General Woll's Road

General Woll's Road. . , In 1842, there were two major invasions of Texas by Mexican troops. Active Brigade General Adrian Woll was ordered to lead the second of the two expeditions into Texas in order to capture San Antonio. Woll ordered Brevet Col. Jose Maria Carrasco to construct a new road that avoided existing roads and trails in order to reach the city undetected. Traveling the road with General Woll would be his staff and of at least twenty officers, 850 infantry soldiers, artillery, at least fifty supply wagons and carts, and a large herd of livestock. The invasion and road construction began on August 24, 1842, when Woll's forces forded the the Rio Grande at Nogal Crossing, approximately twenty miles downriver from present-day Eagle Pass, near the river's confluence with Saus Creek., General Woll and his troops passed through the area on September 9, 1842. Woll attacked San Antonio at daybreak on September 11 and took the city in two hours. His forces kept the city captive for seven days. The invasion was then stopped during the Battle of Salado Creek by 225 Texian volunteers led by Captains Matthew Caldwell and John C. Hays. During this battle, Texian Captain Nicholas M. Dawson's volunteer company was intercepted 1.5 miles from San Antonio and most were killed by Woll's troops. The fifteen Texian soldiers that survived were taken prisoner., Fearing another encounter with Texian forces, Woll retreated from San Antonio during the night of September 15, along the road that had been constructed just days before. The troops passed through the Quihi area on September 20, as they marched back to Mexico. The road continued to be used for many years by military expeditions, settlers and freight haulers. , Marker is property of the State of Texas