Welcome to 7th Grade Texas History!
The Battle of San Jacinto& Texas Independence
10/16/17
Texas in the Civil War
and Reconstruction
Revolution and
Republic
Early Statehood
Mexican National
Age of Contact
Natural Texas and
People
Spanish Colonial
I CAN…
• identify how the Battle of the Alamo helped Texas’ struggle for independence.
• trace the events leading up to the Battle of San Jacinto.
• explain the results of The Texas Revolution. Texas in the Civil War
and Reconstruction
Revolution and
Republic
Early Statehood
Mexican National
Age of Contact
Natural Texas and
People
Spanish Colonial
Lesson Objectives:
Warm-Up
What is a revolution?
A movement to bring about change.
Review: The Alamo Defeated
Texans were able to hold the Mexicans off for 13 days.
William B. Travis wrote a plea asking for help defending the Alamo.
Santa Anna raised a red flag, meaning he would leave no survivors.
Alamo Review Continued
Finally, Santa Anna ordered the attack on the Alamo to begin at 5am on March 6. As many as 1,800 Mexican troops helped with the attack.
The Texans were ready for the attack, but the Mexican forces continued to attack until the mission was overpowered. By 8am, the battle was over.
The fighting ended, and the bodies of the dead were burned. Because of this, it is not known how many people died. Santa Anna claimed that 600 Texans died. It is believed that 1,000 Mexicans were killed or wounded.
A Battle Cry for Victory
Several defenders of the Alamo survived. Santa Anna released the women and children who had been inside during the battle. They went to Gonzales to tell the other Texans about the disaster.
Historians believe that losing the Alamo helped Texas win its independence. Santa Anna lost many good soldiers in the battle and was delayed for two weeks.
After the battle, Texans wanted to win their independence even more. People of the United States began to help Texas in their struggle for freedom. Texans were inspired by the heroism of those in the Battle of the Alamo.
“Remember the Alamo” became the battle cry of Houston’s army.
• Texans lost the battle, but it ended up helping Texas because…• Santa Anna also lost many soldiers
• Mexico was delayed almost 2 weeks, giving Texas time to form a government and train soldiers
• William B. Travis’ courage made Texans more determined to win their independence
Significance of the Alamo
“Remember the Alamo!Remember Goliad!”
Not only had the Alamo fallen, but Santa Anna had killed about 300 men led by Colonel James Fannin at Goliad. This was known as the Goliad Massacre.
After the Alamo and Goliad, Santa Anna thought it would be easy to drive the rest of the rebels out of Texas. Texans may have never won their independence without the Battle for the Alamo. The battle cost Santa Anna many lives. U.S. citizens sent people and money into Texas to aid their freedom. Santa Anna thought Texans would give up after the fall of the Alamo. It had the opposite effect.
News of the defeats at the Alamo and Goliad spread rapidly. The defeats angered Texans. “Remember Goliad” joined “Remember the Alamo” as a motto of the Texan soldiers.
What does “It had the opposite effect” mean?
Why do you suppose it had the opposite effect?
Santa Anna Remains in Texas
• Santa Anna was ready to head back to Mexico. He ordered his troops to burn every town in their path.
• However, General Vincent Filisola (fee-lee-SOH-lah) now commanded Santa Anna’s armies. Filisola believed the Texans would fight more to protect their homes and land.
• He convinced Santa Anna to delay his return to Mexico.
Houston Builds the Texas Army
• Sam Houston had been appointed commander in chief of the army at the Convention of 1836. He also knew the war was not over.
• He gathered his troops at Gonzales and began to retreat in order to train them to fight the well-organized Mexican Army.
• Sam Houston now had close to 1,400 soldiers, although many of them were untrained and poorly equipped. The people wanted to go ahead and fight the Mexican Army, but Houston knew they needed more training.
• The Texas Army continued retreating and the Mexican Army kept following them.
Why did Houston’s army keep retreating?
