Fifteen or twenty Union soldiers had been encamped on the Gonzales public square for several months with quiet behavior and no hostility. The soldiers became quarrelsome with the citizens. On February 21st, two young men were attacked by two soldiers and marched at the muzzle of a revolver, made to shoulder a heavy load of wood and marched around the square to see if they had any friends. The next day, soldiers beat a young man over the head for smiling at them. They also beat a citizen for refusing to unbutton his vest. Another man was beaten in a beer saloon because he did not ask them to have a drink. The mayor filed two complaints with Major Whittemore who was in command, stationed in Seguin. A notice was received that the soldiers would be leaving, but before leaving they marched into the post office where Alfred Kent was working and beat him. They shot into the mail and broke out several windows. Mr. Kent escaped and the soldiers went into the Keyser Hotel, beat on the doors, and fired into the rooms. Dr. Isaac Cunningham from Belmont was roused from his sleep and beaten severely. The sergeant ordered him to recite the Lord’s Prayer and then give three cheers for the Union. Then they “took him into the street and shot him dead.” They continued to discharge their weapons, firing into homes and businesses, at citizens, and at the mail coaches as they arrived and departed. The mayor sent another protest to Major Whittemore and two days later the soldiers were gone.
The John Fauth House was built, 521 St. Peter Street (Block 33). The Miller-Sayers Bank was established, upstairs, in building at the corner of St. Lawrence and St. Joseph (Block 19) in the old D.S.H. Darst Building, completed in 1855.
