Texan Santa
Fe Expedition -
Historical Marker
3 miles east of
Georgetown on SH 29
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GPS
Coordinates
Latitude: 30.645028 -
Longitude:-97.592473
Latitude: +30° 38' 42.10" Longitude: -97° 35'
32.90"
UTM 14 R - Easting:
634948 - Northing:
3391180
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Historical
Marker text
A dramatic chapter in administration (1838-1841) of Republic of
Texas president Mirabeau B. Lamar. Aware of United States-Mexico
commerce crossing Texas by the Santa Fe Trail near the Canadian
River, President Lamar sought similar trade advantages for
Texas. He initiated the Texan Santa Fe Expedition early in 1841,
with Dr. Richard F. Brenham, Col. Wm. G. Cooke and Jose Antonio
Navarro as commissioners. Cooke began recruiting in April,
forming an artillery and five infantry companies. Remainder of
321 members included merchants (with $200,000 worth of goods),
teamsters, guides and others. George W. Kendall, of the New
Orleans "Picayune", joined to write classic book on the venture.
Travel was by 21 slow ox-wagons. First day's march, June 19,
1841, ended on the San Gabriel, and expedition's campsite is
near here. Before reaching the Santa Fe Trail some 600 miles
north, the men were to have torturing experiences with drought
and unknown terrain. Ill from hardships, the group was betrayed
into the hands of Mexican authorities and sent as prisoners to
Mexico City. However, this penetration of upper Texas gave the
Republic stronger claims to her northern lands.
Williamson County 