Foundation In June 1753, Lt.
Juan Galvan and Father Miguel de Aranda were sent on an expedition to explore
Apacheria, and selected a spot on the San saba river for a mission, marking the spot with a large wooden cross. a subsequent expedition by
Pedro de Rabago y Teran and Father Jose Lopes in Dec. 1754 to the same area named the site "Paso de la Santa Cruz", and recommended a stone and mortar fort with four
curtains with two guns each. A detachment of 6 men under Corporal Carlos de Uraga was attacked on the
Pedernales River the next day, while on their way to warn Lt. Juan Galvan's supply train en route from San Antonio. Parilla reinforced the supply train of 50 pack animals with 22 men, and provided 8 soldiers, with two cannons, to the Mission on 15 March when Father Terreros refused to seek sanctuary at the Presidio. Three hours after sunrise on 16 March, Joseph Gutierrez arrived at the Presidio, having been sent by the Mission steward, to tell of "the arrival of the Indians and their bad behavior", the Indians armed with "French firearms, bullet pouches, and very large powder horns...others had pikes, and still others, bows and arrows; but most of them had muskets and cutlasses..." Parilla then sent Sergeant Flores and four men to reinforce the Mission., where he discovered "the road for almost three quarters of a league crowded with hostile Indians, and the Mission stockade completely surrounded by Indians firing their muskets." Still attempting to enter the Mission, Flores' men advanced but the "Indians formed a column and marched rapidly toward the Presidio...as soon as the Indians had advanced to within musket range, they fired a volley at the squad of soldiers", wounding three. Flores estimated 1,500 Indians were moving forward to attack the Presidio, when he saw 3 San Antonio Mission Indians who "brought the news that the Texas and Comanche Indians had set fire to the stockyard and the houses at the Mission..." Parilla held a
council of war, where it was decided "the surprise assault on the Mission was now an accomplished fact and its destruction verified...the Presidio lay exposed to a similar attack...the Indians...could easily overwhelm any detachment sent out from the Presidio." Parilla collected all 59 of his remaining men (41 were on assignment elsewhere), plus the 237 women and children, into the Presidio at sunset, and then sent Flores to determine the situation at the Mission. Flores discovered "all the dwellings and other Mission buildings were in flames..." Several were able to escape however, including Father Miguel Molina as "the Indians were intent upon pillage and plunder, presuming that no one could escape alive through the flames raging everywhere." Lt. Juan Galvan's supply train force of 22 soldiers and
muleteers arrived at the Presidio on 17 March. The next day, the Indians were observed to be marching north. The Indians had slain 8 persons, including Fathers Terreros and Santiesteban, while 17 of the Indians were killed. During the summer a large band of Apaches near the Presidios were attacked by northern Indians, killing 50 plus, and in Dec., another 21 were killed by northern Indians, all armed with muskets. On 30 March 1759, Indians stole 700 horses, mules and cattle belonging to the Presidio, killing the detail of soldiers assigned to guard them, leaving the garrison with only 27 horses.
Vengeance On 27 June 1758, the Viceroy Marques de las Amarillas approved a campaign to punish the northern tribes. Parilla held a special council in San Antonio, on 3 Jan. 1759, with the governors of Coahuila and Texas plus the frontier officers, in which they recommended a force of 500. The Viceroy approved the plan on 30 March as did King
Ferdinand VI. Parilla's campaign force left in August and consisted of 50 men from his Presidio's garrison plus 360 additional soldiers from San Antonio, Presidio del Rio Grande and Presidio del Reyno, plus included 176 Indian allies (134 Apaches acted as scouts and guides). Parilla attacked a
Tonkawa Village along the
Clear Fork Brazos River on 2 Oct., and then a Taovayas (
Wichitas) village along the
Red River on 7 Oct. in the
Battle of the Twin Villages The Tonkawas lost 55 killed and 149 taken prisoner, but led the Spanish on to the larger Wichita village in "French country", which included a stockade and between 2,000 and 6,000 Wichitas and Comanche allies. According to Parilla, "the enemy considered themselves secure in their fort. Those outside, with the help of those within, began to fire..." from a thickly wooded area and then "First one then the other flank gave way." Parilla's twin cannons had little effect on the fort, and by nightfall, retreated to his camp, leaving the cannons and suffering 19 dead, 14 wounded and 19 missing, but claiming to have killed "the chief of greatest acclaim among the Indians" and 50 others, wounding many more. Parilla waited three days before leading an orderly retreat back to the Presidio, reaching it on 25 Oct.
Aftermath Marques de Cruillas took over as Viceroy from Marques de las Amarillas in 1760, assigned Parilla the governorship of
Coahuila and installed
Capt. Felipe de Rabago y Teran as commander of the Presidio. Within a year, Rabago rebuilt the stockade with
limestone, including rooms built into the walls, a blockhouse and a moat, bringing the garrison up to full strength and well mounted. Rabago explored the
Concho River and sent an exploratory expedition west to the
Pecos River in the spring of 1761. On 16 January 1762, Rabago established Mission San Lorenzo de la Santa Cruz with Father Diego Jimenez along the El Rio de San Jose (upper
Nueces River) for Apache Chief Cabezon's tribe, manning it with 20 men under Lt. Manuel Valdez. Nearby they also founded Mission Nuestra senora de la Candelaria nearby for El Turnio's tribe, and protected it with 10 soldiers. Yet in June 1762, the Presidio once again was raided by the northern Indians, killing 2 soldiers and taking 70 horses. In 1764, Rabago reported a "severe attack on the Presidio", and in 1765, a detachment of 3 soldiers were killed in a
Frio River Canyon ambush. Rabago noted in 1767 that the Comanches had made five attempts on the Presidio since Oct. of 1766, including three attempts on his supply trains.
Inspection King
Charles III sent his
Inspector general Marqués de Rubí, accompanied by
Nicolas de Lafora, on a tour of
New Spain in 1766, after the acquisition of
Louisiana following the
Seven Years' War. Rubí visited the Presidio in July 1766, reporting it served no purpose or advantage, "It affords as much protection to the interests of His Majesty in New Spain as a ship anchored in mid-Atlantic would afford in preventing foreign trade with America." Of the 24 presidios along the northern frontier, Rubí recommended the Presidio and 8 others be abandoned, forming a new frontier line from San Antonio to
Santa Fe to the
Gulf of California.
Abandonment The Comanches stole the Presidio's entire herd of cattle on 10 Dec. 1767, Indians attacked again on 2 Jan. 1768, stole horses outside the wall on 14 Jan., then captured and tortured to death Lt. Joaquin Orendain and three other soldiers on 29 Feb. Then the garrison was afflicted with
scurvy,
Mal de Loanda, forcing Rabago to abandon the Presidio for the Mission San Lorenzo in the Valle de San Jose (El Canon) on 22 June. On 1 April 1769, Rabago was replaced as commander of the Presidio by
Capt. Manuel Antonio de Oca, who took the garrison back to San Saba but retreated again to El Canon in early 1770. By 8 June 1771, Jacobo de Ugarte y Loyala, Governor of Coahuila, removed 29 men to San Antonio, and on 21 June 1771, the Viceroy called for the removal of the garrison entirely and the abandonment of the two missions at El Canon. In 1772, King Charles III issued a decree abandoning the Presidio, leaving East Texas entirely, and making San Antonio the new capital of Texas. ==San Saba Silver Mines==