Salado Creek
Encyclopedia
Salado Creek is a waterway in San Antonio
that runs from Northern Bexar County for about 38 miles (61.2 km) to the San Antonio River
near Buena Vista.
was plugged in Fort Sam Houston
that had been used for irrigation
for farmers. The well had maintained the ecosystem
of the creek since a decline in the number of springs that had fed it. In 1995, plans to revitalize the creek began. Groups such as the Salado Creek Foundation began work to restore the historic significance of the creek as a link of Northern Bexar County to the missions
in the South. The creek was affected by the Floods of 1998 causing property damage and unconstructive erosion
to the creek bed. In March 2001, the San Antonio Water System's Salado Creek WRC began using recycled water to help the creek flow regularly for the first time in almost ten years.
explorer Domingo Ramón. It has been the site of two battles in Texas History including the 1813 Battle of Rosillo and the 1842 Battle of Salado Creek following the Texas Revolution
.
The Battle of Rosillo (Called the Battle of Salado Creek at the time) started as a siege of Presidio La Bahía
from November 7, 1812, to February 19, 1813 for the purpose of trying to recapture the fort after the Republican army of Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara
and Samuel Kemper
numbered at 600 to 900 men, had taken over. The Spanish Royalist Army of Texas Governor Manuel María de Salcedo
and Nuevo León
governor Simón de Herrera had retreated back to San Antonio. In March 1813, the Royalist army, numbering 950 to 1,500, had planned an ambush on the Republicans as they marched and searched for food along the creek banks. The Republicans caught sight of the Royalists and routed them within an hour, killing between 100 and 330 of the Royalists and capturing most of their arms and ammunition, six cannons, and 1,500 horses and mules at the expense of only six men. After the battle, the Royalists retreated back to San Antonio, signed a truce with Kemper on April 1, and surrendered Salcedo and Herrera. On April 3, Salcedo, Herrera, and twelve prisoners of war were executed by the Republican army at the site of the battle. On April 6, 1813, the first Declaration of Independence
and Constitution
for Texas were drafted and Gutiérrez was named President
, establishing the first Republic of Texas. The new Republic was destroyed on August 18, 1813 at the fateful Battle of Medina
.
A later Battle of Salado Creek (1842)
was fought between the volunteers of the Texas Republic and the Mexican
forces of Brig. General and French
soldier
Adrián Woll
. The battle began following Brig. General Ráfael Vásquez
's incursion of San Antonio in March 1842. The volunteers prepared for battle but believed that peace was on the horizon after the release of prisoners from the failed Santa Fe Expedition. Because of this a potential attack was called off by President Sam Houston
. However on September 11, 1842 Brig. Gen. Adrián Woll entered San Antonio with 1,000 regular infantry
and 500 irregular cavalry
. After this, around 200 volunteers from Gonzales
, Seguin
, and other lower Colorado River
settlements joined together under Capt. Mathew Caldwell
on the east bank of Salado Creek. They met up there with Capt. John C. Hays's regiment of fourteen rangers. The men took advantage of their good position on the bank and killed 60 Mexicans, losing only one of their own. After the victory, Capt. Nicholas Mosby Dawson decided to travel down from La Grange
with his 53 man company and finish off Woll. The results were disastrous leading to the infamous Dawson Massacre
.
and the common carp
have been caught in Salado Creek.
San Antonio, Texas
San Antonio is the seventh-largest city in the United States of America and the second-largest city within the state of Texas, with a population of 1.33 million. Located in the American Southwest and the south–central part of Texas, the city serves as the seat of Bexar County. In 2011,...
that runs from Northern Bexar County for about 38 miles (61.2 km) to the San Antonio River
San Antonio River
The San Antonio River is a major waterway that originates in central Texas in a cluster of springs in north central San Antonio, approximately four miles north of downtown, and follows a roughly southeastern path through the state. It eventually feeds into the Guadalupe River about ten miles from...
near Buena Vista.
