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The Battle of San Jacinto

Why It Matters Now

The Battle of San Jacinto ended
Mexican rule over Texas.

TERMS & NAMES

OBJECTIVES

MAIN IDEA

Jos Urrea, James W. Fannin,

reconnaissance, Battle of
Coleto, Goliad, Sam Houston,
Runaway Scrape, Battle of
San Jacinto, skirmish,
cavalry

1. Explain the significance of Fannins

surrender at Goliad.
2. Describe the contributions of Sam
Houston to the Texas Revolution.
3. Explain the significance of the Battle
of San Jacinto.
4. Identify the significance of the year
1836.

The Texas Revolution intensified after

the Battle of the Alamo. Mexican
and Texan troops continued to clash
as Santa Anna marched across Texas.
The final battle occurred at San
Jacinto, where Sam Houston and
Santa Anna faced off.

In 1834 Andrew A. Boyle moved from New York

to San Patricio, Texas. On January 7, 1836,
17-year-old Boyle joined the fight for Texass
freedom, serving under Colonel James Fannin.
After two and a half months, Fannins troops
Mission at Goliad today
were taken prisoner by the Mexican army. Boyle
later told of his experience after he had been captured.

Upon our arrival at Goliad wethe woundedwere placed in

the hospital; the rest of the command was guarded in the yard
of the fort. Just one week after the surrender, all wounded men
were marched out of the fort in separate divisions and shot. Soon
after, a Mexican officer came into the hospital, and ordered me
to tell all those able to walk to go outside. . . . In the meantime,
four Mexican soldiers came in and began to carry out those who
were too severly wounded to walk. I was assisted by two comrades
who were but slightly wounded. As we passed the door, an officer
told me we were all to be shot. This I told the men.
Andrew A. Boyle, Reminiscences of the Texas Revolution

General Urrea Marches North

Flaming bomb emblem worn by Mexican

grenadiers, troops armed with grenades

222 Chapter 10

While Santa Anna battled the Texans at the Alamo, the other division of the Mexican army encountered several armed groups nearer to
the coast. This division, commanded by General Jos Urrea, took the
Atascosito Road and marched northeast from the southern tip of Texas.
At San Patricio on February 27, 1836, Urrea met and defeated about
50 Texans commanded by Colonel Francis Johnson. Only Johnson and
four of his men got away. On March 2 Urreas army clashed with about
50 men led by Dr. James Grant. This time six Texans escaped death.

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Fighting at Refugio
Urrea and his army continued toward the presidio at
Goliad. There, Colonel James W. Fannin commanded about
300 revolutionaries. They were at that time the largest armed
group in Texas opposed to Santa Anna, but they lacked decisive leadership. While the battle at the Alamo raged, Travis
sent a letter asking Fannin to bring reinforcements to San
Antonio. On February 28 Fannin and his men set out, but
one of the wagons broke down, and supplies ran short.
Meanwhile, Fannin sent Captain Amon B. King with
about 30 soldiers to Refugio to escort civilians to safety. Urreas
army arrived while Kings men were still there. Fannin ordered
Lieutenant Colonel William Ward and 100 men to help King. Once
Ward arrived, King led some men on a reconnaissance mission. Urreas
soldiers discovered them and killed or captured all of them. Wards troops
tried to retreat to Victoria but were captured and sent to Goliad.

218

James W. Fannin
and his troops were
imprisoned and shot
at Goliad. The town
of Fannin, Texas,
which was named
for him, is not far
from where he was
executed. How did
Fannins indecision
lead to his defeat at
the Battle of Coleto?

