The Texan War of Independence was started as a result of Mexico reasserting control over the Texan frontier in what had become known as the Runaway Scrape. Mexico sent in the army and thousands of settlers joined General Sam Houston in declaring independence and fighting for their freedom.
In March 1836, the war was not going well for the Texans and many were sick and poorly trained while they were facing superior Mexican numbers who were better equipped, better trained and numerically superior. General Houston was actually in the throes of retreat in the face of General Lopez de Santa Anna who was also the President of Mexico at the time. The Alamo had fallen and there had also been the Goliad massacre which was causing an enormous amount of unrest amongst the revolutionary Texans who thirsted for revenge. Houston knew only too well that at that time, his Texans had little chance of overcoming the odds stacked against them by Santa Anna and his forces.
Come April 18th, Houston and his army arrived at Buffalo Bayou only to find Santa Anna had attacked and sacked the town of Harrisburg; using a captured Mexican courier, Houston also learned that Santa Anna and a smaller force had isolated themselves from the bulk of the Mexican army. The odds were now substantially evened out with Santa Anna having just over 750 men to Houston s 820. On April 19th, Houston and his army crossed the Buffalo Bayou to the south bank and established a camp at Lynch s Ferry the following day. They fed well on captured supplies from the Mexicans after a supply boat was taken at the ferry and just as well, as many of the Texans were starving.
Santa Anna subsequently tried to tempt the Texans into open battle at nearby San Jacinto and skirmishes and light fighting continued throughout the day until late afternoon when Santa Anna closed within a mile of Houston and his Texans. A brief fight ensued at sunset which almost cost the Texans their scant force of cavalry and created a great deal of unease within General Houston himself but night made sure there would be no further fighting that day.
Santa Anna on the other hand, realized he was facing a larger force than his own and kept his men up all night building fortifications as he feared the Texans would attack at first light. Santa Anna was also praying that reinforcements would shortly arrive to re establish his superiority but on the morning of April 21st, there was no sign of an attack by Houston and his men and around 9.00am, approximately 500 hundred Mexican reinforcements arrived much to Houston s ire.
Houston sent a detachment to destroy Vince s Bridge and delay further reinforcements and at noon a plan was conceived and put into effect mid afternoon. Houston s main force advanced silently in a frontal assault looking to take advantage of surprise while tow other smaller forces circled left and right of the Mexican positions and quickly found that the enemy was relaxing and sleeping.
The Texans got to within two hundred yards before the alarm was sounded and battle commenced with the Texans charging the Mexican positions crying, Remember Goliad! Remember the Alamo! A fierce hand to hand battle ensued and the Mexicans were defeated upon the two flanking groups launching their attacks on the besieged Mexicans with the whole fight lasting some 20 minutes though Houston himself was wounded. In total nine Texans and 630 Mexicans lay dead or dying while the remaining 700 or so became prisoners and this represented a significant defeat for the Mexicans. Worse was to follow with the capture of Santa Anna himself, disguised as a private soldier and subsequently, he ordered his men to withdraw and Texas was saved to become a member of the United States of America while the city of Houston sprang up on the Buffalo Bayou.
Next time you re in Houston, be sure and visit the San Jacinto Memorial and Museum.
Author Resource:-
Freelance author Lawrence Reaves uses SnagAJob when searching for Houston jobs. A great resource for jobs in Houston Texas on the web. Visit http://www.snagajob.com
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