Runaway Scrape
Families living between the Colorado and Brazos Rivers were panicked. They heard about the disaster at the Alamo. Soon after that they learned of the massacre, or killing off, of Fannin’s unit. They were
scared when they found out about Houston’s retreat. Hundreds of families packed all their belongings and moved east toward the Sabine River. The trip was miserable, and many got sick. Their journey is
known as the Runaway Scrape.
Why did the families pack their belongings and move east?
Houston Trains His Army
Many people saw Houston’s continual retreat as weakness.
Even President David G. Burnet wrote a letter urging him to attack Santa Anna:
“The enemy are laughing you to scorn. You must fight them. You must retreat no further. The country expects you to fight. The salvation of the country depends on you doing so.”
Houston took two more weeks to get his army ready.
What do YOU think?
Should Houston go ahead and fight or
continue to prepare?
JUSTIFY YOUR ANSWER IN CHAT!
Mexican Army Moves East
The Mexican army traveled greater distances
than the Texas army to reach the battle sites, and the battles took place in
Texas.
Discussion: Why would this be an advantage for
the Texas army?
Battle of San Jacinto
• At 3:30 on the afternoon of April 21, 1836, General Houston ordered an immediate attack.
• Houston drew his sword and ordered the troop to advance. The men moved out of the woods and across the open prairie.
• Since many of Santa Anna’s troops were resting, the Texans arrived at the enemy camp and surprised the Mexican army.
• “Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!” was the battle cry. The Texas canons blew a hole in the Mexican lines. The Texans stormed through the enemy lines. They seized the Mexican artillery.
• The Mexican army was in total confusion. Some tried to escape across a bridge that was no longer there. Many tried to flee across the prairie. The Mexican army fought back in an organized way for only 18 minutes, but fighting went on until dark as the Texans killed and captured Mexican soldiers.
Mexicans Suffer Heavy Losses
• Fewer than 10 Texans were killed or fatally wounded at the Battle of San Jacinto. About 30 others, including General Houston, were injured.
• The Mexicans suffered heavy losses. According to Houston, 630 Mexicans were killed and 730 were taken prisoner.
Why were so few Texans killed in this battle although they were
outnumbered?
The Next Day
• The next day Sam Houston went to make a search of the area for survivors.
• Santa Anna disappeared during the fighting. Sam Houston spotted him.
• When taken back to the camp the Mexican soldiers shouted “Presadenta”. They realized they had Santa Anna.
• It took Sam Houston and his men 2 hours to decide what to do with Santa Anna.
• They decided to negotiate with Santa Anna instead of killing him.
Treaties of Velasco
• The capital of Texas was moved to Velasco for several months. Santa Anna was taken there to sign two treaties with the Texas government.
• In the public treaty, Santa Anna agreed never to fight against the Texans again.
• He also agreed to remove all Mexican troops from Texas and exchange prisoners.
Santa Anna Released
In the secret treaty, Santa Anna agreed to work for Mexican recognition of
Texas independence and to set the boundary at the Rio
Grande.
The Texas government released Santa Anna and
escorted him back to Mexico.
What did Santa Anna promise in
the secret treaty?
Victory’s Consequences
Once word of victory spread, many Texans returned home. Some found their homes had been burned and their possessions
gone. Houston went to New Orleans to get medical treatment for his wounds. The
Mexican troops went back to Mexico. Texas leaders now faced many problems.
Texans returned to their homes not as Mexican citizens but as citizens of the new Republic of Texas.
Legend of the Yellow Rose of Texas
• How could Houston’s group have been so effective against a general who modeled himself after Napoleon, with a large, well-running army? In the 1950s a story came out that Santa Anna was distracted from battle. Even as he aged he regarded himself as a great ladies’ man — and it was a woman who detained the Mexican general in his tent, until it was too late to do anything but steal an enlisted man’s uniform and run.
• That woman was mulatto, a “yellow rose,” and about whom the song, “The Yellow Rose of Texas” was written, according to stories pieced together in the 1950s.
This Week’s Course Calendar
