July 4, 1865; Dilley, Texas: Martin's Settlement was an isolated community of scattered ranches on Todos Santos Creek, near its junction with the Leona River, about a dozen miles northwest of present-day Dilley, Texas. Settlers in the vicinity included the Martin, English, Burleson, Williams, and Berry families.
On the morning of 4 July, 1865, Ed Burleson, Jr., was driving in some horses when two Indians appeared and came after him, coming within a few yards of catching him before he reached his house. A number of neighbors were there at his ranch, preparing to celebrate the Fourth. Instead, the men of the group hastily fetched their weapons and horses and formed a posse. Eleven joined the pursuit: Levi English, Bud English, L. A. Franks, G. W. Daugherty, W. C. Bell, Frank Williams, Dan Williams, Dean Oden, John Berry, Ed Burleson, Jr., and a man named Aikens. The eldest man present, Levi English, was named captain.
The posse trailed the Indians down the Leona River and crossed a stream near Bennet's Ranch, about four miles from Burleson's place. About ten miles farther on, near Martin's Ranch, just above the junction of the Leona and the Frio, the settlers spotted the Indians about two miles off. The posse advanced, dipping into a valley, and when they emerged they were only 200 yards away from thirty-six Comanches, mounted two to a horse. The warriors kept riding, and the impetuous settlers dashed after them, firing their weapons to no effect. After a mile, the Indians stopped, correctly figuring their pursuers had used up their shots. One warrior from each horse dismounted and charged the settlers while the mounted Indians circled to the left and right.
Captain English tried to pull his boys out of the circle, but within a minute the settlers were nearly surrounded, frantically reloading their guns. The warriors charged in at close quarters, and Dan Williams was shot from his horse. As the warriors tried to seize him, English mounted a countercharge to rescue him. Doing so, however, exhausted the posse's last loads of ammunition. The Indians charged in again. Frank Williams tried to get his brother on a horse, but Dan handed him his pistol, saying, "Take this and do the best you can. I am killed--cannot live ten minutes. Save yourself."
Dean Oden was hit next, and his horse pitched him off. As he tried to remount, he was hit six more times, and the Indians fell upon him. Bud English went down with a bullet in the chest. His father tried to stay with him, but with the last of his men retreating, he had to leave his boy behind. The Indians pursued the fleeing posse in a moving fight. An arrow struck Levi English in the side, another struck Daugherty in the leg, and yet another hit Burleson in the leg. Bell took an arrow in his side and Aikens was hit in the chest. The five wounded and three unscathed settlers made it back to Burleson's Ranch, however, and the warriors gave up the chase.
The women and children waiting at the ranch, only hours before ready to celebrate the holiday, instead collapsed into mourning for the three fallen men. The next day, a party returned to recover the mutilated bodies. Dean Oden and Dan Williams, brothers-in-law, were buried in the same coffin. Later that year, Levi English moved his family to Carrizo Springs in Dimmit County.
