Texas Revolution

In this Unit you will learn about the rising tensions between Mexico and Texas, important figures in the fight for Texas independence, and the events of the Texas Revolution.

How does conflict lead to change?

Unrest & Revolt

Historians have described a characteristic of the Texas Revolutionary Era as “A Pot of Boiling Water”. This represents the rising tensions between the Texans and the Mexican government, resulting in the Texas war for independence.
Texans had a series of Grievances (problems) with the Mexican Government such as:

Mexico promised democracy, but turned into dictatorship.
All government systems had to be conducted in Spanish.
Government offices were too far away from Texas.

These issues & a series of small conflicts would eventually lead Texas to direct war with Mexico.

Hayden Edwards

In 1825 Hayden Edwards received an Empresario grant in East Texas.
However, when he arrived he found Native American settlers in the area.
He demanded they produce a deed proving they owned the land. When they could not prove ownership he tried to force them out of their homes and off their land.
Stephen F. Austin sent Edwards a letter telling him to knock it off. Austin wanted to remain loyal to Mexico under the Constitution of 1824 and did not want any trouble with the government.

The Fredonian Rebellion

In 1826 near Nacogdoches, Texas-American settlers declared themselves the independent republic of Fredonia.
The Mexican Government and Stephen Austin sent troops to stop the Fredonian Rebellion.
The rebels gave up with out a fight and their leaders were executed or escaped.
Both the Fredonian Rebellion & Edwards' Revolt concerned the Mexican Government. They were worried that their control over Texas was slipping so President Santa Anna sent an official to Texas for a report.

Mexico Monitors Texas

Mier Y Teran

In 1826, settler Haden Edwards tried to set up an independent republic in Texas, however, he and his rebels were defeated.
Still, this event worried the leaders of Mexico. They sent General Don Manuel Mier y Teran to report on what he saw in Texas.
Mier y Teran was a Mexican patriot, a man who deeply loved his country. What he saw in Texas worried him. The American settlers had NO respect for Mexico.

They were not speaking Spanish, no one was practicing the Catholic faith, & they referred to themselves as “Texans” rather than “Mexicans”...showing their loyalty to themselves rather than Mexico.
The Texans were breaking all three rules that Mexico had given for settlement.
Mier y Teran feared more settlers might revolt. He suggested steps for making Texas less American and more Mexican.

Law Of April 6, 1830

Mexico’s leaders took many of Mier y Teran’s suggestions.
They created the Law of April 6, 1830 in which Mexico:

1. Ended immigration from the U.S. to Texas

2. Canceled most empresario contracts

3. And outlawed bringing enslaved African Americans into Texas.

Mexico hoped that the Law of April 6, 1830 would stop ALL immigration from the United States to Texas and weaken American influence in Texas.
Texans were FURIOUS and refused to stop immigration and the slave trade.

Tarrifs & Garrisons

Mexico also placed a tariff, which is a tax on goods brought in from other countries.
The tariff made goods imported from the U.S. more expensive than those made in Mexico.
Finally, Mexico sent more troops, building five new garrisons, or military posts, in Texas.

Conflicts Arise

Anahuac

George Fisher was a Mexican citizen and the governments customs agent for Galveston Bay.
Fisher required all ships traveling through Galveston Bay to sail to his office in Anahuac to pay their taxes and get their paperwork signed.
This angered the Texans who would have to travel far out of the way to get to Anahuac.
Most Texans began ignoring George Fisher and the Taxes.

Turtle Bayou Resolutions

Another Mexican official began to anger Texans. Mexican Colonel John Davis Bradburn began enforcing immigration laws that outlawed bringing slaves in to Texas.
Bradburn confiscated slaves that belonged to William Logan
When Logan and his lawyers tried to trick Bradburn into releasing the slaves, Bradburn arrested the lawyers.
This triggered a protest and a gathering of angry Texans (not peaceful).
At Turtle Bayou the Texans wrote a resolution to align themselves [remain loyal to ]the Mexican government and Santa Anna.

Velasco

Texan John Austin had left Anahuac to fetch a canon and bring it to Turtle Bayou.
On his way back with the cannon his ship was stopped by Mexican forces at Velasco.
When the Mexican commander refused to let Austin pass fighting broke out.
Ten Texans and five Mexicans were killed in the battle before the Mexicans ran out of ammunition and surrendered.

San Felipe Resolutions

These early conflicts prompted Texans to hold a meeting.
56 delegates met in San Felipe 1832-1833.
They were led by Stephen Austin
The delegates pledged their support to the true Mexican government under the Constitution of 1824.

The Texans wanted to restore immigration from the United States and were upset about the high taxes on U.S. imports
The Texans also wanted to be their own independent Mexican state and not be attached to Coahuila.

President Santa Anna

Texas Rising: Meet Santa Anna | History

Settlers in Texas, both Anglo and Tejano, were upset that the Constitution of 1824 was being ignored.
Mexican citizen Antonio López de Santa Anna, or "Santa Anna", rose to power as an opponent of the Centralist government and a supporter of States Rights.
At first, Texans supported Santa Anna's rise to power because he pledged to support the Constitution of 1824.
However, when he became the leader of Mexico he too became a centralist dictator.
Santa Anna did not tolerate any opposition to his rule...leading to numerous and violent conflicts with the Texans.

