The Texas Revolution, San Jacinto and the Eighteen Minutes That Made a Republic

The Texas Revolution is often told as a story about the Alamo, and the Alamo does deserve its place. On the morning of March sixth, eighteen thirty-six, Mexican forces under General Antonio López de Santa Anna stormed the old mission-fortress after a thirteen-day siege. Somewhere between one hundred eighty and two hundred fifty defenders died, among them James Bowie, William Barret Travis, and the frontiersman David Crockett.

The exact numbers remain disputed by historians; no complete roster of the garrison existed at the time. What is not disputed is the effect. News of the Alamo's fall spread across Texas and the United States and transformed the rebellion into something larger than a land dispute.

Six weeks later, on April twenty-first, eighteen thirty-six, Sam Houston led a Texian army of roughly nine hundred men against Santa Anna's camp near the San Jacinto River, east of present-day Houston. The Mexicans were taking an afternoon rest. The battle lasted approximately eighteen minutes.

When it was over, six hundred thirty Mexican soldiers were dead and seven hundred thirty more were prisoners. Texas casualties numbered nine dead and thirty wounded. Santa Anna himself was captured the following day hiding in the marsh grass, disguised in a private's uniform.

The Treaties of Velasco signed under duress recognized Texas independence. Whether they were legally valid was debated immediately and has been debated ever since. But the Republic of Texas operated for nearly ten years, issuing currency, fielding a navy, and negotiating with the United States, France, and Britain.

Its capitol moved five times before settling in Austin in eighteen thirty-nine. The whole improbable experiment lasted until annexation in eighteen forty-five.