Battle of San Jacinto
Sam Houston at the Battle of San Jacinto
| date | April 21, 1836 |
|---|---|
| place | near present-day La Porte , Texas |
| output | decisive Texas victory |
| Parties to the conflict | |
|---|---|
| Commander | |
|
Antonio López de Santa Anna { PoW } |
Sam Houston {wounded} |
| Troop strength | |
| around 1400 | 800 |
| losses | |
|
630 killed, 208 wounded, 730 captured |
9 killed, 26 wounded |
.svg){kind=small}
.svg){kind=small}
Gonzales - Goliad - Lipantitlán - Concepción - Grass Fight - Béxar - San Patricio - Agua Dulce - Alamo - Sisal - Refugio - Coleto - Goliad Massacre - Matamoros - San Jacinto - Brazos River - Galveston
The Battle of San Jacinto was fought in what is now Harris County on April 21, 1836 and was the decisive military confrontation between Texans and Mexicans during the Texas Revolution . The Texas Army, led by General Sam Houston, defeated the Mexican troops under General Antonio López de Santa Anna in a battle that lasted only eighteen minutes. Hundreds of Mexican soldiers were killed or captured, while the number of deaths in Texas was few .
Santa Anna, who was President of Mexico, was captured the following day and detained as a prisoner of war. A short time later he signed the peace treaties, which required the Mexican army to leave the region, paving the way for the Republic of Texas to become an independent country. The treaties did not specifically recognize Texas as a sovereign state, but assumed that Santa Anna would push for such recognition upon her return to Mexico City. Sam Houston became a national celebrity and the Texans ' battle cries “Remember Goliad!” And “Remember the Alamo!” Became part of the legends of American history.
background
During the early years of the Mexican War of Independence , many Anglo-Americans settled in Tejas , which was then part of the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas . In 1835 they rebelled against the Mexican government under General Santa Anna, after the latter had repealed the Mexican Constitution of 1824 and established dictatorial rule in Mexico. While taking some smaller outposts and fighting Mexican garrisons in the area, the Texans formed a provisional government and drafted a Texas Declaration of Independence .
Hundreds of US volunteers flocked to the young Republic of Texas to support the colonists. Two full regiments of these volunteers were raised to reinforce the regular Texas army. Other volunteers, both Tejanos and Texians (Anglo-Texans), also set up combat groups to defend various locations. In San Jacinto, these were the "Kentucky Rifles" , a uniformed company that had been set up in Cincinnati and in northern Kentucky by Sidney Sherman . These were the only troops in the Texas Army who wore formal uniforms . The "New Orleans Grays" were another company, which was commanded by a regular Texan officer, but was set up in the USA; she fought in the battle of the Alamo and was worn out there.
In 1836, Santa Anna personally led a force of several thousand Mexican soldiers into Texas to put down the rebellion. First he marched into San Antonio de Béjar and defeated a Texan force in the Battle of Alamo , before the right wing of his offensive under General José de Urrea crushed a second Texan unit near Goliad . Santa Anna viewed the captured men as irregulars and most of them, 350 Texans, were executed.
General Houston, in command of the main Texan force, was slowly withdrawing eastward. To President David G. Burnet , who was no friend of Houston, the general seemed unwilling to face his persecutors and to fight them despite repeated requests. Burnet feared that the Mexicans and would advance to meet with resistance quickly without, so he left and the Texas government capital Washington-on-the-Brazos and crossed quickly the prairie toward the Gulf of Mexico to the government in Galveston to install . In the immediate aftermath, thousands of terrified colonists, both Texians and Tejanos, fled. This became known as the " Runaway Scrape ".
Houston first marched towards the Sabine River , which formed the border with the United States. A federal army under General Pendleton Gaines had rallied there to protect Louisiana in case Santa Anna tried to invade the United States after dealing with the rebelling Texans. Soon, however, Houston turned in a southeasterly direction towards Harrisburg .
