At Nacogdoches was the proof that the people of the area, according to the statements of the traders Smith, Grappe, Patterson and McClanahan, were ready for a rebellion against the Spanish Government. At Nacogdoches on August 11, 1812, when the attack began, the filibusterers met only token resistance and one hundred ninety of the inhabitants joined the patriots. The easy fall of Nacogdoches was a shot in the arm for the filibusterers. Fifty of the Spanish soldiers joined with the rebels. A mule and horse train with booty of wool, hides and Spanish silverware, estimated to be valued at one hundred thousand dollars, was sent to Natchitoches to be exchanged for the necessary provisions to conduct the campaign. Henry Perry of the army quartermaster was there to receive the merchandise. Now he had something to work with. Supplies which could not be obtained in Natchitoches were purchased in Natchez, Mississippi. The merchandise was brought over the old Natchez-Vidalia to Natchitoches Indian trail (highway 84 today) which had its share of bandits and land-pirates. Gutierrez was an old hand at spreading propaganda and at Nacogdoches the “rebels” paused long enough to make use of the talents of Aaron Hower, the printer. The news of the fall of Nacogdoches would be sure to bring volunteers from the Natchitoches-Neutral Strip area. On September 1, 1812, circulars were found as far as San Antonio, announcing that the filibusterers army had reached a thousand in number of well equipped men, and that more volunteers were arriving every hour from ten to one hundred in number to join Gutierrez, and that they now had cannon which had been taken from the Spanish in Nacogdoches. Governor Salcedo, who had previously sent a message asking for assistance, received news that no help could be sent because the “Patriot Army” in Mexico was marching on Camargo and Nueva Santanadar (this was a group of rebel followers of Padres Castillo and Morelos). The propaganda news leaflets and the news from Mexico caused Salcedo to withdraw all outlying Spanish detachments and concentrate them at San Antonio de Bexar. At this stage of the campaign the McGee-Gutierrez army numbered no more than seven hundred men. Now, Salcedo’s military ability began to show. He needed a day or two so that the troops in the west under General Herrera could reach San Antonio. He left La Bahia (now Goliad, Texas) without defense and spread his troops along the Guadelupe River twenty-eight miles north and east of San Antonio. The filibusterers could not overlook the opportunity of taking a defenseless town. La Bahia fell without a struggle and the filibusterers were jubilant. Meanwhile the Spanish forces met, forming a total strength of nearly nine hundred men. Over fifty of the Spanish soldiers with the filibusterers deserted and returned to the Royalist troops, explaining they had been captured and were finally able to escape.