The capital of the Spanish province in Texas, San Antonio de Béxar, played a role in the American Revolution even though it was thousands of miles away from the original 13 Colonies.
Mari Tamez, Heritage Outreach Manager with the Bexar Heritage Center, explains our local ties to America250.
This conversation has been edited for clarity and length.
TAMEZ So we can appreciate that we had a lot of vaqueros — our modern day, or our precursor to modern day cowboy — and we had a lot of ranches here. And in this Bexar County region … and when I say “Bexar County,” historically, Bexar County went all the way up to Wyoming, all the way south by Corpus Christi and Brownsville. So it was a big swath of land, if you will. And there were a lot of ranches.
And so these cattle ranchers, many of them female rancheras, were asked by Galvez — Bernardo de Gálvez was the Spanish governor of Spanish Louisiana — and he gave the call to ask for assistance, because he knew of the cattle ranchers that were out here in this area. And Bexar County itself sent between 9,000-10,000 head of cattle to support the American Revolution.
So that cattle went from Bexar County to La Bahía, which of course, is now modern-day Goliad, to Nacogdoches, to Natchitoches, which is in Louisiana, and then ultimately to Opelousas. And that cattle was used, every bit of it: the meat, the hide, the bones, the fat — because, of course, the fat can be grease — in order to provide sustenance and support for the soldiers.
It was quite an extensive run. They made several trips doing that. They had Spanish soldiers who guarded the cattle. And so there was, there was a significant support system here in local Bexar County to do so.
MARTINEZ: And so maybe paint a picture for us of the population of Bexar County at the time. Who made up the residents of this region?
TAMEZ: Sure. You had several hundred, more or less, residents. But you also had ranchers, and then you had the Native American population that was here. So there were pockets of individuals that were Spanish citizens, but also Native Americans who were at that point, Spanish subjects. I would say they were certainly involved in providing cattle, but other things, other than just the cattle.
The Spanish government asked for donativos, which was a donation, which is really a tax — which is the way we probably all would like to think of our taxes, as donations — but it was a known as a donativo, and each Spanish citizen was asked to give two silver pesos, and the other individuals were asked to give one.
Many of these documents — not all of them — have been uncovered. So there is still a lot of documentation to be done. But this is what we know as of now because of the archivos that provide us (the details). Some of that is in the Bexar County archives. Some of that is in the archives in Mexico City. Some of that (is) in some mission archdiocese archives. Some of them are in Sevilla in Spain.
So luckily, or hopefully, with digitization, we will have a lot more information, but at this time, we don't have all of the documents that will show some of the specifics, but we do know that a broad swath of these families did, in fact, participate and provide the cattle and provide the donativos, and they provided soldier support out of this Bexar County region.
MARTINEZ: So the Spanish provided the cattle. Did they expect anything in return?
TAMEZ: I wouldn't say they expected anything in return. They had the same common enemy, the British. And so they agreed that this was going to be good for all of them —in Europe, in the Americas —this was going to be an important alliance in order to defeat the British and support the colonists in their strive for independence.
MARTINEZ: Well, here in Bexar County, there's going to be a special commemoration of the region's contribution to the American Revolution. It's called Bexar America250. It's going to kick off this Saturday, Feb. 7. Give us some of the highlights of what people can expect, the who's and the where's and the when's.
TAMEZ: Absolutely. So we are excited about kicking off our Bexar America250. This will provide the community opportunity to have some buy in, if you will, for the America250 because, of course, celebrations will be going on throughout the year, but this is an opportunity to share Bexar County's role, so that Bexar County knows that it wasn't something that just happened in the 13 original colonies, but it was something that was meaningful and occurred in our own backyard.
We are excited that we will have the Granaderos join us. They are a group of individuals who portray Bernardo de Gálvez’s regiment.
We will have the Daughters of the American Revolution, the Sons of the American Revolution.
We have the Texas America250. We also have the Queen Sofía Institute from New York. They are a nonprofit in New York City that shares additional information about Spain's role, not only just in the American Revolution, but for anyone interested in learning more about Spain and the United States’ relationship,.
We will have the American Indians in Texas. We will have the Canary Island Descendants Association.
We will have a number of a number of different groups: the National Park Service, the Charro Association will be out there in strength with the Bexar County mounted deputies.
A lot of different groups coming together to highlight support and share the storytelling of Bexar County's role in the American Revolution.
And then we'll have our keynote speaker, which will be Brandon Seale. He's a documentarian who is well versed in history and heritage in our community.
So it proves to be an exciting afternoon. It will be Saturday, February 7, at 12:30 on Main Plaza, right after the Western parade.
MARTINEZ: It's rodeo week, that's right.
TAMEZ: Yes. So, we are combining the love of Western heritage, but for us it will be the love of Bexar County's role and the vaqueros and the rancheras, and the story of how, in fact, this region was steep in culture of what we now know as rodeo culture. But really, it all began with these small ranches with these Spanish land grants, who raised cattle and then contributed that cattle to support the American Revolution. And we now enjoy today our freedom as Americans and as community members in Bexar County.
MARTINEZ: Main Plaza is going to be packed with activity that day. Mari Tamez, thank you so much for coming and talking to us today.
TAMEZ: Thank you so much.
Related events:
The Bexar Heritage Center will host an exhibit based on Bexar America250, opening Feb. 9.
March 20: The Bexar Heritage Center hosts a symposium on donativos.
July 4: Bexar County July 4 celebration at Mission County Park with live music, a carnival, family activities, a drone show, and fireworks.
