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from a vessel there. As Thompson hove to and landed, Chipita engaged him in a brief conversation and then suddenly told him that he was under arrest.[10] Thompson was taken inland to the main unit, where he was held under guard. In the meantime, a small Mexican detail crossed in the boat to the island; where Dimitt, James C. Boyd, Henry Graham, and Stephen W. Farrow, an old soldier who was said to have been in every battle of the Revolution except that of the Alamo, appeared and likewise, after a brief conversation were arrested and transferred to the mainland.[11] The Mexicans plundered Dimitt's establishment of all merchandise, money, and everything of value,[12] which along with the prisoners, were transferred to the mainland. Among the captured items were 100 barrels of tobacco and 229 silver pesos. The total value of the captured goods was estimated at $6,000. A part of 10. Ibid. 11. W. B. Goodman, who had returned from New Orleans with a stock of goods, landed at Corpus Christi on July 4, the day of Dimitt's capture near Flour Bluff. He later reported that Dimitt and his companions were taken near the head of Padre Island. W. B. Goodman, "A Statement of Facts, Washington, Feby 10, 1843," in W. D. Miller Papers, 1833-1860, ms. Goodman was nominated and appointed by Lamar on Oct. 6, 1841, chief justice of San Patricio County. State Department Letterbook, no. 1, ms., pp. 250-251. William Thompson reported that after his capture he was moved inland a short distance, where he found Dimitt, Farrow, and Graham, also prisoners. This may well be the case since the Mexican force was divided, and he may not have been aware of the fact that his boat was used to go to the island and transfer his companions to the shore. "William Thompson's Affidavit, Republic of Texas, Victoria County, July 10, 1841," Telegraph and Texas Register, Aug. 11, 1841. 12. James Gourlay, Jr., to Branch T. Archer, Lamar, July 8, 1841, copy in Army Papers (Texas), ms. Gourlay, age 35, was a partner of Dimitt's. He was arrested on August 10, 1837, in the streets of Matamoros and held prisoner at Tampico by General Filisola's orders until Sept. 16, when he was released upon protest by the U. S. consul that he was a citizen of the U. S. and native of Albany, N. Y. D. W. Smith to Gen. Vicenta Filisola, Consulate of the U. S. A., Matamoros, Aug. 24, 1837, in Consular Dispatches (U. S.), 1837-1839 (Matamoros), ms., microfilm. Previous to the raid, he had been obliged to go on business to Lamar, where his family was residing at the time. He did not get back to Corpus Christi until the day after the Mexican party had left. James W. Byrne to Branch T. Archer, Lamar, Refugio County, July 8, 1841; James Gourlay, Jr., to Branch T. Archer, Lamar, July 8, 1841; copies in Army Papers (Texas), ms. A native-born Irishman, James W. Byrne came to Texas from the United States in 1835 or early 1836 and served in the revolutionary army. He was one of the founders of Lamar. From 1839-1841 he served as clerk of Refugio County, and as Senator from the Refugio district in the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Congresses of the Republic. Handbook of Texas, I, 260. |