Twelve years after gaining its independence from Spain in 1821, the United Mexican States was a nation rife with problems.
At the top of the long list of issues the fledgling country faced was a devastated economy and serious political instabilities that had led to civil unrest in many of the 23 states’ territories bordering on civil war.
But it was the election of Antonio López de Santa Anna as President fourteen years later in April 1833 that would ignite another brief, but significant, war for independence.
Land Grants
Spain had begun issuing land grants to people from the United States desiring to move further west after that, and the federalist government of Mexico continued the practice.
Mexico used this to increase the “Mexican” population in the northern part of the country that was largely occupied by the Apache, Cherokee, and Comanche tribes.
By providing land to settlers, the government hoped to stimulate economic growth with agriculture, ranching, and trade.
American Stephen Austin had previously applied to Spain for land and appealed to the Mexican Congress to honor the previous agreements, and he was issued a contract for land and given permission to bring 300 American families into the Tejas region.
In 1824, the former Spanish territories of Tejas and Coahuila were combined into one state named Coahuila y Tejas.
Haden Edwards was another American who had been issued a land grant, and he had brought 800 families into the region early in 1824.
Two years later, disputes over land titles would cause Edwards to lead a small uprising where he and some of his followers signed a “Declaration of Independence” from Mexico.
The Mexican government quickly sent troops into the area, and with the show of force, Edwards and most of his supporters fled east into the Louisiana territory. The ones who were captured were later executed.
This short-lived revolution led the Mexican government to take a serious interest in the area.
General Manuel Terán was ordered to remain in the area and conduct a survey of the state and report back to Mexico City.
Terán reported that the area was becoming “Americanized,” leading Mexico to pass the Law of April 6, 1830, which took the majority of the law-making power away from the state(s) and placed many restrictions and regulations on the area and prohibited further immigration into the Tejas territory from the United States.
This obviously angered the American settlers in the region, as they saw it as a move by Mexico to take back the lands in which they had developed and invested so much.
The number of U.S. immigrants in the Tejas region of the state was estimated to be around 30,000.
Santa Anna
Antonio López de Santa Anna was elected as the Mexican President in April 1833. He had gained fame as a General during the Mexican Revolution and since independence had dabbled in the political arena.
In 1833, the American immigrants held a convention in San Felipe de Austin to address the issues with their Mexican government. Sam Houston, a landowner and the former Governor of Tennessee, drafted a state constitution for the territory.
The Mexican government failed to send any representatives and largely ignored the actions put forth by the convention, not recognizing the members as lawmakers.
In September 1835, Santa Anna signed legislation that suspended the Mexican Constitution of 1824, taking away any remaining power of the states, giving it all to the central government in Mexico City.
In an attempt to prevent more uprisings, the Mexican government demanded that the states and territories surrender to the capital any cannon that had been sent for their defense by the government.
The government’s intention to make the territories defenseless in the face of Indian and organized bandit attacks was the final catalyst that the Tejas territory needed.
Revolution Begins
Santa Anna sent a company of Dragoons to the town of Gonzales, located east of San Antonio, to seize cannons in a fort located there.
On October 1, the Dragoons arrived and were met with opposition from 180 or so of the inhabitants who refused to give up the cannon, stating that they were prepared to fight to uphold the Constitution of 1824.
Outnumbered, the Mexican forces withdrew in the evening. The Texans, as they were now calling themselves, followed and the next morning fired at the Dragoons.
The Texas War for Independence had begun.
Word quickly spread, and more and more men rallied to the cause. By the end of the month, their strength was now more than 300.
The new Texan army, commanded by Sam Houston, captured the town of San Antonio on October 28, defeating a force of 275 Mexican troops.
On November 26, 1835, the Texas Army attacked and destroyed a Mexican supply train headed for San Antonio in what became known as the “Grass Fight” since the wagons were carrying a large supply of hay.
Control of San Antonio was key to the area because of the main roads passing through.
Houston assigned Colonel William Travis with protecting the ground gained.
The Alamo
Travis focused on fortifying the old Spanish mission, called Alamo, on the outskirts of town.
Travis later left Colonel James C. Neill to finalize the defenses while he set out to rally more men to their cause.
Neill was left initially with 200 or so men to prepare his defense. As winter came, and then Christmas, more and more men went home to tend to their farms and families.
In January, there were fewer than 100 men remaining.
Houston was right.
General Santa Anna was outraged, and in January, he ordered an army of 2,100 to march north to San Antonio.