Watershed
In 1992, a wellWater well
A water well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, boring or drilling to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The well water is drawn by an electric submersible pump, a trash pump, a vertical turbine pump, a handpump or a mechanical pump...
was plugged in Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston
Fort Sam Houston is a U.S. Army post in San Antonio, Texas.Known colloquially as "Fort Sam," it is named for the first President of the Republic of Texas, Sam Houston....
that had been used for irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
for farmers. The well had maintained the ecosystem
Ecosystem
An ecosystem is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular area, as well as all the nonliving , physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water and sunlight....
of the creek since a decline in the number of springs that had fed it. In 1995, plans to revitalize the creek began. Groups such as the Salado Creek Foundation began work to restore the historic significance of the creek as a link of Northern Bexar County to the missions
Spanish missions in Texas
The Spanish Missions in Texas comprise a series of religious outposts established by Spanish Catholic Dominicans, Jesuits, and Franciscans to spread the Christian doctrine among the local Native Americans, but with the added benefit of giving Spain a toehold in the frontier land. The missions...
in the South. The creek was affected by the Floods of 1998 causing property damage and unconstructive erosion
Erosion
Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
to the creek bed. In March 2001, the San Antonio Water System's Salado Creek WRC began using recycled water to help the creek flow regularly for the first time in almost ten years.
History
The Creek was given its name in 1716 by SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
explorer Domingo Ramón. It has been the site of two battles in Texas History including the 1813 Battle of Rosillo and the 1842 Battle of Salado Creek following the Texas Revolution
Texas Revolution
The Texas Revolution or Texas War of Independence was an armed conflict between Mexico and settlers in the Texas portion of the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The war lasted from October 2, 1835 to April 21, 1836...
.
The Battle of Rosillo (Called the Battle of Salado Creek at the time) started as a siege of Presidio 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...
from November 7, 1812, to February 19, 1813 for the purpose of trying to recapture the fort after the Republican army of 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:...
and 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...
numbered at 600 to 900 men, had taken over. The Spanish Royalist Army of Texas Governor Manuel María de Salcedo
Manuel María de Salcedo
Manuel María de Salcedo y Quiroga , Manuel María de Salcedo y Quiroga , Manuel María de Salcedo y Quiroga , (Malaga, Spain, (1776 - executed, 3 April 1813), was a governor of Spanish Texas from 1808 until his execution in 1813. Salcedo gained leadership experience helping his father Juan Manuel de...
and Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
governor Simón de Herrera had retreated back to San Antonio. In March 1813, the Royalist army, numbering 950 to 1,500, had planned an ambush on the Republicans as they marched and searched for food along the creek banks. The Republicans caught sight of the Royalists and routed them within an hour, killing between 100 and 330 of the Royalists and capturing most of their arms and ammunition, six cannons, and 1,500 horses and mules at the expense of only six men. After the battle, the Royalists retreated back to San Antonio, signed a truce with Kemper on April 1, and surrendered Salcedo and Herrera. On April 3, Salcedo, Herrera, and twelve prisoners of war were executed by the Republican army at the site of the battle. On April 6, 1813, the first Declaration of Independence
Declaration of independence
A declaration of independence is an assertion of the independence of an aspiring state or states. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the territory of another nation or failed nation, or are breakaway territories from within the larger state...
and Constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
for Texas were drafted and Gutiérrez was named President
President
A president is a leader of an organization, company, trade union, university, or country.Etymologically, a president is one who presides, who sits in leadership...
, establishing the first Republic of Texas. The new Republic was destroyed on August 18, 1813 at the fateful Battle of Medina
Battle of Medina
The Battle of Medina was fought approximately 20 miles south of San Antonio de Bexar on August 18, 1813 as part of the Mexican War of Independence against Spanish authority in Mexico...
.
