Augustus William Magee was an U.S. Army lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

 and filibuster

Filibuster (military)

A filibuster, or freebooter, is someone who engages in an unauthorized military expedition into a foreign country to foment or support a revolution...

 who led an invasion of Spanish Texas

Spanish Texas

Spanish Texas was one of the interior provinces of New Spain from 1690 until 1821. Although Spain claimed ownership of the territory, which comprised part of modern-day Texas, including the land north of the Medina and Nueces Rivers, the Spanish did not attempt to colonize the area until after...

 in 1812.

Augustus Magee was born in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1809, he graduated third in his class at West Point. He served under Gen.

General (United States)

In the United States Army, United States Air Force, and United States Marine Corps, general is a four-star general officer rank, with the pay grade of O-10. General ranks above lieutenant general and below General of the Army or General of the Air Force; the Marine Corps does not have an...

 James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson

James Wilkinson was an American soldier and statesman, who was associated with several scandals and controversies. He served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, but was twice compelled to resign...

 at Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Baton Rouge is the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is located in East Baton Rouge Parish and is the second-largest city in the state.Baton Rouge is a major industrial, petrochemical, medical, and research center of the American South...

, and then at Fort Jessup under general and future president Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor

Zachary Taylor was the 12th President of the United States and an American military leader. Initially uninterested in politics, Taylor nonetheless ran as a Whig in the 1848 presidential election, defeating Lewis Cass...

. He was effective but harsh in his treatment of settlers and outlaws in the disputed Neutral Ground between the Arroyo Hondo

Calcasieu River

The Calcasieu River is a river on the Gulf Coast of southwestern Louisiana, U.S.A.. Approximately long, it drains a largely rural area of forests and bayou country, meandering southward to the Gulf of Mexico. The name "Calcasieu" comes from the Native American Atakapa language katkosh, for...

 and the Sabine River and was recommended for but refused promotion.

Frustrated with his prospects, he became involved with Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara

Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara

Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara was the first constitutional governor of the state of Tamaulipas, and a native of Revilla, today Ciudad Guerrero, Mexico.-Biography:...

's plan to support the Mexican War of Independence

Mexican War of Independence

The Mexican War of Independence was an armed conflict between the people of Mexico and the Spanish colonial authorities which started on 16 September 1810. The movement, which became known as the Mexican War of Independence, was led by Mexican-born Spaniards, Mestizos and Amerindians who sought...

 through an invasion of Texas from American soil. Although this proposal defied the Neutrality Act

Neutrality Act of 1794

The Neutrality Act of 1794 made it illegal for an American to wage war against any country at peace with the United States.The Act declared in part:...

, Magee resigned his commission and personally recruited many of the soldiers.

Leaving Natchitoches

Natchitoches, Louisiana

Natchitoches is a city in and the parish seat of Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, United States. Established in 1714 by Louis Juchereau de St. Denis as part of French Louisiana, the community was named after the Natchitoches Indian tribe. The City of Natchitoches was first incorporated on February...

 with 130 men on 2 August 1812, now-Colonel

Colonel

Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...

 Magee crossed the Sabine six days later. On the tenth, he was joined by General Gutiérrez; on the sixteenth, the combined force entered Nacogdoches

Nacogdoches, Texas

Nacogdoches is a city in Nacogdoches County, Texas, in the United States. The 2010 census recorded the city's population to be 32,996. It is the county seat of Nacogdoches County and is situated in East Texas. Nacogdoches is a sister city of Natchitoches, Louisiana.Nacogdoches is the home of...

. The force (now swollen to about 300) occupied Santísima Trinidad de Salcedo

Trinidad, Texas

Trinidad is a city in Henderson County, Texas, United States, near the Trinity River from which the town's name was derived. The population was 1,091 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Trinidad is located at ....

 on the Trinity River

Trinity River (Texas)

The Trinity River is a long river that flows entirely within the U.S. state of Texas. It rises in extreme north Texas, a few miles south of the Red River. The headwaters are separated by the high bluffs on the south side of the Red River....

 in the middle of September. Here Magee became ill. Some sources attribute this to consumption

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...

 or malaria

Malaria

Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...

, but the papers of Mirabeau Lamar preserve the Texan rumor that Magee was poisoned by his men, many of whom were among those he had previously mistreated at his former command.

Through a long illness, he remained in nominal military command before dying while besieged at the Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía

Presidio La Bahía

The Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, known more commonly as Presidio La Bahia, or simply La Bahia is a fort constructed by the Spanish Army that became the nucleus of the city of Goliad, Texas, United States. Originally founded in 1721 on the ruins of the failed French Fort Saint...

 in modern Goliad, Texas

Goliad, Texas

Goliad is a city in Goliad County, Texas, United States. It had a population of 1975 at the 2000 census. Founded on the San Antonio River, it is the county seat of Goliad County. It is part of the Victoria, Texas Metropolitan Statistical Area. Goliad is located on U.S. Highway 59, named also for...

. He was succeeded in command of the expedition by Samuel Kemper

Samuel Kemper

Samuel Kemper was an American adventurer and filibusterer.Born in Fauquier County, Virginia, Kemper was involved with his brothers in the 1804 rebellion in West Florida. He later participated in the 1812-13 Gutiérrez-Magee Expedition into Spanish Texas, becoming commander of after the death of...

.

Sources

• Davis, William C. The Pirates Laffite and The Treacherous World of the Corsairs of the Gulf. New York: Harcourt, 2005. p. 141.
• Lamar, Mirabeau. "Information from Capt. Gaines." 1835. Retrieved 13 February 2010.