to employ mercenaries for the Republic of the Rio Grande (see note 10, Chapter VI). The arrangement quickly soured, however, when the Texans, under the command of Samuel Jordan, insisted on sacking the very towns the federalists hoped to win over to their cause. Suspicious of the Texans' motives and outraged by their excesses, Canales' brother-in-law, Juan N. Molano, negotiated with centralist leaders to end the war and betray the Texans under his command. At Ojo del Agua, Molano pretended to lead his troops into battle, and at a prearranged signal the federalists galloped toward enemy lines, abandoning Jordan and his men, who were now compelled to fight their way out of the country. Several Texans on the Mier Expedition had served under Jordan and blamed Antonio Canales for the affair, although it is unlikely that he had any prior knowledge of the subterfuge. Joseph Milton Nance, After San Jacinto, 316-317.

     10. As an officer under General Woll in the recent Mexican campaign against San Antonio, Carasco had displayed an eagerness to avoid bloodshed. When Woll's troops attacked the town on the morning of September 11, Carasco convinced the Anglo residents of Bexar to lay down their arms, impressing upon them the hopelessness of their situation. One week later, Mexican troops under Carasco engaged Dawson's company as it advanced to join the Texans at Salado Creek, but again the Mexican colonel moved to end the carnage once the defeat of Dawson's men was assured. According to Z. N. Morrell, whose son was among the Dawson survivors, Carasco drew his sword and drove his men away, thereby putting a stop to the slaughter. Morrell, Flowers and Fruits from the Wilderness, 174.

     11. Dr. John J. Sinnickson was roundly censured by many of the Texans who, like Green, believed that Ampudia had tricked them into surrendering. McCutchan, Mier Expedition Diary, 53-54.

     12. The Mexicans who crossed the Texans' lines were General Rómulo Díaz de la Vega; Colonel José Maria Carasco; Colonel Santiago Blanco, adjutant to General Ampudia; and Padre Rafael de Lira, the priest of Camargo. According to Mier participant Joseph McCutchan, Trinidad Alderete, an interpreter, accompanied these men. McCutchan, Mier Expedition Diary, 51.

     13. Fisher later explained his decision as follows: "I did not allow Gen. Green to use any offensive measures towards the officers who accompanied the white flag, because...[it] is the emblem of good faith, and should be so regarded by civilized men, no matter how much barbarians may abuse its sacred character." Northern Standard, January 14, 1846.

     14. Lynn Bobo was taken to Matamoros, where he died.

     15. Fisher was stung by Green's insinuation that his remarks had induced the men to surrender and by charges of other Mier participants that his timid leadership had been responsible for the battle's outcome. In his own account of this episode, Fisher stated that several hours of combat had left the Texans in a state of utter confusion, and he had accepted Ampudia's offer of a one-hour cease-fire in the hope that order could be restored among his ranks. At the end of the allotted time he walked to the plaza, where he informed General Ampudia that he and his men had decided to reject the terms of surrender. Upon returning to the houses where the Texans were positioned, however, he found that some of his men were abandoning their posts, having decided to give up their arms regardless of his decision. When "no command or entreaty would induce them to return to their duty," Fisher returned to Ampudia's headquarters, to take advantage of the Mexican general's terms before it was too late. In 1846, after reading Green's version of the episode, Fisher added: "I capitulated at Mier because under the circumstances...I considered it the only means of saving the lives of even a portion of the command. Had I been placed in the same irresponsible situation as Gen. Green, I also might have 'blustered, vapored, tore my hair and broke my gun'; but alas, as the lives of 241 men and the issue of happiness or misery of their families depended on my decision, I acted as I did." Telegraph and Texas Register, August 2, 1843; Northern Standard, January 14, 1846.

     16. Green is referring to Captain Miguel Aznar, the highest-ranking officer among the Mexican