Travis returned to the Alamo in early January, and Jim Bowie arrived on the 19th and brought with him 30 men.
General Sam Houston had given Bowie the authority to remove the cannon and blow up the fort, but one of his officers, James Bonham, organized a rally among the defenders. It was decided to pass a resolution stating that they were all in favor of holding the mission. Bonham signed the declaration first, followed by Bowie.
On February 3rd, famed Tennessean Davy Crockett showed up with 30 more men he had brought west with him.
13-Day Siege
The Mexican forces arrived in the area on February 23, 1836, and 150 men of the Texan Army prepared to defend the Alamo.
The next day the garrison found themselves being surrounded and seriously outnumbered.
The Mexicans offered terms of surrender to the defenders. The terms were at his discretion, meaning that Santa Anna would decide their fate.
When Travis was notified of this, he replied with a shot from the fort’s 18-pounder.
Santa Anna ordered a red flag flown, meaning that there would be no quarter and no mercy offered to the defenders.
The siege had begun.
On February 24, Travis drafted a letter and had it smuggled out of the fort. It was a passionate plea for aid that began with, “To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World.”
Two days later, the fighting began with small skirmishes followed by artillery barrages from the Mexican Army. The defenders fired few cannon shots in return as their ammunition supply was severely limited.
On March 3, the Mexicans marched into San Antonio and captured the town.
On the 4th, Mexican reinforcements arrived, bringing their army strength to almost 3,100.
Seeing this, the defenders knew that an attack was imminent. Throughout March 5, the Mexican artillery continued firing into the fort.
Inside the fort, final preparations were made for what the dawn was surely to bring.
Around 5:30 A.M. on the 6th, the Mexican troops began silently advancing on the Alamo from three directions. The Texas guards posted outside the walls were surprised and killed, and the Mexicans approached undetected within musket range.
Suddenly shouts of “Viva Santa Anna!” and bugle calls urging the soldiers forward erupted, and the defenders sprung to their posts.
Travis reportedly yelled, “Come on boys, the Mexicans are upon us and we’ll give them hell!” as he ran to the north wall.
The fort’s cannon sporadically fired into the advancing Mexicans and their tight formations made excellent targets for the Alamo’s cannon.
At first, the advancing troops faltered under the cannon and musket fire. But as the front lines started to give way, the rear lines pushed them forward.
They reached the fort walls and the defenders had to lean over to fire. William Travis was killed, as he leaned over to fire his shotgun at the soldiers below.
The Mexican troops were able to gain access to the fort through breaches in the walls and the makeshift cannon ports the defenders had made.
When the Mexicans had entered the fort, the Texans rallied toward the barracks building at the back of the fort near the chapel.
The 50 defenders on the west wall were cut off and all killed to the man while making their stand from a ditch.
The fight inside the fort lasted almost an hour. The Mexicans raged through the fort, killing every defender remaining outside of the barracks building. They turned the Texans’ cannon against the defenders breaching the barracks walls.
Jim Bowie, who had fallen severely ill days before the battle, reportedly fought from his bed until he was bayoneted by soldiers on his bunk.
Crockett is believed to have either been killed outright or severely wounded, captured, and killed later.
A few of the fort’s defenders surrendered but were subsequently executed. The only survivors of the siege were a few women and children who had sought shelter in the chapel.
The bodies of the Texans were unceremoniously piled up and burned after the battle.
“Remember the Alamo!”
As word spread of the defeat and the fate of the defenders was made known, Texans were outraged, and more men rallied to the cause.
There were several skirmishes between the Texans and Santa Anna’s troops fought throughout the rest of March and into April.
Almost one month had passed since the siege of the Alamo.
General Sam Houston and his men were being pursued by Santa Anna’s army when he received word that the Mexican general had split his forces.
Houston decided to attack the Mexican Army as they moved along the San Jacinto River near modern-day Deer Park, Texas.
Houston’s force numbered around 935. He addressed his troops the morning of April 21, 1836, before crossing the river: “The army will cross, and we will meet the enemy. Some of us may be killed and must be killed; but soldiers remember the Alamo! The Alamo! The Alamo!”
At 4:30 P.M. the Texans launched a surprise attack against the Mexican Army. Houston’s men ran forward shouting, “Remember the Alamo!”
Caught unaware, the Mexican army was routed from the field. Houston’s men showed them no mercy, cutting them down as they tried to swim or ford the river.
The Battle of San Jacinto was over in about 18 minutes, but was the decisive blow to Mexico for Texas to gain its independence.
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