Dilue Rose Harris (1825-1914)

Dilue Rose Harris (1825-1914). Woman of the Texas Revolution. Dilue Rose was a pioneer and memoirist. Her family arrived in Texas in April 1833, and she and her husband, Ira A. Harris, moved to Columbus in 1845. As a child, Dilue Rose was acquainted with the leaders of the Texas Revolution and of the Republic of Texas. Her reminiscences, written when she was 74, were published in the Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association. They are a well-known primary source for early Texas history., The Runaway Scrape: the Non-combatants in the Texas Revolution , These "reminiscences" concern the critical period from June 1835 leading up to the Texas War of Independence, the hasty flight after the fall of the Alamo and Goliad, and Harris' return home after the victory of the Texas Army at San Jacinto. The excerpt is from Readings in Texas History - Eugene Barker., March 1836 - the Fall of the Alamo and the Runaway Scrape , The news that Santa Anna was marching on San Antonio was confirmed. The people at Goliad and San Patricio were leaving their homes, and everybody was preparing to go to the United States.... The people had been in a state of excitement during the winter. They knew that Colonel Travis had but few men to defend San Antonio, He was headstrong and precipitated the war with Mexico, but died at his post. I remember when his letter came calling for assistance. He was surrounded by a large army with General Santa Anna in command, and had been ordered to surrender, but fought till the last man died.... I was near eleven years old, and I remember well the hurry and confusion.... On the 12th of March came the news of the fall of the Alamo. A courier brought a dispatch from General Houston for the people to leave. Colonel Travis and the men under his corumand had been slaughtered, the Texas army was retreating, and President Burnet's cabinet had gone to Harrisburg.... Then began the horrors of the "Runaway Scrape. We left home at sunset, hauling clothes, bedding, and provisions on the sleigh with one yoke of oxen. Mother and I were walking, she with an infant in her arms. Brother drove the oxen, and my two little sisters rode in the sleigh...., Did You Know? , The Dilue Rose Harris House Museum, a Greek Revival-style 1858 cottage made of unusual "tabby" construction, is as important for its architecture as for the person who once lived in the house. Tabby is a concrete made from lime, sand, and sometimes shell. Its origin is uncertain, although it is likely that sixteenth-century Spanish explorers first brought tabby to the coasts of what would become South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, and South Texas. Tapia is Spanish for "mud wall". There is evidence that North African Moors brought tabby to Spain and it then made its way to the New World., Stephen Harbert migrated from Mississippi to Columbus, bringing tabby construction with him. At one time, there were many houses, buildings, and fences here made of tabby, but the Dilue Rose Harris House is the only remaining building here of this construction., Captions , Runaway Scrape by Ken Turner , Dilue Rose Harris