reconnaissance a survey
made to gather information
about an enemy

Battle of Coleto
With Urrea now so close, Fannin could not go to San Antonio. Even
if he had tried, he would have arrived too late. On March 14 Fannin
received orders from General Sam Houston to retreat to Victoria.
Houston wanted to assemble all the troops in one place. He hoped to
delay further battles until the troops were better organized. Fannin,
however, remained in Goliad until March 19, waiting for word from King
and Ward. After finally beginning his retreat, Fannin stopped in an open
prairie a few miles east of Goliad near Coleto Creek to give his men and
oxen a rest. Urreas men quickly surrounded the Texans on the prairie.
Fannin commanded only about 300 men, who were outnumbered by
Urreas troops. Fannin arranged his men in a square to defend themselves
from all sides. Urrea ordered several charges, but each time the Texans
drove the Mexican troops back. Several Texans, including Fannin, were
wounded in the first day of fighting. Early the next morning, Urrea
received additional troops. After a brief exchange of fire on the morning
of March 20, Fannin surrendered his command. The surviving Texas
soldiers were taken captive by the Mexican army.

Remember Goliad
The fate of the captives at Coleto is the subject of much debate.
Most of them were recent immigrants from the United States. They had
traveled to Texas for adventure and perhaps future land grants. Many
had not taken the oath as Mexican citizens. As a result, they expected to
be sent back to the United States. Some believed their lives would be
spared because they had surrendered and had not fought to the death.
Although Fannin signed an unconditional surrender, most historians
believe that Urrea told him that his troops would not be executed. Santa
Anna decided differently. He ordered all of the captives to be shot.

ANGEL OF GOLIAD

Seora Francisca lvarez,

who was the wife of a Mexican
officer, pleaded for the lives of
the Texans as they were about
to be executed at Goliad. Later
referred to as the Angel of
Goliad, lvarez helped rescue
20 or more Texas soldiers.

The Texas Revolution

223

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Texas captives were sent to Goliad,

where they were held for a week.
Then they were marched out,
unaware of their approaching
death. What events led to the
mass execution at Goliad?

Medallion believed worn by Mexican

heavy cavalry

The Texans were marched back to Goliad and held for a week. On
March 27, men who could walk were divided into three columns and
marched out of the compound. Some hoped they were being sent home.
Instead, the guards began shooting all but a handful who escaped
during the confusion. The rest of the men, including Fannin, were
executed later.

Sam Houston Assumes Command

GOLIAD SURVIVOR

Andrew A. Boyle was spared

from execution by the order
of General Francisco Garay.
Garay, second in command of
Urreas division, was repaying
the kindness of Boyles sister.
Garay and his troops had
stayed at the home of Boyles
sister during the Battle of San
Patricio. At the time, she
refused payment for his stay
and asked only that Garay
treat her brother kindly if he
were ever captured.

224 Chapter 10

Sam Houston had been named commander of the Texas army by the
first Consultation. He became frustrated when commanders such as
Fannin did not follow his orders, so he returned to East Texas. While he
was there, he negotiated a peace treaty with the Cherokees. The
Cherokee leaders agreed to remain peaceful so the Texans would not
have to fight Native Americans and Mexicans at the same time. In
return, Houston promised that the new government of Texas would issue
the Cherokees titles to their land.
Houston was reappointed commander of the Texas army when the
second meeting of the Consultation took place in early March 1836. He
arrived in Gonzales on March 11 and found 374 men who had gathered
to join the defenders of the Alamo. Lacking a leader, and not knowing
the fate of those at the Alamo, they had stayed in Gonzales. Houston
sent Erastus Deaf Smith toward San Antonio on a scouting expedition. Smith returned with Mrs. Susanna Dickinson, her daughter, and
Traviss servant. They told Houston that all the men at the Alamo had
been killed.
Texan troops wanted revenge. However, Houston realized his men
were not prepared to fight the Mexican army. He needed more time to
get his troops ready to go into battle. He ordered Gonzales abandoned
and burned. Then he led the men to the east. He paused at the Colorado
River and then moved on to the Brazos River. He headed north to the
plantation of Jared Groce, a well-known landowner in Texas. Houston
and his men camped on Groce family land for about two weeks of training before continuing the retreat to the east. At each stop, the men grew
more restless. They were ready to fight.

