The Battle of Rosillo Creek (also known as the Battle of Rosalis) was a conflict between the

Republican Army of the North Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

and Spanish Royalist forces which occurred on March 29, 1813 in

Coahuila y Tejas Coahuila y Tejas, officially the Estado Libre y Soberano de Coahuila y Tejas (), was one of the constituent states of the newly established United Mexican States under its 1824 Constitution. It had two capitals: first Saltillo (1822–1825) for ...

. The battle took place during the

Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition The Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition was an 1812–1813 joint filibustering expedition by Mexico and the United States against Spanish Texas during the early years of the Mexican War of Independence. Background In 1810, Father Miguel Hidalgo y Cost ...

, a

filibustering A filibuster is a political procedure in which one or more members of a legislative body prolong debate on proposed legislation so as to delay or entirely prevent decision. It is sometimes referred to as "talking a bill to death" or "talking out ...

campaign which took place during the

Mexican War of Independence The Mexican War of Independence ( es, Guerra de Independencia de México, links=no, 16 September 1810 – 27 September 1821) was an armed conflict and political process resulting in Mexico's independence from Spain. It was not a single, co ...

The combatants

The battle involved the Republican Army of the North (RAN), which was led by filibusters

Samuel Kemper Samuel Kemper (died 1814) was an American adventurer and filibuster. Filibustering activities Born in Fauquier County, Virginia, Kemper was involved, along with his brothers Reuben and Nathan Kemper, in the 1804 rebellion against Spanish authori ...

(who had been involved in an 1804 rebellion in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

Augustus Magee Augustus William Magee (also McGee); (1789 – February 6, 1813) was a U.S. Army lieutenant and later a military filibuster who led the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition into Spanish Texas in 1812. Early life and military career Augustus Magee was bor ...

, and

Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara José Bernardo Maximiliano Gutiérrez de Lara (August 20, 1774 – May 13, 1841) was an advocate and organizer of Mexican independence and the first constitutional governor of the state of Tamaulipas, and a native of Revilla, today Ciudad Guerr ...

, the expedition's leader, fighting against the Spanish Royalist forces commanded by

Manuel María de Salcedo Manuel María de Salcedo y Quiroga, (1776 in Málaga, Spain – executed, April 3, 1813), was a governor of Spanish Texas from 1808 until his execution in 1813. Salcedo gained leadership experience helping his father Juan Manuel de Salcedo, ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of the province of Texas, and

Simón de Herrera Simón de Herrera y Leyva (1754–1813) was a lifelong political and military professional for Spain, primarily in the lands known as New Spain and at times ventured to Europe. He became an interim governor of Spanish Texas at San Antonio and ...

, the governor of

Nuevo León Nuevo León () is a state in the northeast region of Mexico. The state was named after the New Kingdom of León, an administrative territory from the Viceroyalty of New Spain, itself was named after the historic Spanish Kingdom of León. With a ...

. The RAN comprised Anglo-

Americans Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multi ...

Mexicans Mexicans ( es, mexicanos) are the citizens of the United Mexican States. The most spoken language by Mexicans is Spanish language, Spanish, but some may also speak languages from 68 different Languages of Mexico, Indigenous linguistic groups ...

and Indigenous Indians. The group also had some help from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Background

In 1812 the RAN crossed over the Sabine River from

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

into Texas. Flying a green flag, they captured the town of

Nacogdoches Nacogdoches ( ) is a small city in East Texas and the county seat of Nacogdoches County, Texas, United States. The 2020 U.S. census recorded the city's population at 32,147. Nacogdoches is a sister city of the smaller, similarly named Natchitoch ...

on August 7, 1812. They quickly marched to

Goliad Goliad ( ) is a city in Goliad County, Texas, United States. It is known for the 1836 Goliad massacre during the Texas Revolution. It had a population of 1,620 at the 2020 census. Founded on the San Antonio River, it is the county seat of Gol ...

, where they captured the

Presidio La Bahía The Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, known more commonly as Presidio La Bahía, or simply La Bahía is a fort constructed by the Spanish Army that became the nucleus of the modern-day city of Goliad, Texas, United States. The curre ...

. Kemper became a commander of the force upon the death of Colonel Magee there. From November 13, 1812, to February 19, 1813, Goliad was besieged when the

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of governme ...

army finally arrived to confront them. Unable to defeat the Republican Army, however, the Royalists were forced to retreat to San Antonio in March, 1813. Kemper and the RAN, numbering about 900 men, pursued.

The battle

The Royalist force, numbering 1,500 men, planned to ambush the RAN from a ridge which overlooked

Rosillo Creek Rosillo Creek begins approximately 0.5 miles north of FM 1976, in northeastern Bexar County, Texas, within the city limits of Windcrest, Texas, and flows southwestward for 18 miles through the Rosillo Creek Basin. The creek has an elevation rangi ...

near its confluence with

Salado Creek Salado Creek ( ) is a waterway in San Antonio that runs from northern Bexar County for about to the San Antonio River near Buena Vista.San Antonio de Bexar ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. Their trap failed when they were detected by the Republican forces, who defeated them in less than an hour. At a

cost In production, research, retail, and accounting, a cost is the value of money that has been used up to produce something or deliver a service, and hence is not available for use anymore. In business, the cost may be one of acquisition, in which ...

of six men, the Republican Army killed 100 to 330 Royalists and captured

materiel Materiel (; ) refers to supplies, equipment, and weapons in military supply-chain management, and typically supplies and equipment in a commercial supply chain context. In a military context, the term ''materiel'' refers either to the specifi ...

including six cannon and 1,500 horses.''Battle of Rosillo''
/ref>

Aftermath

The Royalists retreated to

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

where they

surrendered Surrender, in military terms, is the relinquishment of control over territory, combatants, fortifications, ships or armament to another power. A surrender may be accomplished peacefully or it may be the result of defeat in battle. A sovereign ...

to the Republican Army on April 1. Two days later Salcedo, Herrera, and 12 others were executed by the victors. On April 6 the Republican Army issued a draft declaration of independence.

Location

The battle site is near the present-day intersection of W. W. White and Hildebrandt roads in southeastern

Bexar County Bexar County ( or ; es, Béxar ) is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. It is in South Texas and its county seat is San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 2,009,324. Bexar County is included in the San Antonio–New Bra ...

in the U.S. state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

, nine miles southeast of what is now

downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It also serves as the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. In addition to being encircled by Loops 1604 ...

References

Sources

*"The Sons of the Republic of Texas" By Thomas B. Green, (2003) *"Texas Tales Your Teacher Never Told You" by C. F. Eckhardt, published by Wordware publishing, Inc. (Regional Division) *"Program for Ceremonies Commemorating the 175th Anniversary of the Battle of Medina August 21, 1988" by Robert H. Thonhoff *"Green Flag Over Texas" by Julia Kathryn Garrett, Cordova Press, New York

External links

''Battle of Rosillo/Medina''
geocities; October 26, 2009

Bexar County news; at Compact 4 {{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Rosillo Creek

Spanish Texas

1813 in New Spain March 1813 events