Come and Take It! The Gonzalez Cannon

[Jim McDougall]

The 'Spirit of 76' is well known in the United States of course as essentially the beginning of our nation from the fight for independence. There are many icons of that rebellion which are held dearly as symbolic of our fight for freedom.

In the 1830s, Texas (then Tejas) was a northern region belonging to Mexico, now independent from Spain since 1821, yet there was ongoing turbulence on the nature and control of its governing. There were opposing contenders either for or against Mexico's constitution of 1824.There had been numbers of American settlers from across the young United States 'going to Mexico' where they sought to find new lives and/or 'make their fortunes. These people became known as Texians.

This was the setting that became the Texian 'war' for independence in which the Alamo in March of 1836 became an icon of Texas heritage. There are of course many perspectives on this history, and as with most history, there is naturally a good deal of 'lore' amidst the commonly held knowledge.

Another of the iconic symbols of these events, and thus Texas itself, is the famed 'Come and Take It' flag of the town of Gonzalez near San Antonio.
This represents the flag that symbolized the defiance of its settlers in refusal to return a cannon provided by Mexico for its defense. When Mexico demanded its return, Gonzalez defiantly said, "come and take it" !
When Mexico tried on October 2,1835 unsuccessfully, the flag was created and became the banner of the Texians of the time just before the Alamo.

The question however has become, what became of the cannon of the dispute

While in one view, the actual cannon actually ended up at the Alamo with the sundry collection of cannon that were captured and added to those already there when the Alamo was taken by the Texians in December, 1835.
It was said to be a bronze six pounder of about 6 ft. length weighing about 100 lbs. After the fall of the Alamo, it was removed by the Mexicans and buried just after the Battle of San Jacinto.

This was dug up by a farmer on his property in the 1870s where it was donated and melted down to make a bell for St. Marks church.

However in a controversial rebuttal to this, is the story of a small cannon of 21.5" length, weighing about 69 pounds and of iron which was dug up neat the old Gonzalez-Bexar road in July, 1936. It seems that this interesting gun ended up unceremoniously held in the old Gonzalez post office where it remained virtually unnoticed for over 32 yrs until a new post office was being built. It was taken to a gun show where it began a certain consternation that it might be the famed 'Gonzalez' cannon. While it was in the dimensional range of a six pounder, its character was notably different, and unusually small bore only fired a half pound shot.

When it was declared to 'probably' be the famed cannon, it was placed on display in Gonzalez, where it remains today.
One of the rebuttals toward this being the cannon claims it was likely present at the battle there in 1835, however it is obviously NOT the cannon that the Mexicans were intent on retrieving, which was the more substantial bronze cannon previously described.

It is claimed this is actually a Spanish 'ESMERIL' and has characteristics of a gun reworked by local smiths in Gonzalez in some records regarding the famed cannon.

From all I can find, the 'esmeril' seems to be a small 'deck gun' similar to Spanish naval breech loaders (see attached) but there is little other reference as found yet. The example on display seems too small for a gun used in a pitched siege. It is of iron, but it is claimed that period descriptions by settlers would typically not differentiate between iron or bronze categorically but simply by familiar terms.

My question is, what exactly is an esmeril? what sort of term is this?
What kind of gun would this small dug up example be, and why would it have sat unnoticed for generations then suddenly be declared the missing cannon of Gonzalez?

[fernando]

Esmeril is an artillery piece a little bigger than the falconet. Basicaly a bronze breech loader, its class name, in english emery (grinder) might be metaphoric ... or not. Remember that, in the beginning of artillery, in view of lacking typology standardized classification, names of beasts, birds and other were used to defined their dimension/caliber. When you talk 'actual' cannons, the esmeril is small stuff. In action during the XVI century, it is rather problematic to admit that esmeris were still in use during the Alamo saga, let alone a COME AND TAKE IT symbol.
Here are two versions, one (less usual) stocked and the other entire, the first 6 foot long and the other 5 foot. Calibers 3 cms. (just over 1") and 4,6 cms. (less than 2")

(Courtesy Armaria do Palacio dos Duques de Bragança)

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[Jim McDougall]

Thank you Fernando, I knew you would have the answer, and I agree this must have been a metaphoric term long outdated but simply referring to a 'small gun'.
Naturally these swivel guns were relatively small, but effective in the close quarters of decks.

The dilemma remains, was this tiny cannon the one the Mexicans were so intent on retrieving? Why? If the dispute pertained to the larger bronze six pounder with more viable battle potential it would be understandable, but even in case of principle, this little gun does not seem likely.