6 Facts About Santa Anna

Stephen F. Austin Goes To Mexico

Conventions of 1832 and 1833

While the fighting raged, people in Texas took action. They sent delegates – people chosen to speak for a group – to special meetings. The Texans agreed that they were loyal to Mexico. They wanted two big changes, though.
They wanted Mexico to allow more settlers from the U.S. to move to Texas. They also wanted Texas to become a separate Mexican state.
In July of 1833, the delegates sent Stephen F. Austin to Mexico City to explain their demands to Santa Anna.

Austin Remains Loyal...

In 1833 Austin traveled to Mexico City to deliver the Resolutions written at San Felipe.
Due to political unrest in Mexico City it took a month for Austin to get a meeting with someone in charge.
Austin got tired of waiting and wrote a letter back to Texas in which he instructed them to prepare to create their own independent Mexican state.
Santa Anna, now in charge, agreed to allow immigration from the United States and to reduce taxes on U.S. imports but denied making Texas it's own state.

UNFORTUNATELY, Mexican officials intercepted the Letter Austin wrote home to Texas.....
Santa Anna FLIPPED OUT, considering the letter treason and had Austin arrested.
Austin was held in prison for OVER A YEAR.

The Battle Of Gonzales

Citizens of Gonzales, Texas had been given a cannon to defend themselves against the Native Americans by the Mexican Government.
However, Mexico decided it no longer trusted the Texans with the cannon so they sent soldiers to take it back on October 2, 1835.
Texans refused to give the cannon back and attacked the Mexican soldiers with the cannon when they arrived.
The Texans flew a flag on which they painted a cannon and the words "Come and Take It" as a way to taunt [to insult and/or challenge] the Mexican army.
Eventually the Mexican soldiers retreated back to Mexico.
The Battle of Gonzales proved to Texans that the Mexican Army could be defeated and Independence achieved.
This battle officially began the Texas Revolution.

The Revolution Begins!

Establishing A New Government

Stephen F Austin, angry about being imprisoned, had given up on remaining loyal to the current Mexican Government.
After he was released from prison he built an army to attack San Antonio and won.
Though fighting had broken out, the goals of the revolution were still unclear. In November 1835, the Texans held a meeting, which was called the Consultation.
Some wanted independence for Texas. Some still wanted to remain part of Mexico, but they did not like the rule of Santa Anna.
The two sides agreed on a compromise, in which each side gives up something it wants. They said they would fight, but not for independence.

Problems with the Texas "Army"

The leaders [David G. Burnet – President, and Lorenzo de Zavala – Vice President] put Sam Houston in charge of the Texas army.
They tried to create a regular army – a full-time force of soldiers.
They had no money to pay for this army, though, so few men joined it...
Lack of money for the army would lead to devastating consequences.
Most of the battles of the revolution would take place near cities such as San Antonio, Gonzales, & Goliad [in the Coastal Plains region]. This would cause many civilians casualties (deaths).

As the fighting continued most of the battles were fought near waterways (rivers) and major cities in Texas at that time.

Washington-On-The-Brazos

Representatives from across Texas met at Washington-on-the-Brazos for a meeting known as the Consultation in March of 1836.
Some settlers wanted to declare independence & attempt to set up an independent government while others wanted to fight Santa Anna and support the Constitution of 1824.
They voted AGAINST Independence....at first.
Early in 1836, the Texans held San Antonio, Goliad, & all the harbors on the Gulf Coast. This made their position strong.
Still, the provisional government of Texas had problems. The governor and the General Council did not work well together. After many arguments, the provisional Texas government fell apart.

Siege & Capture of San Antonio

Meanwhile, Stephen F. Austin had led a force of volunteers to San Antonio. Eight hundred Mexican soldiers led by General Cos waited there.
In December, the Texans learned that the soldiers in the town were ready to give up. General Cos and his soldiers eventually surrendered from the chapel of the Alamo mission, and promised to leave Texas forever.
The early battles gave Texans hope that they might quickly win their revolution.
Mexico, however, was not finished fighting….

Battle of the Alamo

Santa Anna marched his army quickly toward San Antonio seeking revenge for Stephen Austin's victory.
Along the way he enlisted as many men as he could into his army...willingly or not.
Santa Anna arrived at the Alamo sooner than the Texans expected and before they could get reinforcements.
He surrounded the fort that the Texans had captured (called the Alamo) with anywhere from 2-6 thousand soldiers and laid siege to the Texans for 13 days.
Santa Anna flew a red flag at the Alamo indicating that no mercy would be given, he was there for BLOOD.
Inside the Alamo less than 200 Texans and frontiersmen from Tennessee were led by William Travis, Jim Bowie, and Davy Crockett.
William Travis sent out a "Victory Or Death" letter from the Alamo, carried by Juan Seguin.
The Letter called for help and vowed to never surrender...but no extra help came.
The Mexicans attacked the Alamo at the break of dawn on March 6, 1836.
Within 90 minutes the Alamo defenders were slaughtered.
Santa Anna sent the surviving women and children out of the Alamo with the message "Santa Anna is coming".
The bodies of the Alamo defenders were piled up and burnt.

