had rallied to the cause. Some thought the war was over after the success of the Siege of Bexar December 5-10, 1835. They stayed on their acres not realizing what was going on politically. Then again McMullen wondered what he would find in San Patricio. Would his colony still be divided? How many had joined the Army of Texas? Was there still that group of hard-core Mexican sympathizers? He wondered as he rode. Another election was to be held February 1st in the municipalities for delegates to a convention on March 1st at Washington-on-the Brazos. He would be back to continue as president pro tem of the council, but who would be the delegates to that convention? After eight weary days on horseback, McMullen rode into San Patricio. There he saw the picket cabins closed tight against the norther. Smoke from the rude chimneys was rising southward with the wind. The parched, brown grass and the bare trees provoked a feeling of desolation and abandonment. Winter laid bare the isolation which his colonists on the Nueces must have felt after leaving the heavily populated countryside of Ireland---always green no matter the season, always beautiful in spite of the oppression and starvation of its people. Yet he realized the potential of Texas and knew that if his colonists would just hang on, they would have much to gain. Upon McMullen's arrival in San Patricio he found that Ira Westover, having resigned from the general council as delegate from Goliad on December 13, had taken up his military career again to become a captain without a company. He had led a company of 40 to capture Fort Lipantitlan on November 3, 1835. Now he must recruit followers anywhere he could find them. His first move was to go to San Patricio, where he had once lived, to recruit whomever he could find. On January 7th he was joined by some men of that place, eight of whose names are known: Andrew Michael O'Boyle, John Fadden, Edward Garner, Edward Ryan, Patrick Neven, Dennis McGowan, George Pittuck, and John McGloin. He filled out his company with others from Refugio and men who had been given leave from La Bahia; 61 then he rejoined Fannin at Goliad. Word had been sent out that an election was to be held February 1st to choose delegates for the convention of March 1st to be held at Washington-on-the-Brazos, and the people of San Patricio were ready for it. McMullen arrived shortly after Col. F.W. Johnson had entered San Patricio with 60 volunteers whom he quartered in three vacated cabins not far from Constitution Square while Captain Thomas K. Pearson and eight artillery men encamped on that square. [McGloin, James "Historical Notes," Lamar Papers, Vol. V, pp. 279-283] Their goal was a match to Matamoros. The finding of these soldiers in San Patricio was no surprise to McMullen, for he had been on the council when the plan for an expedition to Matamoros was approved by the council. On the heels of the arrival of Johnson's men, an election of delegates was to be held on February 1st to determine who would represent San Patricio at the convention of March 1st at Washington-on-the-Brazos. This time the people of San Patricio were ready. The candidates were John White Bower, John McMullen, and John Turner. Empresario James McGloin and Benjamin Odlum were election judges and Festus Doyle was secretary. The people of San Patricio were, in general, displeased with McMullen for his having opposed Governor Smith, for which he had been rewarded with the office of president pro tem of the council and some were further displeased by his being elected to the convention of March 1st; therefore, they let it be known by a memorial and petition, declaring his election fraudulent. [Citizens of San Patricio to the Convention, Binkley, Correspondence, Vol. 1, pp. 376-377] The petition was signed by thirty citizens of San Patricio, twenty-four of whom were Irish and six Mexicans. [NOTE: Those who signed the petition were: Col. F.W. Johnson, John Heffernan, Benjamin Odlum, Nicholas Healey, John Carroll, Thomas Adams, Patrick Fadden, Roderick O'Boyle, Mark Killeley, Simon Ryan, John Ryan, Miguel Delgado, Jerry Scanlan, John Houlihan, Luciano Resendez, Patrick Brennen, Hugh O'Brien, Festus Doyle, Simon Dwyer, Richard Everitt, Patrick Carroll, Theodore Molina, John Molina, Jr., John Molina, Pedro Mous (sic.), James Howard, John Turner, Thomas Pugh] John McMullen was still President pro tem of the Council; this could have been a factor in his election as a candidate to the Convention. Also, John Turner was the representative of San Patricio in the Convention. Both made their way to Washington-on-the-Brazos even though the accusation of a fraudulent election followed McMullen every step of the way. This he would have to contend with when the time came. During the month of February there was practically no business brought before the Council which required the signature of President pro tem of the Council. Since January 17 there had been no quorum and the advisory committee had to take over the work of the council with D.C. Barrett as chairman. Much official correspondence went to Governor Smith, and he continued to sign his name as governor even though he had been suspended by the council and was to appear before the convention of March 1st for a hearing. So Texas found itself with two contending governors, and practically no council. J.E. Conner, eminent historian, has said, "For two months while Santa Anna's army was moving in, Texas was without a government that could act or an army that could fight." During the month of February all correspondence, which either went to ex-governor Smith or acting governor Robinson, concerned the army because it was certain now that an invading army was on its way to Texas. Fannin wrote to Robinson on February 16th telling him of Santa Anna's plan to invade Texas. [Fannin to Robinson, Feb. 17, 1836, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. IV, pp. 350-351] The fight between Governor Smith and the council continued. On the 16th of February Smith wrote at length to D.C. Barrett, chairman of the advisory committee, enumerating against him the charges of fraud, treason, and swindling, saying that he would suspend him (Barrett) as an officer of the government. [Smith to Barrett, Feb. 17, 1836, Jenkins, Papers, Vol. IV, pp. 363-368] Barrett answered in kind on Feb. 20, but announced his resignation from the advisory committee due to health. [Barrett toGovernorand Council, Feb. 23, 1836,jenkins, Papers, Vol. IV, pp. 410, 413] Thompson took his place as chairman. The general council was stymied for lack of members and McMullen's name faded away as president pro tem of the council even though he still held that office. One of the last papers he signed was the following,
When the ill-fated month of February came to an end and the provisional government with there were several contested elections before the convention.
Each member was allowed to speak in his own defense. John Turner of San Patricio had come before the committee of elections and attested that his constituents instructed him to protest against Mr. McMullen being received as a member of the convention. The grounds on which the protest was founded were that many United States volunteers under Johnson, who desired to vote on the day of the election, were denied the right by one election judge; that he heard at least four say that they intended to vote for Mr. Bower. "(If) your committee differs in opinion, I (John Turner) respectfully desire the sense (vote) of the house to be taken on it."
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