Introduction
The 19th century was one of territorial expansion for the United States. Starting with the Louisiana Purchase and continuing with the acquisition of new territories all the way up to the Pacific coast, the United States acquired new lands under the slogans of Manifest Destiny. Yet even in this expansion, which was virtually unparalleled in both scope and speed, some cases were particularly noteworthy. The most significant episode of this kind in entire American History is arguably the expansion of the southwestern border between Mexico and Texas. Texas fought hard to become a state of its own. The crucial point of the war was the fight at the San Jacinto again with Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
Main body
Before discussing the Texan War of Independence in detail, it is necessary to cover the overall historical context of the Texas Revolution and the specific events that caused it. Although Mexico had won its independence from the Spanish Crown by 1821, the young nation found it hard to consolidate its territory. In an attempt to populate and develop the northeastern region of Tejas, which came to be known as Texas in English, the government decided to attract American settlers from the other side of the border. By the 1830s, the Anglo-Saxon newcomers outnumbered the 3,500 Spanish-speaking Tejanos many times (Billington and Ridge 137). Cultural differences created plentiful tensions, especially since many immigrants brought black slaves despite slavery being legally forbidden in Mexico, and the Mexican government watched the initially-welcomed influx of Americans warily. In 1835, Mexican president Santa Anna established himself as a full-fledged dictator and revoked the 1824 Constitution that protected the rights of Mexico’s states (Mountjoy 17). Troubled by these developments, the Texans gathered a body of representatives called the Texas Consultation to formulate a political course in opposition to the government’s shift toward unconstitutional tyranny.
At this early stage of the Texas Revolution, it was not yet a call for secession – rather, the Texans wanted the restoration of the country’s federal structure threatened by Santa Anna’s dictatorship. They were not alone in their opposition either, as Santa Anna had to quell several simultaneous rebellions that rose in opposition to his dictatorial policies (Billington and Ridge 140). Admittedly, the Texas Consultation itself was hardly monolithic in its opinions, and its delegates disagreed on many things. Still, when the Consultation first convened in October 1835, the delegates opted for the reestablishment of the 1824 Constitution rather than secession and full independence. As far as they were concerned, they took up arms against a tyrannical government to make it respect its obligations and reaffirm the federal principles of the country’s constitution (Mountjoy 23). Naturally, these ideas were quite influential among American settlers, who viewed their struggle as a reflection of the Revolutionary War. However, unlike the American Revolution, the Texan one started not with a declaration of independence but merely as an attempt to force a government to abandon excessive centralization.
The early clashes favored the Texans, not in the least because the Mexican army was poorly staffed and armed while also being distracted by other regional rebellions. The opposing sides fired their first shots on October 1, when the Mexican troops unsuccessfully attempted to pre-emptively confiscate an old artillery piece stationed in Gonzales (Mountjoy 25). By the middle of October, approximately 450 Texans, now led by Stephen F. Austin, pursued the Mexicans, roughly 650 strong, to San Antonio and besieged the city. An attempt at a sortie on October 28 resulted in the battle of Concepcion, which ended in an unequivocal Texan victory. Texan troops utilized the superior range of their rifles to decimate the Mexican formations armed by the obsolete muskets and inflicted 76 casualties in killed and wounded while only losing one man (Mountjoy 27). The siege of San Antonio lasted more than a month until General Cos, the commanding Mexican officer, decided to surrender the city and march his exhausted soldiers back to Mexico on December 9 (Mountjoy 30). Thus, by the end of the year, the Texan forces expelled the Mexican troops from their territory.
Successes in these initial skirmishes emboldened the Texan forces and made them more ambitious despite the fact that the struggle was far from over. With no enemy within immediate reach, the Texans launched an expedition toward the Mexican port city of Matamoros. Apart from failing utterly, it also drained the forces stationed near San Antonio at precisely the time when the enemy began a counteroffensive (Nofi 92). In early 1836, a Mexican army of approximately 6,000 under Santa Anna’s personal leadership advanced toward the small fortified post in Alamo protected by less than two hundred Texans (Billington and Ridge 142). Although the Mexican dictator hesitated to attack the fort immediately and preferred to invest it and begin a proper siege, he eventually learned the truth of the garrison’s small numbers and opted for an attack. On March 6, Mexican troops launched a poorly-coordinated assault that took the Alamo at the cost of heavy casualties, including those from friendly fire (Nofi 111). While it was a military defeat, the defense of the Alamo provided much-needed time for the Texans to reorganize and prepare their forces and also became a powerful symbol.
As the military clashes went on, the situation escalated on the political level as well, with the rebellious Texans altering their initially moderate demands. As mentioned above, the original statement by the Texas Consultation only called for the reinstatement of the 1824 Constitution and restoration of Mexico’s federal structure that ensured autonomy for Texas (Mountjoy 23). However, after the casualties suffered at Alamo, the public opinion shifted, as the American settlers in Texas did not want to continue living under the government that treated them so. On March 1, 1836, the Texan delegates voted for the Declaration of Independence and immediately fashioned a constitution for their republic (Billington and Ridge 140). They also chose Sam Houston as commander-in-chief for Texan military forces. This decision came not a moment too soon, as the young republic needed to halt Santa Anna’s advance, and that was impossible without centralized and effective military leadership. Fortunately for Texans, Houston was more than able to provide it. Slowly retreating before Santa Anna, whose forces dwindled due to sanitary casualties but were still numerically superior, he patiently waited for the moment to strike.
An opportunity presented itself on April 21, in an intense clash that would become famous as the Battle of San Jacinto. Emboldened by his initial successes, Santa Anna continued advancing deep into Texas, aiming to enforce surrender on the retreating Texan forces. His army had already dwindled to mere 2,400 men by the time he left San Antonio after capturing the Alamo, owing most of its losses to disease rather than combat (Billington and Ridge 143). However, the Mexican dictator remained optimistic because he still outnumbered the enemy. Yet his estimations, while numerically correct, did not account for Texan superiority in weapons and motivation, as compared to the tired and sick Mexican troops armed with antiquated muskets. Houston made use of all these advantages, launching a surprise attack with 900 men against approximately 1,500 Mexican soldiers on April 21. The battle ended in less than an hour, with the Texans utterly defeating the enemy, killing 630 Mexicans and capturing 730 more (Mountjoy 108). Moreover, they captured Santa Anna himself – and the latter, left with no other option, signed the treaty obligating all Mexican forces to leave Texas immediately.
Summary
To summarize, Texas succeeded in its revolution and won its war of independence through perseverance and determination in the face of hardship. The influx of American colonies into Mexican Texas provoked tensions both because of the abolition of slavery in the young republic and the increased centralization of power under Santa Anna. When the Texas Revolution broke out, it initially sought the restoration of the 1824 Constitution and the federative government guaranteed by it. However, swift Texan successes convinced Santa Anna to focus on Texans as a primary threat and focus his military effort on them, leading to the siege and bloody assault of the Alamo. At that point, Texas would not settle for anything less than independence and withdrawal of Mexican troops. Houston’s skilled leadership in the decisive battle of San Jacinto allowed achieving both by crushing the Mexican army, capturing Santa Anna, and forcing him to sign a treaty in Texan terms.
Works Cited
Billington, Ray A., and Martin Ridge. Westward Expansion: A History of the American Frontier. University of New Mexico Press, 2001.
Mountjoy, Shane. The Alamo: The Battle for Texas. Updated ed., Chelsea House, 2017.
Nofi, Albert A. The Alamo and the Texas War of Independence, September 30, 1835, to April 21, 1836: Heroes, Myths, and History. Perseus Books, 1992.