Sam Houston and the Battle of San Jacinto April 21, 1836

     One hundred seventy-seven years ago today, in 1836, Sam Houston slept late.  His army, such as it was, was camped in the San Jacinto woods about a mile from Santa Anna’s troops.  The Mexicans had been awake all night, shoring up their defenses, feverishly preparing for an expected dawn attack by the Texians.  Houston slept until the sun was high in the sky.  He just didn’t feel like getting up early and starting a fight in the swamp.  Whether this decision was based on military brilliance, blind luck, or a massive hangover is a matter of debate.  I suspect the latter.

     At three that afternoon, Houston’s head felt better and he led his troops across the mile of bald prairie separating the armies.  The ensuing battle lasted eighteen minutes and changed the history of the world.  For a detailed account, go to my blog post “Texas History #3, The Battle of San Jacinto,” dated March 30, 2012, and the later post “Texas History #4, Peace in the Valley,” dated April 8, 2012.

      By the way, April 21^st is San Jacinto Day, not Texas Independence Day.  Texas’ inept legislature, after wrangling for five months, declared independence from Mexico on March 2, 1836,  That is our Independence Day.  Then, four days later, the Alamo fell on March 6,  and Texans remember that day, but don’t celebrate it.  On Palm Sunday of that year, March 27^th, Santa Anna had all the prisoners at Goliad massacred, except for twenty-seven that ran away in the smoke and confusion and forty-four others that sweet little Panchita saved.  Read about her in my Blog, “Francisca Panchita Alavez” on December 14, 2012, and “The Angel of Goliad” on December 20. 2012.  Stick with me—in the words of my friend Ken Black, “I’ll put you under the Big Top.”

     At the time of the Battle of San Jacinto,  Mexico owned present day Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and part of Wyoming.  Britain had its eye on California and the whole west coast.  Spain wanted to retake all of Mexico. France was open to expansion just to keep up with England.  In the United States, especially among the “slave states,” there was a growing desire to expand west to California.  “Manifest Destiny” was already on the minds of some politicians.

     Sam Houston and Santa Anna agreed to the “Treaties of Velasco,” which the Mexican government immediately denounced.  International law was on the Mexican side, for no leader was allowed to negotiate while in captivity or under duress.  This technicality did not deter the two opium smokers.  Houston and Santa Anna blissfully smoked dope and worked out a treaty which gave both men what they wanted.  Texas was ceded to the rebels under Houston and Santa Anna was not strung up from the “Which Way Oak.”

     Edward Burnet, the provisional president of Texas, actually signed the treaties with Santa Anna while Houston was recuperating from his wounds in New Orleans.  In a private treaty, Santa Anna also agreed to work for the recognition of Texas independence inside Mexico, and the establishment of the border at the Rio Grande.  Mexico was not about to agree to any of this and Santa Anna himself was not serious.  He would have signed anything to escape execution by the revengeful Texians.

     Because of turmoil inside the Mexican Government, the little Republic of Texas was allowed to survive.  Given a stable government, the Mexicans would have immediately invaded Texas and put an end to silly notions about independence.  Instead, Mexico issued an ultimatum to the United States.  They said, in diplomatic terms, “We still own Texas and do not recognize the Republic of Texas.  We will take action against these upstarts as soon as we get our stuff together.  In the meantime, if you try to annex or otherwise acquire the territory of Texas, it means war.” 

      Andrew Jackson wanted Texas, but he didn’t want war with Mexico.  The northern states didn’t want Texas, a slave state, in the union.  America kept adding new states, Mexico continued internal squabbling, and the cash-strapped Republic of Texas tended its business while nervously watching its southern border.  That border, incidentally, was difficult to watch.  It was considered to be the Nueces River by Mexico and the Rio Grande River by Texas.

     Mexico, under Santa Anna, invaded Texas a couple of times in the next few years.  The attempts were half-hearted, Santa Anna was struggling to stay in power, and the Mexican supply lines were long and easily broken.  Santa Anna’s dream of reconquering Texas was thwarted;  he was put out of office and condemned to death.  Lucky for the United States, he was exiled instead. 

     Almost ten years after San Jacinto, Texas joined the Union and war with Mexico became imminent.  Santa Anna quietly made a private deal with the United States.  He needed help to get back into Mexico and into power, and he agreed to sell Texas and other Mexican holdings to the United States at bargain prices in exchange for that help.

     After the United States declared war in May of 1846, Santa Anna wrote the president of Mexico, Valentin Gomez Farias, saying he no longer had any desire to be president and offering his services as leader of the army to fight the Americans.  The desperate (and not too bright) Farias allowed him back into the country and made him a general.

     Once back in Mexico and head of the army, Santa Anna reneged on both deals.  He took over the Mexican Government, named himself president, vowed to run the Americans out of Mexico and retake Texas.  He didn’t keep those promises, either.  General Zachary Taylor and the Texas Rangers won the war with relative ease.

      The dust settled in 1848, and the United States stretched from sea to shining sea.  The Gadsen Purchase, in 1854, straightened America’s southern border and fleshed out Arizona and New Mexico.  America had some problems with the pesky British in the Pacific Northwest, but essentially, the Mexican/American War of 1846 defined the boundaries of the continental United States.

     I need to point out the obvious, because everyone doesn’t always see the obvious.  Andrew Jackson, John Tyler, James Polk, or any other American president of the time could not have acquired all this territory without Texas.  Had Sam Houston not prevailed at San Jacinto, no one can say what the United States might look like today.  Texas provided the spark that started the war, and, as much as Zachary Taylor disliked them, the Texas Rangers were instrumental in winning it.

       Without the efforts of the great state of Texas, it is patently obvious that Disneyland today might well be in Anaheim, Mexico, and the Mormons live around Salt Lake City, Mexico.  If you see a Texan, it wouldn’t hurt a thing if you yankees were to say, “Thanks!”  In fact, that’d be real nice.  We’d all be much-abliged.