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The Republic of Texas, 1836-1844The Texas Revolution
In late October, rebels led by Ben Milam, laid siege to San Antonio because Mexican General Martin Perfecto de Cos and about 800 soldiers had occupied the city. De Cos intended to use San Antonio as his headquarters while he put down the rebellion. But the siege cut off any supply lines the Mexican army had. Then, on December 5, 1835, the rebel force of about 550 men attacked. Although the Mexican soldiers outnumbered them, the revolutionary army had two superior commanders; Ben Milam and Edward Burleson. In five days of hard fighting the Texans captured the city. Street-to-street, house-to-house and hand-to-hand fighting was necessary to earn the victory. But the price was high because Ben Milam was killed in the struggle. While the first fighting in the revolution was taking place, the Consultation of 1835 took place. It was a congress attended by delegates of a dozen Texas communities. The delegates elected a provisional government and selected Henry Smith as governor. The delegates also announced their support for the Democratic Constitution of 1824 that dictator Santa Anna had destroyed. They appointed Stephen F. Austin and two other men to go to Washington, D.C. to seek aid; aid in the form of money, material and soldiers. The consultation also named Sam Houston as commander of all the Texas troops. Houston was a good choice. He had fought with General Andrew Jackson during the War of 1812. Houston also accompanied the general to Louisiana where they and their men fought the epic Battle of New Orleans. It was a smashing victory and it made Jackson a national hero. Houston then became a political follower of Jackson and was later elected governor of Tennessee the same year (1828) that Jackson was elected president of the United States. An unexplained problem with his marriage caused Houston to resign his governorship and to go to Oklahoma to live with the Cherokees. He became a trader and an advisor to Cherokee leaders. Then, when the troubles began in Texas, Houston crossed the Red River and volunteered for the cause of independence. It was rumored, but never proven, that President Jackson contacted Houston and asked him to go. While Houston struggled to raise a volunteer army, General Santa Anna crossed the Rio Grande in February of 1836. He headed a force of several thousand men. He intended to crush the Texas revolt just as he had crushed rebels in other parts of Mexico. As Santa Anna drove north, Texans held the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. On March 2, 1836, the delegates declared independence from Mexico. The primary author of the Declaration of Independence was George Childress. They said that Santa Anna had overthrown the Republican Constitution of 1824 and that he was a tyrant. They complained that they had been denied the right of trial by jury, the right to religious freedom and the right to possess weapons. They also charged that Santa Anna had incited Indians in Texas against American settlers, had employed mercenaries to exterminate Texans and was using military power rather than law to control Texas. David G. Burnet was elected President of the new government and Lorenzo de Zavala was elected Vice-President.
Altogether, 188 men defended the mission against thousands of Mexican troops. After 13 days, General Santa Anna ordered a full-scale assault. The chaotic battle lasted for ninety minutes, but in the end, almost all of the Alamo�s defenders were dead. A few left alive, including Crockett, were soon executed. A few women and children, along with Travis� slave, survived and were released. The taking of the Alamo appeared to be a Mexican victory. However, Santa Anna lost hundreds of men. Many sergeants and corporals died. And they were most necessary because they connected top commanders with privates. They assured the orderly carrying out of commands. Later in the war, Santa Anna would regret their loss. Also important was the fact that the Mexicans lost 13 days in their siege. General Houston used those days to continue to recruit men for his army and to slowly withdraw northeastwardly toward Louisiana. That the Mexicans had spared none of the Alamo�s fighting men also hurt them. The way the Alamo defenders were butchered stirred anti-Mexican sentiment in Texas and in the United States. After the Alamo, the Texans had another serious loss. Colonel James Fannin and a force of 350 or so men held Goliad. General Jose de Urrea led a Mexican army that came north out of Matamoros. Urrea put down resistance at San Patricio, Agua Dulce and Refegio and then drove to Goliad. At the last minute, Fannin decided to abandon the post and retreat to Victoria, but Urrea�s forces intercepted the Texans. At the Battle of the Prairie, Urrea forced Fannin to surrender and then marched the Texans back to Goliad. Santa Anna ordered their executions, even though Urrea, personally, pleaded for their lives. Altogether, some 350 were murdered while only 30 or so managed to escape. Together, the losses at the Alamo and Goliad united the Texans, but temporarily all was confusion. As Houston continued retreating, the "Runaway Scrape" occurred. Thousands of settlers panicked. They did not want to be placed in the hands of Santa Anna. They followed Houston�s army and ran pell-mell toward Louisiana. Even Texas government officials fled the area and hurried to Galveston Island so they could escape by sea if necessary. Houston also turned his march toward Galveston while Santa Anna and part of his army did likewise.
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