In the 1840s, when the Comanche were at the height of their power as horse soldiers, the war chief Buffalo Hump led a war party of between 400 and 700 warriors down the Guadalupe River Valley to Victoria, arriving on August 6, 1840, with wives and families accompanying them. Near this site, Comanche warriors emerged from the river bottom and attacked Victoria, where the assault spread widely; a dozen citizens survived by taking refuge in Placido Benavides' home, the Round Top House, and at least 15 people near Victoria were killed. The Comanche then moved south to attack Linnville, the second largest port on the Texas coast, where John J. "Juan" Linn's warehouses were sacked, the entire town was burned to the ground, all the livestock was stolen, and at least six people were killed. On their return home, the Comanche drove thousands of mules and horses but were intercepted near Lockhart at Plum Creek by a large force of Texas Rangers under Ben McCulloch and a volunteer army under Edward Burleson, Matthew Caldwell, and other leaders. A running battle stretched for 15 miles and, although it was generally regarded as a Texas Ranger victory, only a dozen Indian bodies were recovered and the Comanche escaped with many horses and stolen plunder, bringing the last Comanche raid in Texas history to an end.