Fort Bend County, Texas - Chapter 39, 1904

Thomas J. Smith was a native of Georgia and came to Texas with the Georgia battalion in the fall of 1835 to aid the Texans in their struggle for independence against the government of Mexico. After the first fighting at San Antonio, in which the Texans were successful, Goliad and San Antonio were garrisoned' until the invading army came from Mexico under Santa Anna. Colonel J. W. Fannin was in command at Goliad, and with him were the Georgians. After the fall of the Alamo, in which Colonel Travis and his men perished, a strong force was sent against Fannin. The latter had orders from General Houston to blow up the fort at Goliad and retreat east of the Guadalupe, but one thing and another delayed Fannin until he was compelled to fight the disastrous battle of Colita. In the first place he sent Captain King with about thirty men to bring away some American families from the Mission of Refugio, but these encountered the Mexicans and after a fight made their way into the Mission and there defended themselves for some time until under cover of nijrht a messenger was sent to Fannin informing him of the situation. Colonel Ward was now sent with one hundred men to the relief of King and with these was Thomas J. Smith.

In the meantime the Mexicans had withdrawn and reported to Colonel Urrea, who was with the main body then on his march to Goliad, of the presence of the Texans at the Mission and he at once sent a force of cavalry back to engage them until he could come up with the main force.

When this body of cavalry arrived Colonel Ward and his men had already got into the Mission, and the colonel had given orders for the men to leave the place at daylight on the following morning, and make all haste back to Fannin. When morning came one of the sentinels reported that he believed a large force of Mexicans were in the neighborhood. To be satisfied' on this point. Captain King was sent out with thirteen men to see if such was the case, the Mexicans as yet having not shown themselves. Soon after King left firing was heard in the direction he went, and Colonel Ward, with all the force, left the Mission and hurried to his assistance, but soon found themselves in front of 800 of the enemy and was compelled to retreat back to the Mission. The church was an old stone building, in ruins, but strong. Three sides of it, however, were exposed to an assault. The fourth side was formed by a stone wall, one hundred and fifty feet in length, used as a place of burial, and containing many tombs; from the end of this wall the ground descended.

Captain Bullock's company of thirty-five men were placed in the churchyard to protect the Mission from assault in that direction. The remainder of Ward's command barricaded the church, made loopholes, and otherwise prepared for defense. General Urrea now ordered a charge, at the same time bringing up a small cannon to batter down the door. The Texans waited until their rifies could take good effect, and then opened up such a fire, that the Mexicans, after repeated charges, broke away and fied. This battle, however, lasted nearly the whole day of the 14th of March, and the Mexican loss, in killed and wounded, was about two hundred. The Texans only had three severely wounded.

the Texans, finding their ammunition nearly exhausted, determined to retreat; but as they could not remove their \\'ounded, they resolved first to leave them a supply of water. Accordingly, after dark, the whole Texan command marched to the spring, about four hundred jmrds distant, scattered the enemy's guards stationed there - killing four of them - supplied themselves with water, filled the gourds of their wounded companions, and bade them a last farewell. Colonel AA'ard, with his forces, then set out on their retreat ; and, marching through the woods and swamps, where the enemy's cavalry could not follow, they reached the San Antonio Kiver on the third day. On the second day, however, a few of the men left the command in search of water, but did not return. The next morning, on the 19th, Ward crossed the river, and went in the direction of Victoria. That evening they heard Fannin and the gallant boys with him fighting the battle of Colita, They had abandoned Goliad and commenced their retreat towards the east, but had been overtaken in the open prairie by the whole Mexican enemy. Ward and his men attempted to reach the battle, but, darkness coming on, they found themselves in the Guadalupe swamp, where they spent the night. On the following morning they left the bottom and went into the prairie, but were attacked by 500 ^Mexican cavalry. They fired three rounds, but now, their ammunition being exhausted, they retreated back into the swamp and spent another night. The next day they set out again and arrived at Victoria, where, finding a large Mexican force, and learning that Fannin and his men were all taken, surrendered' themselves as prisoners of war.

King and his men were all killed, stripped of their clothing, and left on the prairie. The three wounded Texans left at the Mission were also killed.

After the surrender, part of Ward's men were detailed as laborers. The river at Vietoria was swollen and twelve carpenters and four (Choppers were called for to build a boat. Thomas J. Smith was a gunsmith and blacksmith and could also do carpenter's work, and was one of those selected to perform the work above mentioned. Among others were Pierce Bammock, H. Mordecai (a Jew), Thomas Harry, Dr. Lampkin, Ed. Patterson, A. J. Hitchcock, and three who were footworn remained, the others being hurried on to Groliad to meet their fate there a few days afterw^ards, w^hen Fannin's command was executed.

Among those left footsore was Mordecai. He escaped wdth his life on that occasion, but w"as killed by Indians on the 9th day of August, 1840, during the great raid of the Comanches that year, in w^hich they burned Linnville.

While these men w^ere engaged in constructing the boat, or about the time it w^as completed, ten of Ward's men w^ho had become separated from the command were captured and brought in and executed. Smith and four others w^ere taken to the west side of the river (Guadalupe) to throw^ the bodies of these unfortunate comrades into the stream and w^ould themselves have been executed at the same time but for the intercession of Colonel Holtzinger, a German officer, wffio belonged to the Mexican army. Mr. Smith and others w^ere retained until after the battle of San Jacinto, and during that time he had to work on guns and mould bullets to be used against the Texans. Great confusion prevailed among the Mexicans, when the news of San Jacinto came, and many of them commenced a retreat, leaving the prisoners, but some would even then have been executed but for the good offices of Colone] Holtzinger. Mr. Smith made his escape, some say by being left by the guards, and others that he bribed the officer in command over him. Be this as it may, he came soon after the war was over to Fort Bend County and made it his home the balance of his days, dying in Richmond in 1890. During his long residence in Fort Bend County he kept a hotel and livery business at various times, and served the county also as sheriff.

At Richmond, in 1843, he married Miss Mary E. Brein. Survived her and later married the widow, Bassett. Of the first marriage survive of his children Mrs. M. E. Russell, of Richmond; M. E. Smith, of Taylor, and W. H. Smith, of Houston. Thomas Smith, another son, was killed on a train by a negro desperado (who was himself instantly killed by another deputy), near Red River in 1896, while serving as Deputy United States Marshal. He left a large family, now living in Houston. Of the second marriage Mrs. T. J. Harvey, now dead; Louis Smith, now dead, and Mrs. Nora Briscoe, now living in Fort Bend County; one daughter, Virginia, married Walter Jones, both now dead.