Surrender of Federal Forces by General David E. Twiggs

After his dismissal Twiggs went south and took a Confederate command. Commissioned senior major general in the Provisional Army of the Confederate States on May 22, 1861, he commanded at New Orleans until he was relieved that October. He left his ornamental swords in the city; when Gen. Benjamin Butler took New Orleans he seized them and meant to give them to President Lincoln, who declined. The swords sat on display at the Treasury in Washington for years until they were returned to the Twiggs family in 1889. Twiggs died near Augusta, Georgia, on July 15, 1862.

What the plaque says

Surrender of Federal Forces by General David E. Twiggs Brought about a Texas moved to expel 2600 federal troops- a step necessary after secession. Frontier fighter Ben McCulloch with 400 volunteers forced surrender negotiated at headquarters of Gen. Twiggs a block and a half from here, by 4 representatives of the Texas Committee on public safety. Talks began Feb. 8, 1861; were stalled by Feb. 15. That night 90 of Mcculloch's men stole in, fixed guns on Federal Sentries and Garrison in Alamo Plaza. 300 more Texas troops entered the city. The 160 men of Twiggs' force were disarmed and held in Quarters. On Feb. 16, Gen. Twiggs agreed to evacuate his troops with arms and personal gear. Further pressure was used and one Feb. 18 he surrendered over $3,000,000 worth of Federal Property: Ordnance, wagons, mules horses, supplies, money and a chain of forts. Gen. Twigs, native of Georgia, career soldier, veteran of war of 1812 and Mexican war, was 70 and in poor health. He held sacred his oath as an officer. Since Dec. 27, 1860, he had written 4 times to his superior in Washington, general of the army Winfield Scott, for orders to use in event Texas seceded. He had no reply. Nevertheless, surrender brought him dismissal for treachery-and personal heartbreak. (1965)

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• San Fernando Cathedral — steps away
  The Canary Islanders' parish church on Main Plaza, where Bowie married and Santa Anna raised a red flag, rebuilt in Gothic Revival around the walls of the 1750s church.
• Spanish Governor's Palace — steps away
  The last visible piece of the Presidio San Antonio de Béxar: a presidio captain's house with a 1749 keystone, a century as shops and saloons, and a romantic 1930 restoration.
• Casa Navarro State Historic Site — 0.2 mi
  The adobe and caliche-block home of José Antonio Navarro, a native-born signer of the 1836 declaration, and the last remnant of the Tejano neighborhood called Laredito.
• San Antonio River Walk — 0.4 mi
  A Depression-era park one level below downtown, built because San Antonio refused to pave its river after the 1921 flood, and designed by an architect the project later fired.

More markers nearby

• The Woll Invasion — steps away
• T. C. Frost and the Frost Bank — steps away
• T. C. Frost Wool Warehouse — steps away
• Zero Milestone, Old Spanish Trail — steps away