The Northwest Genealogist: The Life and Legacy of James Hughes Callahan

My mother was originally from Seguin, Texas, but moved to Oregon, my father's native state, after they married. As children we grew up hearing tales about our Texas ancestors and their roles in populating the Guadalupe River Valley. Names like the Alamo, the Runaway Scrape, the Goliad Massacre, the Battle of Gonzales, and the DeWitt Colony were woven into our upbringing. It wasn’t until many decades later that I truly appreciated the significance of these events, the rich history they held, and the important roles our ancestors played in settling that region. One such ancestor is James Callahan.

James Hughes Callahan, my third great granduncle, first heard about the Texas Revolution at a town meeting when he was 23 years old. A powerful and emotional plea for help against the injustice and tyranny of the Mexican government stirred him deeply. On December 20, 1835, the same day that Texans in Goliad signed a declaration of independence from Mexico, 120 volunteers—including Callahan--secured passage to Texas landing in Velasco. There they joined the Texas Army under the command of Colonel James W. Fannin.

Colonel Fannin and his troops were assigned to Fort Defiance in Goliad due to its strategic location on the San Antonio River. Built by the Spanish Army in 1749, its elevated position allowed for an excellent vantage point to spot and respond to potential threats. It needed repairs and reinforcement in preparation of Mexico’s advance, and Callahan’s skills as a carpenter proved instrumental in this task.

Colonel James W. Fannin

Mexico’s President and General-in-Chief, Santa Anna, was furious when the Texas colonists declared independence of the land that he felt still belonged to Mexico. He and his loyal Brigadier General, Jose de Urrea, led a force of soldiers into the heart of Texas from the south, targeting San Antonio de Bexar and Goliad--two of the most important military points in Texas. General Santa Anna aimed to attack the Alamo, a key military garrison in San Antonio, with an army of about 2,000 men. General Urrea with 1,400 troops targeted Fort Defiance in Goliad due to its strategic position between San Antonio and the major Texas port of Copano.

On February 23, 1836, Mexican troops under Santa Anna entered San Antonio de Bexar and surrounded the Alamo mission. The Alamo was defended by a small force of 146 Texians led by Colonel William Travis and Colonel James Bowie. Santa Anna offered them one last chance to surrender, but Travis responded by opening fire on the Mexican forces.

The attack on the Alamo lasted 13 days. During that time Colonel Travis sent at least three messages for help. These messages were carried by brave men who were able to slip through the Mexican lines under the cover of darkness, by using disguises and deception, and by their familiarity with the local terrain finding less guarded paths to escape certain death. The messengers were highly motivated, risking their lives to deliver urgent pleas for help knowing the lives of those within the Alamo depended on their success. The most famous of these messages was addressed “To the People of Texas and All Americans in the World.” It was delivered to Austin, the provisional capital of the Texian government and was famously signed, “Victory or Death.” Unfortunately Austin lacked the time or resources to send help to the Alamo.

The Battle of the Alamo

The second message sent by Travis went to a convention of delegates meeting at Washington-on-the-Brazos to establish the interim government of Texas, led by General Sam Houston. But they did not send reinforcements to the Alamo. The delegates heard Colonel Travis's urgent pleas for help but were focused on drafting the Texas Declaration of Independence and establishing the new government. General Sam Houston was instrumental in persuading the delegates to continue their work rather than rush to aid the Alamo defenders

Antonio López de Santa Anna

On the second day of the siege of the Alamo, Colonel Travis sent his third and final plea to Colonel Fannin for reinforcements. Fannin lacked the manpower and resources to spare. The Alamo fell on March 6, 1836, after a long nine bloody days of fighting. Santa Anna ordered the bodies of the fallen Texans to be piled and burned, but he allowed the women, children, and slaves who had sought refuge in the mission to leave, hoping their accounts of what happened there would spread fear and discourage further resistance among the Texians.

With the defeat of the Alamo, General Santa Anna’s Mexican Army pressed on. In the wake of these devastating events, Sam Houston realized that his largely untrained and dispersed force could not confront the Mexican army head-on. He ordered a strategic retreat known as the "Runaway Scrape" in which the settlers fled their homes eastward to keep ahead of Santa Anna’s advancing troops. The Texians left quickly, taking only what they could carry and leaving their lives’ work, their homes and their dreams behind. The chaotic exodus was fraught with hardship and despair as they stayed just ahead of the looting and burning of their homes and farms by the Mexican Army.