In pursuit of Houston, Santa Anna prepared a trap by pooling three columns of Mexican troops on Houston's forces in order to crush them. However, he moved one column to capture the Texas government and another to secure his own supply lines. In the meantime he personally led the remaining column against Houston. Santa Anna caught up with it on April 19 near Lynch's Ferry and positioned itself at the confluence of the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou . Houston himself placed his camp on the other side of a patch of grass, not quite a kilometer away.
Before the battle
Believing Houston to be cornered, Santa Anna decided on April 20th to give his troops a rest and not attack until April 22nd. Finally, another 500 reinforcements arrived under General Martín Perfecto de Cos , with Santa Anna's troops reaching a strength of around 1,400 men. Santa Anna posted Cos on his right flank near the riverbank, and his only remaining cannon, a twelve-pounder, in the center. He had an approximately 1.5 m high barricade wall built from packages to protect his infantry. He placed the cavalry on his left and then retired to plan the attack the next day.
Houston held a council of war on the morning of April 21, and the majority of its officers preferred to wait for Santa Anna's eventual attack. Houston, however, decided to launch its own surprise attack that afternoon, fearing that Santa Anna might rally his scattered army if he had more time. He decided to attack Santa Anna's troops with about 800 men. The main attack would be over open terrain where the Texan infantry were exposed to Mexican fire. Houston also took an even more risky move that further thinned out its troops. He wanted to attack the Mexicans with his cavalry from the side. However, Santa Anna also made a fatal mistake - he neglected to post guards or scouts around his camp during his army's siesta .
Houston won the approval of the Texas Secretary of War Thomas Jefferson Rusk for his daring plan, who was on the spot to visit troops at the request of President Burnet to confer with Houston. At 3:30 p.m. Houston formed his men in battle lines for the impending attack. These were protected from the view of the Mexicans by trees and a low ridge that ran across the open prairie between the two opposing armies.
battle
An hour later, at 4:30 p.m. after Scout Deaf Smith reported the fire on Vince's Bridge , which cut off the primary route of retreat for the two armies, the Texans' main line of battle advanced. General Houston personally led the infantry; he put Col. Sidney Sherman's 2nd Volunteer Regiment on his far left and Col. Edward Burleson's 1st Volunteer Regiment next in line. In the center, two small artillery pieces were rolled forward under the command of Major George W. Hockley . These were by the citizens of Cincinnati in Ohio have been donated and the "Twin Sisters" , the "twin sisters" are known. They were supported by four infantry companies led by Captain Henry Wax Karnes . Colonel Henry Millard's regiment of Texan regulars formed the right wing. At the very far right, 61 Texan cavalrymen, under the recently promoted Colonel Mirabeau B. Lamar, were preparing to arc into the Mexicans' left flank. Lamar had been an ordinary soldier the day before, but after a brief skirmish with the Mexicans on April 20, because of his courage and resourcefulness, he had been promoted directly to colonel.
The Texas army crossed the tall grassy area quickly and silently. When the Texans were only a few dozen meters away from the Mexican camp, they let out their battle cries - “Remember the Alamo!” And “Remember Goliad!” (In German, for example: Remember the Alamo! And Remember Goliad! ) -, stormed towards the Mexicans, stopped only a few meters from the enemy ranks and opened fire. Confusion arose among the Mexican troops. Santa Anna's army consisted primarily of professional soldiers. These were trained to fight in rows and to exchange volleys with their opponents. The Mexican soldiers were caught on the wrong foot and were unprepared at the time of the sudden attack. General Manuel Fernández Castrillón desperately tried to resist, but was soon gunned down and killed. His men fled in a panic and Santa Anna's line of defense quickly collapsed.
