Dawson Massacre

The Woods Family in 1842

The Dawson Massacre is part of the Woods family story because the supplied article identifies Zadock Woods, his sons Norman and Gonzalvo, and relatives by marriage among the men drawn into the 1842 campaign.

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The 1842 Campaign

Verified historical context: In 1842, Mexican forces under General Adrián Woll entered Texas and occupied San Antonio. Texas volunteers gathered in response. Colonel Mathew Caldwell’s force fought Mexican troops at Salado Creek on September 18, while a separate volunteer company under Nicholas M. Dawson approached the area intending to join Caldwell.

As described in the supplied article: Montie Howell writes that the Dawson company, including men from the La Grange area, rode toward Cibolo Creek after news of Woll’s advance. The article says the company encountered Mexican forces near Salado Creek, was overwhelmed after a brief and desperate fight, and that thirty-six men were killed while fifteen remained alive on the battlefield.

The Woods Connection

Article-attributed family details: Howell identifies Zadock Woods; his sons Norman and Gonzalvo Woods; Milvern Harrell, described as a grandson; John Wesley Pendleton, described as a grandson by marriage; and Joseph Robinson, described as a nephew by marriage, as connected to the Woods family and present in the episode. The article reports that Zadock Woods and John Wesley Pendleton were killed; Gonzalvo Woods escaped; and Norman Woods, Milvern Harrell, and Joseph Robinson were captured. These relationships and individual outcomes are presented here as Howell’s account, not as independently verified genealogy.

Howell further recounts that Norman Woods was wounded and later died at Perote Castle in December 1843, while Milvern Harrell was released from prison on March 24, 1844. The article also describes the captivity of the surviving prisoners in Mexico. These details are attributed to Howell’s synthesis of earlier accounts and recollections.

Monument Hill

Verified historical context: The remains of men killed in the Dawson Massacre were later reinterred at Monument Hill in La Grange, Texas, where the site commemorates the Dawson and Mier expeditions. Howell’s article likewise states that the Dawson dead were first buried near the battlefield and later brought to La Grange for reinterment at Monument Hill.

Family history is strongest when documented context, published accounts, and family tradition are clearly distinguished.

Research note

Sources and credits: Montie Howell, “The Woods Clan and the Dawson Massacre,” True West, June 1988, supplied as five scanned pages; photographs credited in the article to the author. Howell states that his article draws on early newspaper accounts of the Woods family and the Dawson Massacre, Milvern Harrell’s reminiscences in the Dallas Morning News, and L. U. Spellman, “The Zadock Woods Family,” a paper read to the San Antonio Chapter of the Texas State Historical Society on September 17, 1947. The underlying newspaper accounts, the Dallas Morning News reminiscences, and the Spellman paper were not supplied here; they are credited as sources named by Howell rather than independently reviewed sources. General event context and Monument Hill reinterment are presented as established historical context; Woods-family relationships and personal details are attributed to Howell unless separately documented.