Manuscript DS, signed “J. C. Neill Comd,” one page, 8 x 4, February 14, 1836. Discharge issued to M. L. Sewell reads, in part: “We certify that M. L. Sewell has served in the volunteer army of Texas at this post…and is hereby honorably discharged. An additional time of twenty days is allowed to him to return to Nacogdoches the place of his abode.” Signed at the conclusion by Commander of the Bejar Guards R. White, and signed by Neill as commander. Reverse bears an endorsement in another hand and signed by Sewell, “received on the within five dollars. M. L. Sewell.” In very good condition, with central horizontal and vertical fold, a couple small separations along folds, scattered toning, creasing, and soiling, Neill’s signature a bit cramped, and a pencil notation along the top edge which reads, “Neill Last Day of Command.” A rare offering from one of the revolution’s storied fighters.
Neill first earned his place in the lore of the Texas Revolution on October 2, 1835 at Gonzales. John Holland Jenkins recorded that Neill “fired the first gun for Texas at the beginning of the revolution”—the famous Gonzales "Come and Take It" cannon. His skills and inimitable leadership style caught the attention of Sam Houston who requested that Neill assume command of the ill-equipped and ill-fated garrison in Bexar. Within two months of accepting the post, the newly-promoted colonel learned that illness had struck his family and that he was desperately needed back in Bastrop. Before hastening home on furlough, leaving the garrison under the leadership of William Travis, he signed this document, the honorary discharge of Marcus Sewell, who was a native of England coming to Texas by way of New Orleans. Nine days later Sewell was mustered into the Gonzales Ranging Company. On March 1, he rode to the relief of the Alamo within whose fortified walls he was killed during the battle. This manuscript’s other signer, Robert White, was a veteran of the siege of Bexar in the rank of lieutenant. Following the battle, he had been promoted to captain and commanded one of the Alamo’s garrison's infantry companies, the Bexar Guards. White was also at the Alamo where he was killed on March 6, 1836.
While Travis was well regarded by the Alamo troops, the decision to appoint him didn't go over well among a group of men accustomed to electing their own commander. Travis arranged for an election and prevailed among the regulars, while James Bowie was the volunteers' preferred candidate. Consequently, Travis retained command of those with an official commission and the garrison as a whole, while Bowie was put in charge of the volunteer forces. This document, signed by two Alamo martyrs, is remarkable in illustrating one of the very last tasks Neill executed inside the Alamo before turning the garrison’s command over to Travis. The Robert Davis Collection, read more about Robert Davis. Pre-certified John Reznikoff/PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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