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See
The
Great Comanche Raid and Battle of Plum Creek by
Jeffery
Robenalt
"...Further west, veteran frontier leaders
like Matthew “Old Paint” Caldwell and Ben McCulloch were busy gathering
the scattered volunteers at the cabin of Isham Good, one of only two settlers
who were brave enough to settle in the remote area of central
Texas. Good’s cabin stood a mile east of Plum Creek, near the road that led
from Gonzales to the new capital
of Austin.
If Buffalo Hump had
led the war party west from Linnville
and circled south of San Antonio
on the return ride, the Comanches may well have escaped the trap being laid for
them by the Texans. Instead, the war chief continued to lead his warriors to the
northwest on the same trail the war party used to enter the Republic. The Comanches
were heading straight into the arms of impending disaster.
Late in the
afternoon of August 11, Jack Hays rode up to Isham Good’s cabin at the
head of a company of Texas Rangers from San
Antonio. The presence of the hardened veterans lifted the volunteers’ spirits
and helped bolster their confidence. However, Hays’s arrival was soon followed
by General Felix Huston who rode in from Austin.
Huston insisted that since he was a General in the regular Texas Army, he and
not Caldwell, who had been selected by an earlier election of the men, should
take command. Loud and angry protests immediately erupted from the volunteers.
Unlike General Huston, who was virtually unknown and had little experience
in dealing with Indians, “Paint” Caldwell was a familiar figure to most men on
the frontier, and a veteran of countless engagements with the Comanches. The Texans
both knew and trusted him. However, in spite of the objections expressed by the
volunteers, Caldwell felt Houston was entitled to take command, and the men reluctantly
accepted his decision...." more |