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Battles of the Texas Revolution FebruaryApril, 1836

.
oR

nA
nt

on
i

Coleto
o Creek

Anahuac
Groces
San Jacinto
Plantation
Harrisburg
Fort
San Felipe Col Bend
de Austin
Columbia
Victoria

R.
ado
or

Sa

R.

Gonzales

Trinity

up e R .

San Antonio
(Alamo)
Fr
i

R.

Presidio del
Rio Grande

Burnhams
Crossing

.
oR

Guad
al

i nt

30N

Jac

Bastrop

Sabine R.

San
Brazos R.

Washingtonon-the-Brazos

Brazoria

Matagorda

Goliad
Refugio

Nue
ces
R.

G ulf

o f

Me x ico

San Patricio
Houstons forces
Santa Annas forces
Urreas forces
Battle site

Rio
Gr
a

e
nd

Matamoros

100W

100 Miles
200 Kilometers
95W

The Texans and the Mexicans clashed several times as they marched across Texas. Which
Mexican army fought in more battles with the Texans?

Juan Segun

uan Segun, son of Erasmo

Segun, helped his mother run
the San Antonio post office
when he was young, while his
father served in the Mexican
Congress of 1824. Segun
served with Travis at the Alamo
but was sent out as a messenger. Segun organized a Tejano
company that served as Sam
Houstons rear guard as Houston retreated from Gonzales. He
and his men fought bravely at
San Jacinto. Segun later served
as the only Mexican Texan in
the Senate of the Republic and
then as mayor of San Antonio.
Why was Segun an excellent
choice to become senator of
the new Republic?

Runaway Scrape
The families living in the Gonzales area panicked when they learned
of Santa Annas advance and Houstons retreat. Certain that Santa Anna
intended to kill all Anglo Americans in Texas, many settlers abandoned
their homes and fled. When word of the massacres at the Alamo and at
Goliad reached Anglo settlers, they gathered up their belongings and
went east as quickly as they could. Some fled all the way to Louisiana.
Others stopped in eastern settlements such as Nacogdoches and
Galveston Island to await the outcome of the war. Their flight is known
as the Runaway Scrape.
Dilue Rose Harris was ten years old when her family left their home
and joined the Runaway Scrape. She later wrote about her experiences.
TEXAS VOICES
We had been at Liberty three weeks. . . . One Thursday evening all of a sudden
we heard a sound like distant thunder. When it was repeated father said it was
cannon, and that the Texans and Mexican were fighting. . . . The cannonading
lasted only a few minutes, and father said that the Texans must have been
defeated, or the cannon would not have ceased firing so quickly. We left Liberty
in half an hour. . . .
We travelled nearly all night, sister and I on horseback and mother in the
cart. . . . We were as wretched as we could be; for we had been five weeks from
home, and there was not much prospect of our ever returning.
Dilue Rose Harris, Reminiscences of Mrs. Dilue Rose Harris

Pitcher
carried
during the
Runaway
Scrape

The Texas Revolution

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Santa Anna Closes In

This painting shows Sam Houston

mounted on his horse Saracen while
leading Texas troops into battle.
How did Houston prepare his troops
for battle?

skirmish a brief fight among a

small number of troops
cavalry soldiers who are mounted
on horseback

After the Battle of the Alamo, Santa Anna had regrouped his
troops and set out in search of any remaining Texas forces. He
divided his army and sent one group up the road to Nacogdoches
under the command of General Antonio Gaona. With the division under General Sesmas command, Santa Anna followed
Houstons army. However, he soon ordered Gaona and his troops
to rejoin him.
In addition to suffering great losses at the Alamo, the Mexican
army was beginning to run low on rations. In most of Mexico,
where there were many towns, troops would have been able to get
food from local citizens. However, in Texas there were few towns,
and supply centers were far away. The Mexican army had to survive
on the supplies they carried. When their food and ammunition ran
out, there was no place to find more. To make matters worse, Sam
Houston had burned fields and houses on his retreat from
Gonzales. What few supplies there might have been for the
Mexican army had been destroyed. As a result, Mexican troops in Texas
were short on food and ammunition by April 1836.
As both armies marched eastward, Houston managed to stay ahead
of Santa Anna. To gain time, Santa Anna pulled away from the slowmoving army with only about 700 men. He captured Harrisburg, the
headquarters of the temporary Texas government, and burned it to the
ground. The leaders fled, and Santa Anna pursued them southward. He
arrived just in time to see them leave on a boat bound for Galveston.
When Santa Anna returned to the north on April 20, he found Houstons
army waiting.

