Texas Santa Fe Expedition

The Texan Santa Fe Expedition (English: Texan Santa Fe Expedition ) was a between 19-20. June and 5 October 1841 by a Texan force under the command of General Hugh McLeod ( 1814-1862 ), undertaken experiment, the area around the city of Santa Fe, which belonged to the Mexican province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México to annex.

Expiration

The Texan Santa Fe expedition was by then President of the Republic of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar (1798-1859), initiated to get the extremely lucrative trade on the Santa Fe Trail under Texas control. In this way, Lamar hoped not only the financial situation of the young Republic to improve, but also their territory to that part of Mexico, on the Texas already laid claim to enlarge.

A total of 321 participants of the expedition, which carried the name Santa Fe Pioneers broke on 19 or June 20, 1841 by Kenney 's Fort on Brushy Creek, about 20 miles north of Austin located on. Lack of local knowledge, attacks by Comanche and Kiowa and lack of water and provisions put the expedition during the march to be strong and let the morale of their subscribers to decline rapidly. In September 1841 succeeded by a Mexican governor Manuel Armijo ( 1793-1854 ) sent detachment of the Mexican army to force the advance party of the expedition at Anton Chico to surrender. Soon after, the Mexicans were also the location of the Texas main force account, which had now come to the vicinity of Tucumcari. Given the poor physical condition of his remaining men, who made a continuation of the mission hopeless, General McLeod decided now also on October 5, 1841 to capitulate to the Mexicans. To have without firing a shot, was advised in this way the entire main force of Texans without a fight in captivity.

Had the Mexicans initially promised to treat the completely exhausted Texans well, so soon became evident that the exact opposite was the case. From the Mexican side was finally decided to bring the prisoners to Mexico City, where they were treated on the long way to get there with demonstrative hardness. Your fate not only led to heated diplomatic activities between Mexico on one side and Texas and the United States on the other side, but also a strong anti- Mexican sentiment in the general public of both countries.

The surviving participants of the Texan Santa Fe Expedition, which was held prisoner in different places of Mexico, were released by the Mexican authorities only in April 1842.