In the days when Texas was a sparsely populated frontier province of New Spain, thousands of miles from New England, when Native American tribes controlled most of the land and the Alamo was still new, the people of Texas played a significant role in the fight for independence.
“All too often, when Americans think of the American Revolution, they think only in terms of the events that occurred in the thirteen English colonies,” wrote Robert Thonhoff in his 2000 book, “The Texas Connection with the American Revolution.”
“Important as they were, they do not tell the whole story.”
On July Fourth, the nation celebrates its semiquincentennial, the 250th anniversary of the signing in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence.
The occasion gives Americans the opportunity to reflect on the historic events that led to the American Revolution.
Those include, thanks to researchers like Thonhoff, little-known stories like how Texas contributed to the nation’s fight for independence.
Texas’ role in American Revolution
The author’s research consumes several shelves in a corner of the Texas A&M University-San Antonio Archives and Special Collections department at the library. It includes materials and maps that detail how Texans came to side with the rebel cause — in a very Texan way, with cattle.
“He was the one I think that really brought attention to that really specific role that Texas cattle and Texas ranches played,” in the American Revolution, said Amy Porter, professor of history at Texas A&M-San Antonio.
On June 21, in 1779, Spain stepped up to help the rebelling American colonists by formally declaring war on Great Britain. Tejas, as it was known at the time, was a remote colonial province within the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
When Spanish forces requested a delivery of Texas cattle to support Bernardo de Gálvez’s assault on British territory from Louisiana, aiding the revolutionist cause, Tejanos stepped up.
Rounded up between 1779 and 1782, the cattle came from the missions and ranches like those owned by Manuel Delgado, Ignacio Calvillo, Vizente Alvarez Travieso, Doña Leonora Delgado and many others who are listed in Thonhoff’s research.
Much of the cattle in the region grazed on land surrounding the missions, including Mission Concepción which still stands today, and some of the herds were also likely from ranches run by women, Porter said. Many were Canary Island families who arrived in 1731 from the Spanish archipelago off the African coast.
“During this period of time, you have a very different legal system in the Spanish colonies than you have in the English colonies, and then in the early United States,” she added. “Under Spanish law, women could own property,” which often occurred due to high rates of widowhood in that era of the American West.
At Rancho de la Mora, on the west bank of the San Antonio River west of what is now Falls City, a missionary in 1779 reported the ranch provided 180 cattle to the herd of 970 delivered to Gálvez.
In addition to cattle, Spain’s subjects in Texas paid a tax of one silver peso and contributed soldiers to the cause, said Mari Tamez, outreach manager at the Bexar Heritage Center, where maps and other displays showcase the history of the era.
“Gálvez made sure that his men were abundantly supplied with food, and it paid off with victory after victory,” wrote Thonhoff. Meanwhile, “the British ran critically short on food, especially during the siege of Pensacola” in Florida, which secured Spain’s control of the Gulf Coast.
Filmmaker Ken Burns summed up the result in episode 6 of his documentary, “The American Revolution.” “After the Spanish victory at Pensacola, many, many people in Britain think it’s time to stop this war before it gets any worse.”
It’s history many people do not know, Tamez said.
“They’ll hear about George Washington … but what they might not hear about is someone like them, like a Carlos Martinez or a Hernandez or Delgado, who all played a significant role,” in the Revolution, Tamez said. “That brings it closer to home. That’s important.”
‘Somebody believes in us’
Thonhoff’s trove of research, correspondence, maps and other materials collected for his book and other works is the first special collection acquired by Texas A&M University-San Antonio for preservation and research.
“It’s very special to us because it was the first collection we ever received, giving us that foothold and saying that somebody believes in us as an archival repository,” said Leslie Stapleton, head of archives and special collections at the university.
Since then, the department has grown to include a collection of papers and correspondence from people like aviation entrepreneur Dee Howard and former Sen. Jeff Wentworth (R-San Antonio), and other materials such as past issues of the Spanish-language newspaper, La Prensa.
Stapleton, with Archivist and History Librarian Catarina Garza, is caretaker of the growing collection that also recently obtained documents from the historic Union Stockyards of San Antonio, which shuttered in 2001.
The Thonhoff materials make for a valuable collection because he was such a well-known and respected researcher, Stapleton said.
It’s also important because the donation makes the research more accessible to others studying Texas history, including events and topics such as the Battle of Medina and South Texas ranching, she said.
The Thonhoff collection is partially on public display in the university library to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
To view the full collection, contact the university’s Archives and Special Collections department.
Professor Katzenjammer
Thonhoff was born in Colorado in 1929 and moved to Texas following military service in 1953, according to his obituary following his death in 2023. Thonhoff and his wife Victoria Thonhoff retired from teaching in 1988 and lived in Karnes City before moving to San Antonio in 2012.
During his years as a researcher for the UT San Antonio Institute of Texas Cultures, Thonhoff participated for 35 years in the annual Folklife Festival as an emcee, playing the character, “Professor Katzenjammer.”
He wrote or edited numerous books, essays and monographs on South Texas history, including 67 historical entries on various topics for the Texas State Historical Association, where he served as president from 1994-95.
His work on the Spanish colonial period of Texas history led to Thonhoff being named an honorary member of the Order of Granaderos de Gálvez, a civic-patriot organization with chapters across Texas and the South, and in Spain.
“Our mission is very simply to educate the public about Spain’s participation in the American Revolution while highlighting the valor, leadership and military exploits of Bernardo de Gálvez,” said Joe González, governor of the San Antonio chapter of Granaderos y Damas de Gálvez.
Thonhoff also was made an Alcalde of the City of San Antonio, an honorary admiral of the Texas Navy, an Honorary Son of the Republic of Texas, a Knight of San Jacinto, and historian of the Texas Connection to the American Revolution Association.
González met Thonhoff at a symposium about the Battle of Medina. He credits the author with connecting the dots through all of his research on Texas history and the American Revolution.
“I’m a history undergrad major … and I can tell you without a doubt that we never knew about any of this,” he said.
The Thonhoff collection is partially on display in the university library to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence.
Looking for more history?
- At the Spanish Governor’s Palace, the Texas Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution and the City of San Antonio’s World Heritage Office placed a plaque in 2022 recognizing the contributions made by Spanish ranchers in the quest for American independence.
- At the Bexar Heritage Center, copies of the old Spanish maps are on display along with other information about the era and participation in the war. The center is located at 100 Dolorosa St., Ste. 110, steps from Main Plaza.
- On July 31, the center will host a tri-county symposium on the era from 1776 to 1783 in Bexar County. Find more information here.
- Watch the Ken Burns documentary, “The American Revolution,” on PBS-affiliate station KLRN.
