Indian Battlefield
Perry, Falls County, Texas
Marker Inscription
At this site, near the pioneer home of George Morgan, a battle took place, January 16, 1839, between settlers in this region and Indians under Chief Jose Maria in which the colonists were defeated. A treaty with these Indians made soon after brought comparative peace to this region.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Near the pioneer home of George Morgan, settlers and Native fighters under Chief Jose Maria clashed on January 16, 1839, in a battle that ended in defeat for the colonists. The fight came during the Republic of Texas era, when settlement pressed hard against Indigenous lands. A treaty struck soon afterward brought a measure of peace to the region.
Why it matters
The battle captures the violent frontier collision between expanding settlers and Native nations defending their homelands during the years of the Texas Republic.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Chief Jose Maria
- · George Morgan
Related events
- · Battle of January 16, 1839
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Site of the Home of George Morgan
Perry, TX
On the night of January 1, 1839, in the frontier settlement of the young Republic of Texas, Indians attacked the home of George Morgan that once stood nearby. The raid killed George Morgan, his wife, Mrs. Jackson Morgan, and Miss Adeline Marlin. The tragedy was one of many violent clashes along the exposed edge of settlement in Falls County.
Site of the Home of John Marlin
Falls County, TX
John Marlin built his home on the Central Texas frontier in 1835, in the uneasy borderlands of the new Republic of Texas. On a January day in 1839 a large party of Indians attacked the house, but its handful of defenders drove them off in a sharp fight in which one defender was injured.
Torrey's Trading Post No. 2
Waco, TX
Established in 1844 during the days of the Republic of Texas, Torrey's Trading Post No. 2 sat on a bluff above Trading House Creek as a meeting ground between settlers and Native nations. Here President Sam Houston delivered his celebrated peace talks to assembled chiefs, and the post served as a "listening post" that helped keep an uneasy frontier calm. Run by George Barnard for the Torrey brothers, it was later moved to the growing town of Waco.
Falls of the Brazos River
Marlin, TX
The falls of the Brazos, where the river once dropped about ten feet over a rocky ledge, long served Native peoples and settlers as a landmark, meeting point, and campsite. In 1834 colonizer Sterling C. Robertson founded Sarahville de Viesca here, abandoned in 1836; later came Fort Milam and the town of Bucksnort. As the only hard-bottom crossing for 200 miles and the head of steamboat navigation, the falls gave Falls County its name in 1850 before the river shifted course in 1866.