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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, On April 21, 2026, Texans will commemorate the 190th |
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anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, the decisive |
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confrontation of the Texas Revolution; and |
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WHEREAS, Following their defeats at the Alamo and the Battle |
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of Goliad, the "Texian," as Anglo residents were called at the time, |
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army retreated in March 1836, and Texas President David G. Burnet's |
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provisional government was forced to flee from General Antonio |
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López de Santa Anna's advancing Mexican combatants; General Santa |
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Anna's pursuit shifted his focus away from the troops led by Major |
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General Sam Houston, and after General Santa Anna's soldiers |
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reached Harrisburg--now part of the present-day city of |
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Houston--General Houston directed his men to press forward to face |
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them, delivering an eloquent speech in which he called upon them to |
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"Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!"; while en route, they |
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intercepted Mexican couriers, who informed them of the location and |
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strength of General Santa Anna's forces; and |
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WHEREAS, On April 20, 1836, the Texians and Tejanos--as |
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Hispanic supporters of Texas independence were known--engaged |
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General Santa Anna's army in a brief skirmish, but the Mexican |
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leader, surprised by the rebels' presence, opted to delay a full |
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battle in favor of waiting for reinforcements; the following |
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afternoon, General Houston issued orders to attack; although the |
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approximately 900 Texians and Tejanos faced a numerically superior |
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force of around 1,300 Mexican troops, General Santa Anna had made |
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the ultimately disastrous decision to allow his soldiers to rest as |
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he expected that fighting would commence the next day; and |
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WHEREAS, The Texians and Tejanos capitalized on that |
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miscalculation, catching their adversaries off-guard and clinching |
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victory in just 18 minutes; virtually the entire Mexican army was |
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conquered in the aftermath, with 630 of their troops killed, 730 |
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captured, and 280 wounded; by contrast, only 9 colonists lost their |
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lives in the battle, and 34 were left wounded; once he had been |
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located, General Santa Anna was compelled to order his troops to |
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withdraw completely from Texas and to never return; and |
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WHEREAS, The two Treaties of Velasco ended the hostilities |
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and brought about the formal recognition of Texas as an independent |
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territory; the era of the Republic of Texas drew to a close nearly a |
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decade later with Texas' annexation by the United States in 1845, |
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and the ensuing war between the U.S. and Mexico resulted in the |
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Texas borders expanding to the Rio Grande River and the subsequent |
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U.S. acquisition of present-day California, Arizona, New Mexico, |
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and portions of Utah, Nevada, and Colorado; and |
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WHEREAS, As the culminating engagement of the Texas |
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Revolution, the Battle of San Jacinto marked the conclusive defeat |
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of Mexican forces and paved the way for the birth of a sovereign |
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Texas, and it remains a symbol of the indomitable spirit that has |
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defined and shaped the destiny of the Lone Star State throughout the |
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nearly two centuries that followed; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby commemorate the 190th anniversary of the Battle of San |
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Jacinto and honor the sacrifices of all those who took up arms to |
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secure Texas independence in 1836. |