the supplies, and many of the teamsters, all civilians, quit when their pay was delayed. The large number of soldaderas—women and children who followed the army—reduced the already scarce supplies. In Saltillo, Cos and his men from Béxar joined Santa Anna's forces. Santa Anna regarded Cos's promise not to take up arms in Texas as meaningless because it had been given to rebels. From Saltillo, the army had three choices: advance along the coast on the Atascocita Road from Matamoros to Goliad, or march on Béxar from the south, along the Laredo road, or from the west, along the Camino Real. Santa Anna ordered General José de Urrea to lead 550 troops to Goliad. Although several of Santa Anna's officers argued that the entire army should advance along the coast, where supplies could be gained via sea, Santa Anna instead focused on Béxar, the political center of Texas and the site of Cos's defeat. His brother-in-law's surrender was seen as a blow to the honor of his family and to Mexico; Santa Anna was determined to restore both. Santa Anna may also have thought Béxar would be easier to defeat, as his spies had informed him that most of the Texian army was along the coast, preparing for the Matamoros Expedition. Santa Anna led the bulk of his men up the Camino Real to approach Béxar from the west, confounding the Texians, who had expected any advancing troops to approach from the south. On February 17, they crossed the Nueces River, officially entering Texas. Temperatures reached record lows, and by February 13 an estimated of snow had fallen. A large number of the new recruits were from the tropical climate of the Yucatán and had been unable to acclimate to the harsh winter conditions. Some of them died of hypothermia, and others contracted dysentery. Soldiers who fell behind were sometimes killed by Comanche raiding parties. Nevertheless, the army continued to march towards Béxar. As they progressed, settlers in their path in South Texas evacuated northward. The Mexican army ransacked and occasionally burned the vacant homes. Santa Anna and his commanders received timely intelligence on Texian troop locations, strengths, and plans, from a network of Tejano spies organized by de la Garza. Santa Anna's offensive: February–March 1836 Alamo Fewer than 100 Texian soldiers remained at the Alamo Mission in Béxar, under the command of Colonel James C. Neill. Unable to spare