A later Battle of Salado Creek (1842)
Battle of Salado Creek (1842)
The Battle of Salado Creek was a decisive engagement in 1842 which repulsed the final Mexican invasion of Texas. Colonel Mathew Caldwell of the Texas Rangers led just over 200 militiamen against an army of 1,600 Mexican Army troops and Cherokee warriors and defeated them outside of San Antonio de...
was fought between the volunteers of the Texas Republic and the Mexican
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
forces of Brig. General and French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
soldier
Soldier
A soldier is a member of the land component of national armed forces; whereas a soldier hired for service in a foreign army would be termed a mercenary...
Adrián Woll
Adrián Woll
Adrián Woll was a French soldier of fortune and mercenary who served as a general in the army of Mexico during the Texas Revolution and the Mexican-American War.-Biography:...
. The battle began following Brig. General Ráfael Vásquez
Ráfael Vásquez (Mexican general)
Ráfael Vásquez was a 19th-Century General in the Mexican Army during the Mexican rebellion against the centralist style rule of government.-Early life:...
's incursion of San Antonio in March 1842. The volunteers prepared for battle but believed that peace was on the horizon after the release of prisoners from the failed Santa Fe Expedition. Because of this a potential attack was called off by President Sam Houston
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston, known as Sam Houston , was a 19th-century American statesman, politician, and soldier. He was born in Timber Ridge in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia, of Scots-Irish descent. Houston became a key figure in the history of Texas and was elected as the first and third President of...
. However on September 11, 1842 Brig. Gen. Adrián Woll entered San Antonio with 1,000 regular infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
and 500 irregular cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
. After this, around 200 volunteers from Gonzales
Gonzales, Texas
Gonzales is a city in Gonzales County, Texas, United States. The population was 7,202 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Gonzales County.-Geography:Gonzales is located at...
, Seguin
Seguin, Texas
Seguin is a city in Guadalupe County, Texas, in the United States. It is part of the San Antonio-New Braunfels Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 22,011; the July 1, 2009 Census estimate, however, showed the population had increased to 26,842...
, and other lower Colorado River
Colorado River (Texas)
The Colorado River is a river that runs through the U.S. state of Texas; it should not be confused with the much longer Colorado River which flows from Colorado into the Gulf of California....
settlements joined together under Capt. Mathew Caldwell
Mathew Caldwell
Mathew Caldwell, , also spelled Matthew Caldwell was a 19th century Texas settler, military figure, Captain of the Gonzales - Seguin Rangers and a signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence...
on the east bank of Salado Creek. They met up there with Capt. John C. Hays's regiment of fourteen rangers. The men took advantage of their good position on the bank and killed 60 Mexicans, losing only one of their own. After the victory, Capt. Nicholas Mosby Dawson decided to travel down from La Grange
La Grange, Texas
La Grange is a city in Fayette County, Texas, near the Colorado River. The population was 4,478 at the 2000 census. The 2006 estimated population was 4,645. But a 2010 census estimated that the city had a population of 4,923...
with his 53 man company and finish off Woll. The results were disastrous leading to the infamous Dawson Massacre
Dawson Massacre
The Dawson Massacre, also called the Dawson Expedition, was an incident during the Mexican Invasions of Texas, in which thirty-six Texan militiamen were killed by Mexican soldiers with artillery on September 17, 1842 near San Antonio de Bexar...
.
Recreation
According to Texas Parks and Wildlife only bluegillBluegill
The Bluegill is a species of freshwater fish sometimes referred to as bream, brim, or copper nose. It is a member of the sunfish family Centrarchidae of the order Perciformes.-Range and distribution:...
and the common carp
Common carp
The Common carp is a widespread freshwater fish of eutrophic waters in lakes and large rivers in Europe and Asia. The wild populations are considered vulnerable to extinction, but the species has also been domesticated and introduced into environments worldwide, and is often considered an invasive...
have been caught in Salado Creek.
External links
- Salado Creek at The Edwards Aquifer Website