Texas Tales: Fanny Sutherland's Heartbreak
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I have lost my William. O, yes he is gone. My poor boy is gone, gone from me.
Fanny Sutherland
The fall of the Alamo on March 6, 1836, to Mexican forces under General Antonio López de Santa Anna and the massacre of three hundred and forty-two Texians by Mexican troops under General José de Urrea at Goliad on March 27 of that year set a firestorm of panic throughout Texas. Citizens fled for their lives, running eastward toward the Sabine River, in what became known as the Runaway Scrape—or the Great Skedaddle.
One of the families abandoning their home for the road was the Sutherlands—George, Frances, her mother, three daughters, Thomas, her brother, and their slave Jeff Parsons. While on the run, George joined the Texian army, became a Major, and fought at San Jacinto, which secured Texas independence. By mid-May 1836 the Sutherlands returned to their home, but it was not as it was before escaping in March. Neither was her family. Her son William was dead. In the following letter a heartbroken but faith-filled Fanny writes to her sister Sally Menefee in the United States about her Texas troubles.
June 5, 1836
[Dear Sister,]
I received your kind letter of some time in March but never has it been [in] my power to answer it till now, and now what must I say (O God support me). Yes sister, I must say it to you, I have lost my William.1 O, yes he is gone. My poor boy is gone, gone from me. The sixth day of March in the morning he was slain in the Alamo, in San Antonio[.] Then his poor body committed to the flames. Oh, Sally, can you sympathise with and pray for me that I may have grace to help in this great time of trouble. He was there [as] a volunteer, when the Mexican army came there. At the approach of thousands of enemies they had to retreat into the Alamo where they were quickly surrounded by the enemy. Poor Fellow! The Mexican[s] kept nearly continual firing on them for thirteen days. Then scaled the walls and killed every man in the fort but two black men.2 Dear Sister, I think the situation a sufficient excuse for not answering your letter sooner. When I received your letter I had been away from home with a distracted mind and had been wandering about ever since till three weeks ago this day we got back to our home where we found nothing in the world worth speaking of[,] not one mouthful of anything to eat, but a little we brought home with us. God only knows how we will make out. I will try to compose my mind while I give you a short history of a few months back.
The American army was on our frontier. We thought prudent to stay at home and did so until the General thought proper to retreat.3 We, being on the frontier, were compelled to go. (I speak for all[.]) We went to the Colorado [River], forty miles, there we expected to stay. The army camping on the same river, but after some time the General thought proper to retreat farther and of course we had to go too. We proceeded to the Brazos River. There stopped a few days but dread and fear caused another start, there Mr. Sutherland quit us and joined the army. William Heard was in also with a good many more of our citizens, however, we went on for several miles and again stopped, hoping we would not have to go farther but some[one] over there that week brought in the news that the Mexican army was crossing the Brazos not more than forty miles behind us.
Again we started and travelled two days then heard the [Mexican] army was twenty miles behind. (I wish you could know how the people all did as they kept going about trying to get somewhere, but no person knew where he was trying to get to). Several weeks passed on without any certain account from the army. All this time you could hardly guess my feelings. My poor William gone, [Mr.] Sutherland in the [Texian] army. Me with my three little daughters and my poor Thomas wandering about, not knowing what to do or where to go. You will guess my feelings were dreadful but even the Lord supported me and was on our side for I think I may boldly say the Lord fought our battles. Only to think how many thousands of musket and cannon balls were flying there over our army [at San Jacinto] and so few touched.4 I think that seven was all that died of their wounds. Some say our army fought double their number who dares say that the Lord was not on our side. Mr. Sutherland’s horse was killed under him but the Lord preserved his life and brought him back to his family. He found me at the mouth of the Sabine [River] from there we all returned home. I pray that God will still continue our friend and bless us with peace again.
I will now say that our relations are only in tolerable health, tho’ none very sick. Poor Mother went the rounds, not very well all the time. I was afraid that she would not hold out to get back again but she is much better. She stopped at Brother Williams and I expect that she will stay there all summer. Sister Martha lives there. We are still trying to raise something to eat but I fear we will miss it.
Brother Thomas’s house was burnt with stable and corn crib. Mr. Sutherland’s ware house was burnt also his house at the bay but if we can have peace and can have preaching I wont care for the loss of what property is gone.
[Mrs. George Sutherland]
1 William DePriest Sutherland joined the Texian garrison at San Antonio de Béxar on January 18, 1836, accompanied by his uncle Dr. John Sutherland Jr., Alamo courier, in the company of Captain William H. Patton. William was seventeen-years-old when he died in the battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836.
2 Five black persons may have been present in the Alamo on the morning of March 6, 1836, with four subsequently being spared by the Mexican troops and one dying as a defender—John, a freedman. Of those spared, most notably are Joe, William B. Travis’s slave and Sam, James Bowie’s slave. A black woman by the name of Bettie, whose enslavement status is unknown and a man by the name of Charlie may have also been present. There has been confusion between Bowie’s slave Sam and a former slave known as Ben, who may have been the cook of Mexican Colonel Juan Almonte (but may have been a servant in Juan Martin de Veramendi’s home, James Bowie’s father-in-law). Ben escorted Susanna Dickinson and her daughter Angelina, along with Joe from San Antonio to Gonzales where they found Sam Houston on March 13, 1836.
3 Sam Houston, commanding general of the Texian army.
4 On the day of the battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836, the Texians suffered eleven killed and twenty-nine wounded.*
Fanny Sutherland to Sister, June 5, 1836, in John H. Jenkins, ed., The Papers of the Texas Revolution, 1835–1836, vol. 7 (Austin: Presidial Press, 1973), 24–26.
Stephen L. Hardin, Texian Exodus: The Runaway Scrape and Its Enduring Legacy (Austin: University of Texas Press, 2024), 331–5.
Stephen L. Moore, Eighteen Minutes: The Battle of San Jacinto and the Texas Independence Campaign (Dallas: Republic of Texas Press, 2004), 429–31. *Texian casualties were greater than those listed for the day of battle. Moore includes a complete list of others killed and wounded throughout the campaign in Eighteen Minutes.
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Much obliged, y’all.
I've just read this account for the third time. We cannot pay enough tribute to those folks, I feel.
Great post, Derrick. Enjoyed reading this personal account. Thanks for sharing Fanny Sutherland's letter. - Jim