The brittle winter grass crunched beneath their boots as James Bowie’s cavalry pressed forward through the mesquite thickets. November 26, 1835, dawned cold and crisp near Alazan Creek, five miles southwest of San Antonio de Béxar. The glint of morning sunlight caught rifle barrels as forty mounted Texians prepared to intercept what they believed was a Mexican treasure convoy carrying silver to pay enemy troops.
For days, rumors had circulated through the Texian camp during the Siege of Béxar about an approaching Mexican supply train loaded with gold and silver. The men had been fighting without pay, their pockets empty and their resolve tested by weeks of cold weather and meager rations. When scouts reported a mule train approaching San Antonio, General Edward Burleson ordered Bowie and his cavalry to investigate and, if necessary, attack.
Bowie spotted the Mexican convoy about a mile from town, crossing a dry ravine near the confluence of the Alazan, Apache, and San Pedro Creeks. The pack animals moved slowly, their heavy loads suggesting the precious cargo the Texians desperately hoped to capture. Behind Bowie’s mounted force, one hundred Texas infantry under William H. Jack followed on foot, ready to seize whatever riches the mules carried.