General Sam Houston was concerned about General Urrea’s advancing troops, wishing to avoid another disaster like the Alamo. He ordered Colonel Fannin to evacuate Fort Defiance and retreat to Victoria. Only nine miles out of Goliad Fannin’s men were intercepted by General Urrea’s forces in the open prairie near Coleto Creek. Urrea’s 1,000 men engaged Fannin’s men in what became known as the Battle of Coleto. The Texian troop fought fiercely, but after two days of close fighting they were surrounded and outnumbered. Rather than face certain death, they surrendered. Callahan was only one of 80 captured Texans skilled in professions such as doctors, carpenters and blacksmiths ordered to accompany General Urrea to Victoria and assist in rebuilding the city. The remaining prisoners were marched back to Goliad and held at Fort Defiance where they were assured they would be held prisoner and eventually released.

General José de Urrea

Upon receiving news of General Urrea's successful campaign, General Santa Anna sent orders to Commandant Portilla at Goliad to execute all the prisoners at Fort Defiance. General Urrea received a message from Portilla, indicating that he was preparing to fulfill Santa Anna's order. Hoping he could arrange for leniency, Urrea ordered Portilla to wait and use the prisoners to rebuild the fort while he contacted Santa Anna. But Santa Anna's reply was severe, reiterating his previous order. He sent a copy directly to Portilla in Goliad, possibly fearing disobedience from General Urrea.

On March 27, Palm Sunday, Commandant Portilla carried out orders to execute all the prisoners. The prisoners were divided into three groups, marched out of town and shot. Portilla sent an official account of what took place to Santa Anna but also conveyed his regret to Urrea. He expressed his distress at having witnessed such a painful affair, stating, "I feel much distressed at what has occurred here; a scene enacted in cold blood having passed before my eyes which has filled me with horror. I am sad at heart, and all I can say is that my duty as a soldier, and what I owe to my country, must be my guaranty…”

Executions at the Goliad Massacre

The massacres at Goliad and the Alamo ignited fierce rage among Americans toward General Santa Anna and Mexico. Their reputation of cruelty and deceit spread throughout the United States and even reached Europe. Because of the Goliad massacre and the callousness of his fellow soldiers' deaths, Callahan harbored a bitter hatred of Mexico and its people for the rest of his life.

Callahan was honorably discharged from military service on June 6, 1836. He returned to Walnut Springs, later renamed Seguin, where he was awarded 640 acres of land for his service during the Texas Revolution. Having endured the horrors of battling Mexico, he was no doubt ready to lead the quieter life of a farmer. But in 1839 he joined a group of local volunteers known as the Gonzales County Militia to protect the area against marauding Indians and outlaws. They were soon renamed The Texas Rangers.

Sarah Medisa (Day) Callahan

Sarah Medisa Day was the daughter of Johnson and Sarah (Hembree) Day, who immigrated from South Carolina to Texas with their six daughters and one son. Her father, Johnson, and her brother, James Milford, were also Texas Rangers and accompanied Callahan on many of his campaigns. In 1838, Sarah married William Alsbury, another Texas Ranger who accompanied Callahan in the fight against General Woll. However, after nearly four years of marriage Sarah filed for divorce from Alsbury in 1842 due to abandonment. Three months after the divorce, she married James Hughes Callahan.

In September 1842, just as Callahan was settling into his new life with Sarah in Seguin, he was called back to duty to stop another invasion by the Mexican Army. General Santa Anna ordered General Adrian Woll to regain sovereignty over Texas, beginning with the capture of San Antonio. The surprise attack on the city caught the startled residents off guard, forcing a surrender. A counterattack was made by the local militia and the Texas Rangers, including Callahan. Although initially outnumbered and unable to prevent the capture of San Antonio, they did engage Woll's forces in the Battle of Salado Creek and resulted in a Texian victory. General Woll and his troops were forced to retreat to Mexico, demonstrating the deep resolve and determination of the Texians to retain their independence.

