On this date in 1836 General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was captured hiding in the marshy grass near the San Jacinto River. The great general, "El Presidente," was so afraid of being captured that he was hiding in some reeds and had commandeered a uniform from one of his enlisted men. The men who captured Santa Anna did not realize they had captured the great general himself. As they led their prisoner back to the Texas camp and paraded him through the rest of the captured Mexican soldiers, it was the Mexican soldiers themselves who gave away Santa Anna's secret.
Even in defeat, the Mexican soldiers were so in awe of their commander-in-chief that they saluted him as he walked by, and many of them said to each other "El Presidente!" The Texians then realized the prize they had. Santa Anna was ushered to General Sam Houston, and not a minute too soon. As more and more Texians realized that Santa Anna had survived the Battle of San Jacinto, they began to shout for his blood. Some members of the Texas army were almost to the point of lynching Santa Anna to mete out revenge for the slaughter of the men at the Alamo, at Goliad, and a lesser known massacre of Texans at Gonzalez.
Sam Houston acted quickly both to secure Santa Anna's safety and to make his men realize that, for the moment at least, Santa Anna was of much more value alive. In fact, holding Santa Anna hostage was critical to the survival of new republic, and even of the little army itself. Many of the men did not know that more than four thousand more Mexican soldiers were at that moment threatening the very extinction of Texas forces. Only the flooding of the Brazos and Colorado Rivers, and the capture of Santa Anna, saved the Texas Revolution.
While the huge Mexican army was still held at bay by the floods, Santa Anna was spirited away to Fort Velasco (now Surfside Beach), then was placed on Texas navy ship and sent off to Washington, DC for safekeeping. While Santa Anna was still at Velasco, he signed the Treaty of Velasco, ending the war and requiring the remaining Mexican forces to retreat south of the Rio Grande. Although Texas claimed independence, Santa Anna vacated the treaty as soon as he could pen a letter to the Mexican government.
Although Santa Anna was captured on April 22, 1836 the Battle of San Jacinto was fought a day earlier, on April 21. The battle, actually more of a rout and massacre, lasted only about eighteen minutes, less than half the time it took for Santa Anna to breach the Alamo defenses a month earlier, and kill all the Texians inside. Nearly eight hundred Mexicans were killed, and another seven hundred were captured. Santa Anna, in his contempt of Houston's forces, had ordered that no guards be posted around the Mexican encampment. The Texas army caught the Mexican forces completely off guard, with many of the Mexican soldiers actually sleeping during their "siesta." Even great military strategists can blunder when arrogance replaces good judgment.
The significance of the defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto was belied by the briefness of that battle. Texas independence set the stage for several more years of Mexican and Texican military actions against each other, but more importantly, it made inevitable the war between the United States and Mexico a decade later. Perhaps more profound than that, Texas being admitted to the Union in 1846 was one of several key factors leading to the War Between The States in 1861.
The Battle of San Jacinto had a great impact on Mexico as well, because the terms of the Treaty of Velasco forced Mexico to relinquish its claim on all lands within the 1836 borders of the Mexican state of Texas. This was a huge blow to Mexico, because at that time the lands of Texas included parts of present day New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming, not to mention the huge area of present-day Texas. Santa Anna held himself to be such importance to Mexico that he could deal away that much of Mexico's territory with just the stroke of a pen. Santa Anna would again forfeit a great deal of Mexican territory at the conclusion of the United States and Mexico War, with what would later be known as the Gadsden Purchase. Again, this great loss of territory was a direct result of Santa Anna's capture at San Jacinto and his subsequent signing of the Treaty of Velasco.
So this day, April 22, stands out as another key date in Texas and American history.
Even in defeat, the Mexican soldiers were so in awe of their commander-in-chief that they saluted him as he walked by, and many of them said to each other "El Presidente!" The Texians then realized the prize they had. Santa Anna was ushered to General Sam Houston, and not a minute too soon. As more and more Texians realized that Santa Anna had survived the Battle of San Jacinto, they began to shout for his blood. Some members of the Texas army were almost to the point of lynching Santa Anna to mete out revenge for the slaughter of the men at the Alamo, at Goliad, and a lesser known massacre of Texans at Gonzalez.
Sam Houston acted quickly both to secure Santa Anna's safety and to make his men realize that, for the moment at least, Santa Anna was of much more value alive. In fact, holding Santa Anna hostage was critical to the survival of new republic, and even of the little army itself. Many of the men did not know that more than four thousand more Mexican soldiers were at that moment threatening the very extinction of Texas forces. Only the flooding of the Brazos and Colorado Rivers, and the capture of Santa Anna, saved the Texas Revolution.
While the huge Mexican army was still held at bay by the floods, Santa Anna was spirited away to Fort Velasco (now Surfside Beach), then was placed on Texas navy ship and sent off to Washington, DC for safekeeping. While Santa Anna was still at Velasco, he signed the Treaty of Velasco, ending the war and requiring the remaining Mexican forces to retreat south of the Rio Grande. Although Texas claimed independence, Santa Anna vacated the treaty as soon as he could pen a letter to the Mexican government.
Although Santa Anna was captured on April 22, 1836 the Battle of San Jacinto was fought a day earlier, on April 21. The battle, actually more of a rout and massacre, lasted only about eighteen minutes, less than half the time it took for Santa Anna to breach the Alamo defenses a month earlier, and kill all the Texians inside. Nearly eight hundred Mexicans were killed, and another seven hundred were captured. Santa Anna, in his contempt of Houston's forces, had ordered that no guards be posted around the Mexican encampment. The Texas army caught the Mexican forces completely off guard, with many of the Mexican soldiers actually sleeping during their "siesta." Even great military strategists can blunder when arrogance replaces good judgment.
The significance of the defeat of Santa Anna at San Jacinto was belied by the briefness of that battle. Texas independence set the stage for several more years of Mexican and Texican military actions against each other, but more importantly, it made inevitable the war between the United States and Mexico a decade later. Perhaps more profound than that, Texas being admitted to the Union in 1846 was one of several key factors leading to the War Between The States in 1861.
The Battle of San Jacinto had a great impact on Mexico as well, because the terms of the Treaty of Velasco forced Mexico to relinquish its claim on all lands within the 1836 borders of the Mexican state of Texas. This was a huge blow to Mexico, because at that time the lands of Texas included parts of present day New Mexico, Colorado, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Wyoming, not to mention the huge area of present-day Texas. Santa Anna held himself to be such importance to Mexico that he could deal away that much of Mexico's territory with just the stroke of a pen. Santa Anna would again forfeit a great deal of Mexican territory at the conclusion of the United States and Mexico War, with what would later be known as the Gadsden Purchase. Again, this great loss of territory was a direct result of Santa Anna's capture at San Jacinto and his subsequent signing of the Treaty of Velasco.
So this day, April 22, stands out as another key date in Texas and American history.
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