Hundreds of demoralized and confused Mexican soldiers fled, many of whom got caught in the mud on the riverbank and got stuck. Few Mexicans held out and tried to push the Texans back. In their training, however, they were insufficiently prepared for the fight against the well-armed Texans and the hand-to-hand combat . General Juan Almonte commanded the rest of the organized Mexican resistance, but surrendered after a short time with his 400 remaining soldiers. The rest of Santa Anna's once proud army had fallen to chaos. After a skirmish lasting only 18 minutes, the Texas Army had triumphed, killing 630 Mexican soldiers, wounding 208 and taking 730 prisoners.
Houston's left ankle was wounded during the short but fierce battle. Santa Anna initially managed to escape.
consequences
Because Santa Anna could not be found among the dead or among the prisoners, a search party was sent out the next morning, consisting of James A. Sylvester, Washington H. Secrest, Sion R. Bostick, and a Mr. Cole. When Santa Anna was discovered he had shed his neat uniform, and when he surrendered he was initially considered an ordinary soldier. It was only when he was transferred to a group of other captured soldiers that they saluted him enthusiastically with "El Presidente" and thus revealed his real identity to the Texans. Houston spared his life because he wanted to negotiate an end to general hostility and the withdrawal of Santa Anna's remaining columns from Texas. Vicente Filisola led the withdrawal of the Mexican troops.
On May 14, Santa Anna signed the Velasco Treaties , in which he undertook to withdraw his troops from Texan soil and, in return for a safe escort back to Mexico, work there for the recognition of the new Republic of Texas. However, the free withdrawal was not realized and Santa Anna was imprisoned as a prisoner of war for six months . During this time, he was deposed by his home government and all agreements he would sign were invalidated. Eventually he was taken to Washington, DC , where he met President Andrew Jackson before finally being allowed to return to Mexico in disgrace in early 1837. By then, Texan independence was already a “done thing”, although Mexico only officially recognized it with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo , which ended the Mexican-American War in 1848.
Commemoration
At the site of the battle there is now a park with the San Jacinto Monument , the highest memorial column in the world at 174 meters. The park is located near Deer Park , about 25 miles east of Houston . The memorial bears a long inscription describing the historical events. It ends with the words:
“Measured by its results, San Jacinto was one of the decisive battles of the world. The freedom of Texas (not part of the United States at the time) from Mexico won here led to annexation and to the Mexican-American War, resulting in the acquisition by the United States of the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada , California, Utah and parts of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma. Almost one-third of the present area of the American Nation, nearly a million square miles of territory, changed sovereignty. "
“Judging by the results, San Jacinto was one of the decisive battles in world history . The freedom of Texas (not part of the United States at the time) from Mexico, won here, led to the annexation and the Mexican-American War , which resulted in the admission of Texas , New Mexico , Arizona , Nevada , California and Utah and from parts of Colorado , Wyoming , Kansas, and Oklahoma to the United States of America . Almost a third of the current territory of the American nation, nearly a million square miles of territory, changed sovereignty. "
San Jacinto Veterans Day is held every April and the battle is re-enacted at the historic site.
Alfonso Steele (April 9, 1817 - July 8, 1911), to whom a park is dedicated in Limestone County, Texas , was considered the last Texan survivor of the battle.
In the twentieth century, the state of Texas erected numerous monuments and billboards to mark the migration route of Houston's army and their deposits on the way to San Jacinto.
Over time, three United States Navy ships have been designated as the USS San Jacinto after the battle ; Currently, the USS San Jacinto (CG-56), a cruiser of the Ticonderoga class, is operated under this name.
Web links
- Battle of San Jacinto - Handbook of Texas Online (in English)
- San Jacinto Battle-ground . Map from 1856, on the Portal to Texas History website(in English)
- Map of the battlefield of San Jacinto from A pictorial history of Texas, from the earliest visits of European adventurers, to AD 1879 , on the Portal to Texas History website (in English)
- San Jacinto Monument & Museum website (in English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Description of the Battle of San Jacinto ( Memento of the original from May 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Casualty figures from tamu.edu ( Memento of the original dated May 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ San Jacinto Museum ( Memento from January 3, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