General Adrian Woll

James and Sarah Callahan were a happy couple who raised six children: four boys and two girls. They lived on their 350-acre farm at Prairie Lea, where they raised cattle at the edge of the wilderness. As the children grew, they learned about the business of cattle raising and farming while remaining vigilant on the wild and hostile Texas frontier. Raids by Indians and outlaws were commonplace and Callahan often slept with his handgun. Callahan opened the first store in Prairie Lea in 1849 and became the postmaster in 1851. Wagon trains bound for the gold fields of California stopped in nearby towns to obtain provisions for their westward journey, often accompanied by Texas Rangers like James Callahan to protect them.

In 1854, the Callahans built a home on the Blanco River, becoming the first white settlers in what is now Blanco County. That September, Michael Erskine appointed Callahan as the commander of a company of gunmen to guard his cattle drive from Seguin to California. The herd, consisting of 1,054 head of cattle destined for the gold fields of California, marked the longest drive of that size ever completed. For the price of $1,500, the escort of 35 men successfully defended the drive against attacks in Comanche and Apache territory, reaching Los Angeles in November. Callahan decided to stay in California for a time to engage in mining ventures and he returned to Texas the following spring.

In July 1855, following a series of raids by Lipan Indians that resulted in the deaths of numerous settlers, Governor E. M. Pease requested Callahan to assemble a company of Rangers to pursue the Lipans terrorizing the Hill Country. Callahan mustered 88 men and devised a plan, but the task would not be a simple one. The Lipan Indians found protection from Mexican authorities, and relations between the United States and Mexico were already strained.

Through July, August, and September, Callahan’s company of Rangers engaged in several confrontations with Indians across the Hill Country. They eventually crossed the Rio Grande in pursuit of a band of Lipan Apaches and encountered a Mexican delegation from Piedras Negras. The delegation agreed to allow them into Mexico and even offered to assist in chasing down the Indians. However, upon reaching the Rio Escondido, they encountered a large force of Lipan Apaches and Mexican troops who had been lying in wait for Callahan’s Rangers for several days. The Rangers had been double-crossed and were outnumbered four to one.

Furious at being deceived by the Mexican delegation, Callahan led the charge into the enemy’s battle line. What ensued was a four-hour engagement described as "one of the hardest Indian fights ever fought." By the time they retreated to Piedras Negaras they had lost four men and seven were wounded, including Callahan’s brother-in-law Henry Brazil King who had been shot in the shoulder. The magistrate of Piedras Negaras met Callahan as they returned and offered a complete and unconditional surrender of the town, handing over his keys and authority. Most of the citizens had already fled. However, it was another trick, a ruse designed to keep the Rangers there until the Mexican forces and Lipans could arrive to attack them again.

As the Mexicans closed in, Callahan, haunted by his memories of the Goliad Massacre, ordered his men to torch Piedras Negaras to cover their retreat. Leaving their horses and mules behind, they successfully crossed the turbulent Rio Grande. Beaten and ragged, they made the long return to their homes in the Guadalupe Valley having failed their mission. But their hometown celebrated their return in what they saw as a success, supporting Callahan and his Rangers.

The Lipan Apaches of Mexico continued to raid the Hill Country. On numerous occasions, Callahan and his Rangers rode out to defend their friends and family, with Callahan continuing to serve as Captain of the Rangers in the Rio Blanco area.

On April 7, 1856, two of Callahan’s trusted friends informed him that his hired hand, Calvin Blassingame, was spreading malicious stories about him. Calvin’s father, Woodson Blassingame, lived in a cabin adjacent to Callahan’s acreage, and his 20-year-old brother, Luther Blassingame, had served as a private in the Callahan Expedition in Mexico. Infuriated, Callahan instructed Calvin to inform his father that he wanted to meet with him to discuss the insults.

Callahan, accompanied by three of his associates, went to Woodson Blassingame’s farm to speak with him. Upon approaching the cabin, Callahan called for Woodson to come out. At that moment, gunfire erupted from within the cabin. James Callahan took a shotgun blast squarely in the chest and died instantly. One of his companions was also killed, while the other two managed to escape, though one was wounded with three shots, two of which pierced his throat. Friends later recovered Callahan’s body and brought it home, where his wife, Sarah, was consumed by grief. He was laid to rest next to their infant son in Blanco Cemetery. Heartbroken, Sarah would join them just a year later.