Battle of San Jacinto

SAN JACINTO
MONUMENT

The San Jacinto Monument

honors the heroes of the Battle
of San Jacinto and all others
who helped win the independence of Texas. The monument
stands majestically near Houston, towering 570 feet into the
air. It stands 15 feet taller than
the Washington Monument in
Washington, D.C. The monument was constructed between
1936 and 1939 with federal
and state funds totaling $1.5
million.

226 Chapter 10

There is still a debate about how Houstons army arrived at the Battle
of San Jacinto. Critics claim that he wanted to reach safety in Louisiana,
but his men turned south toward Santa Anna. Houstons supporters believe
that he allowed the men to decide when to fight. Regardless of how the
battle came about, on the afternoon of April 20, a skirmish developed
between the Mexican army and the Texan cavalry. The major part of the
battle took place on the afternoon of April 21. At first, Houstons troops
of about 800 outnumbered Santa Annas army. During the night and
morning, Santa Anna received reinforcements, swelling his ranks to more
than 1,300 soldiers.
Houston ordered Deaf Smith to burn Vinces Bridge, which would
prevent the Mexican army from retreating. At about 3:00 P.M. as the
Mexican army rested for the battle they expected to occur the next morning, Houston arranged his men on the field. They marched to the beat of
a drummer and three fifers playing Will You Come to the Bower? They
struck the right flank, or side, of the Mexican army, pushing the troops
back into each other all down the line. The Texans shouted Remember
the Alamo! Remember Goliad! as they crossed the battleground.

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Battle of San Jacinto by Henry

Caught unprepared for an attack, the Mexican leaders scrambled in

confusion. The battle lasted about 18 minutes, but the Texans continued
to capture scattered Mexican troops until dark. In the end, the Texans
suffered two deaths and 30 wounded, seven of whom died later.
Houstons official report states that 630 Mexicans were killed and 730
were captured. Santa Anna escaped during the battle, disguised himself,
and hid in a barn. He was captured the next day and brought to General
Houston, who had been wounded in the leg during the fight. The
Mexican general called Houston a man of destiny because he had
captured Santa Anna.

McArdle portrays one of the most

important battles of Texas history.
Why was the victory at San Jacinto
significant?

2
Terms & Names

Organizing Information

Critical Thinking

Identify:
reconnaissance
skirmish
cavalry

Use a sequence-of-events
chart like the one below to
document, in chronological
order, some of Event:
the important Date:
Details:
events that
took place
Event:
during the
Date:
Texas Revolu- Details:
tion after the
Battle of the Event:
Date:
Alamo.
Details:

1. What impact did Fannins

defeat at Goliad have on
the rest of the Texas army?
2. What role did Sam
Houston play in the
Texas Revolution?
3. How did the events of
1836 and the outcome of
the Battle of San Jacinto
affect Texas history?
4. How might the outcome
of the Texas Revolution

ACTIVITY
History

have been different for

the Texans if it had been
fought south of the Rio
Grande?

A Real-Life Story
Review A Real-Life Story on
page 222. Why do you think
Santa Anna ordered that the
prisoners be executed?

Go to www.celebratingtexas.com
to research the Activity topic.

Research additional information about the Texas Revolution. Then create a visual display such as a
poster or multimedia presentation of the major events of the Texas Revolution.

The Texas Revolution

227