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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, April 21, 2024, marks the 188th anniversary of the |
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Battle of San Jacinto, the culminating engagement of the Texas |
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Revolution; and |
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WHEREAS, After a decade of sporadic clashes between Texas |
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colonists and Mexican officials, the movement toward rebellion |
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picked up increasing momentum in the fall of 1835; Antonio Lopez de |
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Santa Anna, the president of Mexico, having abrogated the |
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federalist Constitution of 1824 and assumed autocratic power, |
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decided to reestablish troops at posts in Texas that had been |
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evacuated in 1832; as part of that plan, General Martin Perfecto de |
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Cos arrived in San Antonio with a battalion of infantry on October |
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9, 1835; an army of Texas volunteers quickly moved to lay siege to |
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San Antonio, in what became the first major campaign of the |
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revolution; General Cos finally capitulated on December 9, 1835, |
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and he and his troops were allowed to withdraw to Mexico; and |
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WHEREAS, Determined to suppress the rebellion, General Santa |
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Anna led an army of some 6,000 men into Texas in early 1836, |
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crossing the Rio Grande near present-day Eagle Pass; at the same |
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time, a second Mexican force, under General Jose de Urrea, advanced |
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into Texas farther to the east; while General Santa Anna besieged |
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some 180 Texas troops at the Alamo, a convention of Texas delegates |
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convened at Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1, 1836, and on |
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March 2 adopted a declaration of independence; two days later, the |
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convention appointed Sam Houston, one of the delegates, to take |
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command of the Texas army; and |
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WHEREAS, General Houston left immediately to join Texas |
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troops gathered in Gonzales; when he reached that town, he learned |
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that the Alamo had fallen and that a division of General Santa |
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Anna's army was marching in his direction; given that the effective |
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strength of his own force numbered only 374, as well as the fact |
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that his men were poorly provisioned and largely untrained, he |
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began a withdrawal toward the northeast, playing for time; and |
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WHEREAS, Elsewhere, the Texans were meeting with successive |
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defeats; the most shocking of those was the loss of James W. Fannin |
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and some 400 men, who were captured and then executed on March 27 in |
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what became known as the Goliad Massacre; and |
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WHEREAS, In April, General Houston halted his retreat at the |
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Brazos River and spent two weeks drilling his troops; a short time |
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later, on April 20, calculating that the time for battle had come at |
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last, he staked out a position near the confluence of Buffalo Bayou |
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and the San Jacinto River; later that same day, General Santa Anna |
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and his army caught up to the Texans and established their own |
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position; the following morning, General Cos arrived with an |
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additional body of soldiers, bringing the total strength of the |
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Mexican army to perhaps 1,200 or more, as opposed to the |
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approximately 900 men under General Houston's command; and |
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WHEREAS, Confident that he had the Texans on the defensive, |
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General Santa Anna planned to launch an attack on April 22; on the |
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afternoon of the 21st, however, while the Mexican army was resting, |
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General Houston drew up his troops in battle formation; General |
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Santa Anna had apparently posted no sentries, and a swell of land |
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between the two armies hid the Texans from view; and |
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WHEREAS, At the given signal, the Texans advanced across a |
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mile of open prairie toward the Mexican army, becoming visible only |
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when they reached within about 200 yards of the Mexican camp; crying |
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"Remember the Alamo" and "Remember Goliad," they took General Santa |
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Anna's troops completely by surprise; the battle lasted 18 minutes, |
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according to Sam Houston's report, but the killing continued for |
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about an hour afterward; in the end, Texan losses stood at 9 dead |
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and mortally wounded, with 630 Mexican soldiers killed and 730 |
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taken prisoner; General Santa Anna himself was captured the |
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following day; and |
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WHEREAS, With the Battle of San Jacinto, the long colonial |
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period of Texas history, stretching as far back as the 16th century, |
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came to an end; Texas would remain an independent republic for nine |
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years before joining the Union in 1845; and |
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WHEREAS, The Battle of San Jacinto dramatically changed the |
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course of Texas history, and the story of how an outnumbered army of |
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volunteers ultimately prevailed against General Santa Anna and his |
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troops continues to inspire a special sense of pride among Texans to |
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this day; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby commemorate the 188th anniversary of the Battle |
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of San Jacinto and pay tribute to all those whose courage and |
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tenacity brought ultimate victory to the Texan cause. |