San Jacinto Battleground

Do you know how Texas gained its Independence and subsequently joined America as its 28th state? We heard the story when we visited the San Jacinto Battleground in Texas.

In San Jacinto Battleground in Texas, there stood a monument, the San Jacinto Monument, rising 570 feet above the battleground. This monument is a memorial to the men who fought for Texas's independence. Built to commemorate the centennial of the battle, it is the tallest masonry structure in the world. The San Jacinto Museum of History is at the base of the tower. Its exhibits provide an overview of 400 years of Texas history.

 

The San Jacinto Monument at the far ground

The battle of San Jacinto is considered to be one of the decisive battles in American history. Texas won its independence and became the 28th state in the America union. Annexation led to the Mexican War of 1846-1848, which resulted in the acquisition by the United States of California, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Nevada, Colorado and Utah.


Statue of Sam Houston

By the fall of 1835, many Anglo-Americans and Tejanos in Texas had despaired of receiving just and equitable treatment from the regime of President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Santa Anna had abolished the liberal Constitution of 1824 and established a dictatorship. Texans resisted, and by December armed revolutionaries had driven the Mexican army away from Texas.

 

Undaunted, General Santa Anna marched his 6000 strong army north. His strategy was to attack and destroy the rebels' strongholds, treating them as pirates who deserved no mercy. By mid-March, he seemed close to success. The Alamo fell on March 6, Texas troops at Goliad surrendered two weeks later (they were all killed by the Mexican army). The Texan army under General Sam Houston retreated before the Mexican army's advance.

 

A confident Santa Anna divided his army into three columns to pursue Houston's army and the Texan government, which was in flight toward Galveston. Houston the Texan leader saw an opportunity to attack the divided Mexican army. Houston chose a point of land where Buffalo Bayou met the San Jacinto River, as a place to launch the attack. He and his troops arrived on April 20, just hours before Santa Anna.

 

Early on April 21, Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos arrived with 500 troops to join his leader. To prevent more Mexican reinforcements, Houston ordered the bridge Cos used to be destroyed. Both armies were now isolated. The battle to come would be fought to win or lose by those soldiers facing one another across that mile-wide tall grass prairie.

 

After a mid-day council of war, Houston decided to attack that afternoon. At 3.30pm, he gave the order and Texans advanced, screened by trees and the rising ground between the two armies. Most Texans marched across the the prairie, while Colonel Sidney Sherman's regiment advanced through the trees lining the marsh near Santa Anna's northern flank. The Mexicans had been told to expect an attack the next days. They posted no sentries and were unaware of the assault until it was too late. At about 4.30 pm Texan infantry, supported by artillery and cavalry, swamped into the Mexican camp. Sherman's men came out of the woods screaming, "Remember Alamo" and "Remember Goliad".

 

In the confusing skirmish the Mexican army was unable to implement its battle plan. The fight was over in less than 20 minutes. The Texans killed over 600 Mexican troops and captured most of the rest. Nine Texans died in the battle. General Santa Anna was captured the next day and forced to sign a treaty that recognised Texas' independence and opened the gateways for America's continuing westward expansion. The aftermath of the Mexican War of 1846-1848, resulted in the acquisition by the United States of California, Arizona, New Mexico and parts of Nevada, Colorado and Utah.