CHAPTER 10 The Army of the People War or Peace Votes are Cast By: Jaiden, Evelyn, Matthew, Kevin, Alex

THE ARMY OF THE PEOPLE The Texans had a battle at Gonzales and they won. They later captured the fort of Goliad. Goliad was important for its strategic location because it was the route to San Antonio.

THE ARMY OF THE PEOPLE The Texans captured a whole supply of ammo and gained confidence. After this, they wanted to take over San Antonio de Bexar, military base in the city. They had a battle cry “onto San Antonio”.

THE ARMY OF THE PEOPLE However, General Cos commanded about 650 soldiers. After the brief battle at Concepcion, the Army of the People realized that San Antonio would not fall as easily as Goliad.

THE ARMY OF PEOPLE The Texans had an army called “The Army of the People” that was led by Stephen F. Austin. Austin had no military experience, but colonists had confidence in him. As they were marching to San Antonio, more Texans joined until there was about 400.

THE ARMY OF THE PEOPLE They decided to lay siege to San Antonio because they were low in troop and supply and would never win a direct battle. Because of the siege, plans for the scheduled Consultation had changed. They moved to San Felipe because it had a printing press that would allow the Texans to mass-produce records of their meetings.

THE ARMY OF PEOPLE It was postponed to the next month and began on November 3, They had to make an important decision “Should they support the Federalists in Mexico who opposed Santa Anna and work to fix the Constitution of 1824 or should they seek independence from Mexico?”

THE ARMY OF THE PEOPLE

WAR OR PEACE There were two party. There was the War Party and the Peace Party. War Party was led by William Harris Warton and Henry Smith who wanted immediate independence from Mexico. They believed that the fighting would show that Texas could no longer be under Mexico rule.

WAR OR PEACE Peace Party was just as committed to fighting Santa Anna’s rule, but they weren’t ready to declare independence from Mexico. The Peace Party wanted the Consultation to say that Texans were fighting for the Constitution of 1824 which Santa Anna didn’t approve of. They hoped the moderate approach would convince other Mexican state to join in the struggle.

WAR OR PEACE

VOTES ARE CAST On November 6, the delegates finalized the debate and made a decision. Fourteen of the delegates voted for independence and thirty-three voted against it. The next day, the consultation adopted a statement of principle, and they called it the Declaration of the People of Texas and General Convention Assemble.

VOTES ARE CAST The document stated that they were loyal to Mexico and wanted the Constitution of 1824 restored. They blamed Santa Anna for the troubles and urged all Mexican citizens to fight against it. They were also no longer bound by the union of Texas with Mexico. They offered land to anyone who would join the fight.

VOTES ARE CAST