Thomas Falconer Correspondence

Thomas Falconer Correspondence

Thomas Falconer (1805-1882) was an English jurist and explorer who immigrated to the Republic of Texas in 1840. In 1841, he joined the Texan Santa Fe Expedition as an observer. On the trail towards New Mexico, the expedition leader decided to take some of the party to San Miguel to gather provisions, while the rest remained in camp; Falconer, whose horse had been stolen, stayed in camp. The camp party was attacked multiple times by Native Americans, almost starved to death, and when the other party finally returned as prisoners of the Mexicans, they were also arrested. The group of explorers was taken to Mexico City, where Falconer was immediately released at the demand of the British minister. He published his account of this experience in the 1842 book <em>Expedition to Santa Fe: An Account of Its Journey from Texas through Mexico, with Particulars of Its Capture</em>. Falconer would go on to publish more accounts of his travels and return to work as a judge in England until his death. <br /><br />The Thomas Falconer Collection includes correspondence related to this ill-fated journey to Santa Fe. The letters from Falconer describe his involvement in the expedition and give a glimpse into both the life of an explorer on the frontier and the experience of being a prisoner. The sketches and amount of detail in his writings lend themselves well to his future occupation as a chronicler of explorations. Letters from other correspondents indicate the larger political implications of the expedition and its connection to the contemporary relationship between Texas and Mexico. The political motivations of the expedition are evident in one of Falconer’s letters, in which he states that he was told that the expedition’s purpose was for trade, when in fact it was to capture Santa Fe. The expedition was unofficially initiated by the then President of Texas, Mirabeau B. Lamar, in an attempt to gain control over the lucrative Santa Fe Trail and further develop the trade links between Texas and New Mexico. <br /><br />You can also view these items on the University of North Texas’s <a title="Portal to Texas History" href="http://texashistory.unt.edu/" target="_blank">Portal to Texas History</a>.

Thomas Falconer

Thomas Falconer Correspondence, Special Collections, Smith Library Center, Southwestern University. You can view the finding aid <a href="http://digitalcollections.southwestern.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/p16840coll7" target="_blank">here</a>.

1841-1909