Weren the defenders nearly over-run by the unexpected advance of the Mexican army into San Antonio?
The Mexicans had attempted a quick thrust the previous night, but had gone astray in the darkness. That morning, the defenders’ scouts made contact with the Mexican army when it was about eight miles away, and so had half a day’s notice to get into the fort. They had received reports of a Mexican advance for the previous week but discounted them. They did not expect an advance until the spring grass came, in mid March. They did not know that the “curly mesquite grass” of the western dry lands matures earlier. What was left of the Matamoros expedition on the coast was indeed caught by surprise and summarily dispatched.
