The Texas Revolution The Texas Revolution October 1835 – May 1836

The War Begins Many people living in Texas were upset with the Mexican government because Santa Anna refused to follow the Constitution of 1824.

The Battle of Gonzales Date: October 2, 1835 Mexican Commander/Soldiers: Francisco de Castañeda Texan Commander/ Soldiers: John Henry Moore

The Battle of Gonzales October 2, 1835 October 2, 1835, the Mexican army came to Gonzales to try and take their cannon away. 140 settlers led by John H. Moore set up the cannon to attack the Mexicans. They raised a flag with the words Come and Take It to show the Mexicans they were ready to fight. The Texans fired the cannon at the Mexican soldiers and forced them to retreat. This event became known as the first battle of the Texas Revolution

The Siege and Battle of the Alamo Date: February 23 – March 6, 1836 Mexican Commander/Soldiers: Santa Anna Texan Commander/ Soldiers: William B. Travis & Jim Bowie

The Siege of the Alamo Feb. 23 – March 6, 1836 After the Battle of San Antonio (December 1835), many Texans thought the Mexican threat had ended. General Cos had retreated and no Mexican troops remained in Texas. However, Santa Anna started his march into Texas, which surprised the Texas soldiers because they thought he would wait until spring. The Texas army was unprepared and spread out all over Texas. This lack of organization would cost them at the Battle of the Alamo.

Wanted: Volunteers to Fight Col. Neil only had 30 men to defend the Alamo. Gen. Sam Houston sent James Bowie and his men to destroy the Alamo, but they decided to stay and fight. William B. Travis brought 29 men to help. Davy Crockett arrived with 12 men. By mid-February, about 200 men were at the Alamo. Bowie and Travis were placed in command of all the troops, as the men made final preparations to face Santa Anna. Messages were sent to other soldiers, but they did not have enough time come and help the defenders of the Alamo. Bowie Crockett Travis

Fall of the Alamo On February 23, 1836, Santa Anna and his troops arrived and began the 13 day siege of the Alamo. On March 5, 1,800 Mexican soldiers surrounded the Alamo. Santa Anna raised a blood-red flag, which was the symbol of no mercy. Early on March 6, 1836, the Mexican army attacked, bursting through the walls of the Alamo. After 90 minutes, the battle was over and hundreds of both Mexican and Texas soldiers laid dead.

Casualties and Survivors At the end of the battle the final death count was 189 Texans and 600 Mexicans. Several Tejanos were among the dead Alamo defenders. Santa Anna spared the lives of women, children, and black slaves. He released them to tell other Texans about the destruction that happened to those people that fought against the Mexican army.

The Goliad Massacre Date: March 27, 1836 Mexican Commander/Soldiers: Jose de Urrea/ Jose Nicolas de la Portilla Texan Commander/ Soldiers: James Fannin

The Battle of Coleto Creek On March 14, Fannin received orders from Sam Houston to retreat to Victoria. Fannin delayed until March 19, hoping reinforcements would arrive. When he finally left Goliad, Urrea’s men quickly surrounded them. The Texans fought hard and drove back the Mexican army several times, but Fannin finally surrendered . Fannin and the survivors were taken captive by Urrea and marched back to Goliad. Urrea Fannin

The Goliad Massacre March 27, 1836 Many of the captives thought the Mexican army would release them, since they were U.S. citizens and had surrendered. Fannin signed an unconditional surrender because Urrea told him that he would not execute his men. However, Santa Anna decided all 300 men should be treated like pirates and shot. Fannin and his troops were executed on March 27, 1836. Several Texas soldiers managed to escape and brought back news of the massacre at Goliad. Texans realized they would need to join together to defeat the Mexican army.

The Runaway Scrape Date: March 13 – April 20, 1836 Mexican Commander/Soldiers: Santa Anna Texan Commander/ Soldiers: Sam Houston

Sam Houston and the Runaway Scrape Houston realized his men weren’t ready to fight Santa Anna and they wanted to thin out the Mexican army, so Houston retreated from Gonzales and moved towards the Brazos River where his men trained for two weeks. Sam Houston and his men continued moving eastwards, destroying everything in their path, giving the Texans enough time to prepare to fight the Mexican army.

Runaway Scrape March 13 – April 20, 1836 When families in Gonzales saw Sam Houston retreat, they panicked. They left the town because they were certain Santa Anna would kill all the Anglos in Texas. Many other settlers abandoned their homes and fled to Louisiana and far East Texas to await the outcome of the war. This became know as the Runaway Scrape

Santa Anna Closes In Santa Anna continued his march eastward through Texas, looking for any remaining Texas troops. After suffering heavy casualties at the Alamo, the Mexican army was weak. They could not gather supplies since there were so few towns and Sam Houston had burned many farms and houses. By April 1836, the morale of the Mexican army was low. Sam Houston managed to stay ahead of Santa Anna, so Santa Anna took 700 men to try and catch up. Santa Anna managed to capture and burn Harrisburg, the headquarters of the Texas government. He pursued the leaders southwards, but could not catch them. On April 20, when he returned to the north, Houston’s army was waiting.

The Battle of San Jacinto Date: April 21, 1836 Mexican Commander/Soldiers: Santa Anna Texan Commander/ Soldiers: Sam Houston

Battle of San Jacinto April 21, 1836 On the afternoon of April 21 the battle began. Houston had 900 men and Santa Anna had 1,200 men. Houston burned a bridge which would keep the Mexican army from retreating. The Mexicans rested around 3 p.m. because they believed the battle would not take place until the next day. Houston surprised Santa Anna and the Texans shouted “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” as they attacked. The battle lasted 18 minutes. Nearly 700 Mexican soldiers died in the battle compared to only 9 Texans who were either wounded or killed.

Santa Anna Surrenders Having captured Santa Anna, the Texas army won not only the Battle of San Jacinto but also the war. Houston spared Santa Anna’s life in exchange for Texas. The Texas Revolution was over.

Battles of the Texas Revolution

The Treaties of Velasco David Burnet, ad-interim president, established the new headquarters of the Texas government in Velasco, after Santa Anna burned Harrisburg. Burnet negotiated with Santa Anna and they came up with two treaties: public and secret. In the public treaty, Santa Anna promised to never fight Texas again and allowed Texas and Mexican prisoners to be exchanged. In the secret treaty, Santa Anna promised to recognize Texas’s independence and established the border of Texas and Mexico at the Rio Grande. In July 1836, Texas was established as a republic and Sam Houston was elected as the first president of Texas.