William B. Travis' "Victory Or Death Letter"

From within the besieged Alamo Texan William Travis sent out a "Victory Or Death" letter from the Alamo, carried by Juan Seguin.
The Letter called for help and vowed to never surrender...but no extra help came…
No one wanted to fight a losing battle, especially for an army that couldn’t pay its soldiers.

Texas Declares Independence

The Texas Delegates met again at the Convention of 1836 and declared independence on the 2nd of March, during the siege of the Alamo.
The Texas Declaration of Independence & Constitution was written there by George Childress and both were modeled after America's.

The Goliad Massacre

Texan Colonel James Fannin and 300 soldiers were trying to reach the Alamo when they were defeated by Mexican forces led by General Urrea.
Fannin was forced to surrender at the Battle of Coleto Creek because they were in the middle of a field when Urrea's army surrounded the Texans.
Santa Anna ordered that the men be executed and not held as prisoners.
Urrea's men marched the Texans out of their prison in Goliad Texas and gunned them all down then piled up their bodies and burned them.
After his men had been slain and knowing he was to be executed, a severely wounded Fannin asked that his last personal item, a pocket watch, be given to his family, that he not be shot in the face, and that he receive a Christian burial.
The commander of the firing squad took his watch, shot him in the face, and threw his body on a pile of corpses.
His execution put a face on the massacre and with the last stand at the Alamo, generating a righteous anger that helped turn the tide of the Texas Revolution.

The Runaway Scrape

Many Texans now lived in dread of Santa Anna. They fled from his approaching army in what was called the Runaway Scrape.
Santa Anna's army marched further towards Texas away from the capital of Mexico. Although the Mexican generals warned Santa Anna not to leave the capital unguarded he was confident that he had Texas on the run and could afford to leave Mexico City unprotected.
Fleeing men joined Houston’s force. Women brought their children to safety.
Some families took all their belongings in wagons and traveled east toward the Sabine River – and hopefully toward safety in the U.S.

Santa Anna's Battle Plans Stolen

Sam Houston and Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna were both strong leaders. Both had a strong military background. However, in late March 1836, Santa Anna seemed to have Houston and all of Texas in retreat.
Then, as Santa Anna marched his men through Texas, one of Houston’s scouts caught a Mexican courier, or messenger. The courier was carrying Santa Anna’s plans for his army.
As a result, Sam Houston knew what to do.

The Battle Of San Jacinto

The war ended as quickly as it had begun at the Battle of San Jacinto On April 21, 1836.
Using the information they gained from the letter, Sam Houston and his army managed to trap and surround the Mexican army led by Santa Anna while they were resting. [The Texans swarmed the Mexican army while they napped.]
Texans yelled "Remember the Alamo!" & "Remember Goliad!" to remember/honor the Texans who gave their in those battles as they attacked the Mexicans.
Chaos spread through the Mexican camp as soldiers tried to get to their weapons or escape the slaughter.
The battle only last about 18 minutes.
During that time the Mexican army suffered over 800 casualties and the remaining half of their army was taken prisoner.
On May 14, 1836 Santa Anna signed the Treaty of Velasco, requiring Mexico to recognize Texas Independence and withdraw south of the Rio Grande.

Texas had officially won its Independence!

Santa Anna's Surrender to Sam Houston After The Battle of San Jacinto.

Heroes of the Texas Revolution

Sam Houston

By 1836 he had been named General of all Texan forces. He could not rescue the defenders of the Alamo, but in April of 1836 he routed Santa Anna at the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. After the war, the old soldier turned into a wise statesman, serving as President of the Republic of Texas and then Congressman and Governor of Texas after Texas joined the USA.

Davy Crockett

A legendary frontiersman, scout, politician, and teller of tall tales who went to Texas in 1836 after losing his seat in Congress. He wasn't there long before he found himself caught up in the independence movement. He led a handful of Tennessee volunteers to the Alamo where they joined the defenders. The Mexican army soon arrived, and Crockett and all of his companions were killed on March 6, 1836, at the legendary Battle of the Alamo.

William B. Travis

A lawyer and rabble-rouser who was responsible for several acts of agitation against the Mexican government in Texas starting in 1832. Travis helped prepare the defenses of the Alamo as the Mexican army approached & wrote the "Victory or Death" letter. According to legend, on the night before the Battle of the Alamo, Travis drew a line in the sand and challenged everyone who would remain and fight to cross it. The next day, Travis and all of his companions were killed in battle.

Juan Seguin

A native of San Antonio & son of Erasmo Seguin, Juan joined the Revolutionary effort with zeal, recruiting and leading troops throughout 1835-1836. Seguin served as courier (letter-carrier) from the Alamo. He led the only Tejano unit present at the Battle of San Jacinto where Santa Anna was defeated, and independence was eventually attained. Seguín became the first Tejano to serve in the new Republic's Senate.

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