Enraged by the defeat of the Mexican armies at San Antonio, Santa Anna Marched north, up the Old San Antonio Road toward the Alamo to squash the rebellion in Texas. Along the way Santa Anna recruited nearly every man they passed into his army. The Mexican army division grew in size to 1,800 men.

The Texans did not expect Santa Anna and his men to arrive until later in the Spring. Santa Anna’s arrival on the 23rd of February caught the Texans off guard.

The Alamo in San Antonio Texas was already a hundred years old at the time of the siege and battle. It was founded in 1718 as a Spanish mission for the purpose of Christianizing the Natives indigenous to the area.

Colonel James Neil was the commander at the Alamo. He had fortified the Alamo with 21 cannons making it the most heavily defended fortress in western North America. Neil commanded only 30 men at the Alamo and knew he needed help.

The Alamo as it would have appeared in 1836

Colonel James Bowie and his men arrived at the Alamo and decided to stay and help defend it.

William B Travis also joined the Alamo defenders with 29 other troops.

Davey Crockett brought 12 men to fight at the Alamo.

On the 5th of March Santa Anna sent a courier up to the Alamo who delivered a note requesting the Texans surrender. William Travis, who by that time had assumed command of the Alamo, responded with a shot from a cannon. The attack would begin the next day.

Santa Anna had the Alamo surrounded. His forces far outnumbered those of the Texans. For 13 days Santa Anna bombarded the Alamo taking down its walls. Santa Anna was determined to destroy the Texas rebels to prove himself a strong political leader.

Early in the morning on the 6th of March 1836 Santa Anna began his assault on the Alamo. The many waves of Mexican troops were no match for the cannons and crumbled walls that remained of the Alamo. Mexican soldiers quickly fought through the Texans defenses.

William Travis was one of the first killed as he rushed up the north wall to face the enemy. Jim Bowie was killed while sick in bed however some credit him with fighting from his bed. The attack lasted about 90 minutes.

Historians believe that 189 Alamo defenders and 600 Mexicans were killed in the battle. All surviving Texan men were executed by Santa Anna’s Officers. Several women, children, and slaves were allowed to flee after the battle. They were to deliver a message to other Texans, “Santa Anna is Coming!”

Not all of the Alamo defenders were Anglo Americans. Nine Tejanos also defended against Santa Anna’s attack.

While Santa Anna and his troops were marching north to San Antonio. General Urrea led a division of the Mexican Army northeast toward Goliad and Brazoria. See map on p.5.

Mexican General Urrea

On February 27th General Urrea and is forces encountered Colonel Francis Johnson and 50 Texan soldiers on the Atascosito Road. Only Johnson and four of his men escaped the rest were killed by the Mexican soldiers. General Urrea continued on until they ran into 50 more Texans led by Dr. James Grant. Only six of those Texan’s escaped death at the hands of the Mexicans.

Texan Colonel James W Fannin had 300 soldiers under his command. Fannin and his men were trying to make their way west to help at the Alamo but they had trouble with wagons breaking down and running out of supplies. They would have been too late to help no matter what. On March 14th Fannin received orders from Houston to retreat to Victoria. Houston wanted to gather all of his troops together to fight Santa Anna.

Battle of Coleto

Fannin did not retreat soon enough. A few miles east of Goliad Fannin and his men were surrounded by General Urrea’s troops. All though they were out numbered the Texans fought off several assaults until Mexican reinforcements arrived.

Massacre at Goliad

Col. Fannin was forced to surrender when the overwhelming force of Mexican soldiers began to quickly defeat the Texans at Coleto.Fannin surrendered himself and his men under the agreement that they would not be executed. The captured Texan troops were taken to Goliad. Santa Anna however ordered that all of the captives be shot.

On March 27th the Texans were marched out of Goliad. Many assumed they were being set free but Mexican soldiers began to fire at them. Most were killed and only a handful escaped. Historians believe that several Mexican soldiers missed on purpose allowing some Texans to escape. The bodies of the dead Texans were collected into piles, and burned.

Sam Houston gathered more men for his army in Gonzalez. He then traveled east staying ahead of Santa Anna. Houston and his men stopped at Groce’s Plantation where they made camp and trained for two weeks.Santa Anna and his forces were pursuing Houston’s Army. The Texans were ready for the day they would meet Santa Anna.

April 21st 1836, Santa Anna’s Army set up camp on an island near San Jacinto. Sam Houston positioned his troops across a field from Santa Anna trapping the Mexicans. While Houston's men formed up for an attack the Mexicans settled down for a nap expecting the battle to occur the next morning.

THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO

General Houston disposed his forces in battle order at about 3:30 in the afternoon. Over on the Mexican side all was quiet; many of the foemen were enjoying their customary siesta. The Texans' movements were screened by the trees and the rising ground, and evidently Santa Anna had no lookouts posted. Big, shaggy and commanding in his mud-stained unmilitary garb, the chieftain rode his horse up and down the line. "Now hold your fire, men," he warned in his deep voice, "until you get the order!" Silently and tensely the Texas battle line swept across the prairie and swale that was No Man's land, the men bending low. A soldier's fife piped up with "Will You Come to the Bower,"' a popular tune of the day. That was the only music of the battle. [Several veterans of the battle said the tune played was "Yankee Doodle."] As the, troops advanced, "Deaf" Smith galloped up and told Houston, "Vince's bridge has been cut down." The General announced it to the men. Now both armies were cut off from retreat in all directions but one, by a roughly circular moat formed by Vince's and Buffalo Bayous to the west and north, San Jacinto River to the north and cast, and by the marshes and the bay to the east and southeast. At close range, the two little cannon, drawn by rawhide thongs, were wheeled into position and belched their charges of iron slugs into the enemy barricade. Then the whole line, led by Sherman's men, sprang forward on the run, yelling, "Remember the Alamo!" "Remember Goliad!" All together they opened fire, blazing away practically point-blank at the surprised and panic-stricken Mexicans. They stormed over the breastworks, seized the enemy's artillery, and joined in hand-to-hand combat, emptying their pistols, swinging their guns as clubs, slashing right and left with their knives. Mexicans fell by the scores under the impact of the savage assault.

The casualties, according to Houston's official report, numbered 630 Mexicans killed, 208 wounded, and 730 taken prisoner. As against this heavy score, only nine Texans were killed or mortally wounded, and thirty wounded less seriously. Most of their injuries came from the first scattered Mexican volley when the attackers stormed their barricade. The Texans captured a large supply of muskets, pistols, sabers, mules, horses, provisions, clothing, tents and paraphernalia, and $12,000 in silver.

Santa Anna had disappeared during the battle, and next day General Houston ordered a thorough search of the surrounding territory for him. In the afternoon Sergeant J. A. Sylvester spotted a Mexican slipping through the woods toward Vince's Bayou. Sylvester and his comrades caught the fugitive trying to hide in the high grass. He wore a common soldier's apparel round jacket, blue cotton pantaloons, skin cap and soldier's shoes. They took the captive to camp, and on the way, Mexican prisoners recognized him and cried, "El Presidente!" Thus his identity was betrayed; it was indeed the dictator from below the Rio Grande.

He was brought to General Houston, who lay under the headquarters oak, nursing his wounded foot. The Mexican President pompously announced, "I am General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and a prisoner of war at your disposition." General Houston, suffering with pain, received him coldly. He sent for young Moses Austin Bryan and Lorenzo de Zavala Jr. to act as interpreters. Santa Anna cringed with fright as the excited Texas soldiers pressed around him, fearing mob violence. He pleaded for the treatment due a prisoner of war. "You can afford to be generous," he whined; "you have captured the Napoleon of the 'West." "What claim have you to mercy?" Houston retorted, "when you showed none at the Alamo or at Goliad?" They talked for nearly two hours, using Bryan, de Zavala and Almonte as interpreters. In the end Santa Anna agreed to write an order commanding all Mexican troops to evacuate Texas.

While brave Texans were out fighting for freedom on the battlefield other important Texans met to decide on and plan for the future of Texas. During the convention of 1836 delegates gathered at Washington on the Brazos for the second meeting of the Consultation. On the second day of the convention March 2nd 1836 The delegates declared Texas Independent.Just as Thomas Jefferson had penned the United States Declaration of Independence in 1776, George Childress was chosen to write the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836. Modeled after the US declaration the Texas one also had three parts. The first was stating their reason for declaring independence. The second section listed complaints against the Mexican government. The third and final section proclaimed independence and pledged the support of all the signers.

“When a government has ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people, from whom it’s legitimate powers are derived…”

A temporary government was appointed by the delegation until independence was officially won and a permanent government could be elected. Santa Anna signed the Treaty of Velasco on May 14th 1836. In the treaty Mexico would withdraw all troops from Texas and establish a border between Texas and Mexico at the Rio Grande.

A new nation had been created, The Republic of Texas.