However, the cannon depicted on the flag does have similarity to the small one noted, with oversize cascabel. It is believed the original flag did not have a star.
According to the story, the small cannon was abandoned and buried when the makeshift wooden wheels failed. It was not as if it was a huge item, only 2 ft. long and 69 pounds.

The only advantage to its credibility is that it was a cannon believed to have been at Gonzalez, and the place it was buried is in the right proximity, and the other larger cannon no longer exists. All that remains there is the apocryphal story of being found in a field and donated to church where it was melted down and cast into a bell.

[fernando]

Jim, it appears you have a long way to go to untangle this knot. Like the virtual COME AND TAKE IT cannon is not that small piece arguably called esmeril* but a six pounder which, according to period parameters, should measure 66 inches, weighing some 750 pounds, with a 3,5 " bore. To the extent that the COME AND TAKE IT piece exhibited in the Gonzales museum is the other vpiece of the puzzle.

*
As established, the esmeril is completely another thing, a breach loader with a distinct (slimmer) shape. Notwithstanging such 'practical' name attributed may not be serious obstacle; only a detail to help confusing things.



.

[Jim McDougall]

Well noted Fernando, and I have had some luck in finding a reference with more information "Cannons of the Texas Revolution" , James V. Woodrick, 2015.
Apparently at Gonzalez on October 2, 1835.

The actual cannon being contested was indeed a bronze 6 pounder which was loaned to the Gonzalez village in 1831 by the Mexicans. When it was ordered to be returned in 1835, the settlers buried it, and refused to give it up.
One of the wives created the now legendary flag which remains proudly flown across Texas with the cannon and the words "Come and Take It".

By September 29th other Texians were arriving in Gonzalez as the Mexicans had sent dragoons to retrieve the gun. The Texians then dug up the gun to prepare for battle.
At this time, a small iron artillery piece also arrived, it was the 'Esmeril' of 69 pounds , 21.5 " long and bore that fired 1/4 pound shot. It was not mounted until Oct 2nd. This gun had been captured by Brazoria volunteers at the Battle of Velasco in 1832.

It is noted that these small guns were made in Mexico until late 1700s.

It would seem that the term 'esmeril' was basically archaic and of course had become colloquial for a small gun of the swivel or deck gun form from the much earlier types. It seems some of these had been mounted as swivel guns in several fortifications, so more of a general term.

Mexican records note that the emeril was shot first and only once, the six pounder then shot twice.

In the march to San Antonio, apparently the esmeril had been mounted on a makeshift carraige which finally failed due to friction on the wheels and issues with the two oxen pulling it. It was abandoned along the road.

Meanwhile the bronze six pounder did make it to San Antonio, and to the Alamo. This brought the number of cannon at the Alamo to 24.
It is ironic that originally, Bowie was ordered to remove the guns from the Alamo, and destroy it.

However Bowie and Neill, the officer then in command there, decided that the Alamo was indeed strategic and that with all these guns it would be well able to be defended. Unfortunately, they could not know that they would not have adequate manpower to handle these guns; nor the ammunition and that there would be severe issues with faulty powder.

After the fall of the Alamo, the Mexicans removed the bronze guns (4) with the others buried, except 8 which were apparently dumped into the San Antonio river (these have never been found).
Of the four bronze guns ...the six pounder from Gonzalez was made into a church bell, the other three into commemorative small guns.

[midelburgo]

In this book,

La organización naval de los estados mediterráneos y en especial de España durante los siglos XVI y XVII. By Francisco-Felipe Olesa Muñido.

There is a artillery compilatory table at page 318 of the first volume,

where an "esmeril" is described as a bronze minor weapon without servers firing lead ammunition (or lead with an iron core) of 1/2 to 1 pound of weight, 2-3cm diameter, 40 calibers in length.

Data comes from Jorge Vigon, History of the Spanish Artillery, first volume around page 118. I have it as well, but the table is easier to check.

What I find interesting to mention is that an "esmeril" is a flint. I thought this was related to a stone ammunition, but probably that was not clever because of the wasting of the tube. If it is related to a spark system, Rainier Daenhardt says Portuguese were using those already in the 1530s.

I understand that a gun with the characteristics of the first gun with servers in Fernando post, will fall in the mentioned table under "cerbatana".

About the original brass buried gun, there is something wrong. I believe a six pounder of 6 feet will weight much more than 100lbs. The iron cannon resembles a Scottish carronade. Maybe something from a barge.