Texas, unlike the other states, is part of the United States by treaty instead of territorial incorporation. Before it became a state, it first belonged to Spain then it became part of Independent Mexico in 1824. The Spanish authorities let the Americans acquire land in the region from 1821 with terms that included, them converting into Catholic and handling all their affairs in Spanish (Barr, 1990). The Texas revolution, also the Texas war for Independence, was an outcome of some serial events that started out long before the firing of the first shots in Gonzales on October 2, 1835 and it ceasing on April 21, 1936 at the battle of San Jacinto (Barr, 1990).
The idea of settling Americans in Texas came from Moses Austin who had influence over multiple economic and social sectors because he was a bankrupt merchant of dry commodities, a judge in Louisiana, Virginian Mine operator and a banker in Missouri. He proposed the settlement of Americans in 1820 but it was not until 1821 that the Spanish allowed the settlement of 300 American families in Texas. Moses Austin died and his son Stephen Austin vowed to carry out his father’s dream of colonizing Texas. The Mexican government gave two conditions for land possession, one they had to become Mexican citizens and they had to convert to Roman Catholics. This way, by the year 1830, there were more than sixteen thousand Americans living in Texas and unlike the other parts of Texas, in Coahuila y Tejas, Americans formed the absolute majority compared to the people of Spanish heritage.
Battles of the Texas Revolution
In 1832, a Mexican soldier and Politician, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna became the president of Mexico. The Texas settlers hoped he would change Texas into a self-ruling state inside the Republic of Mexico. Once in power, Santa Anna did nothing of the sort, instead, in 1834 he overthrew the Mexican Government and became a Dictator. In a bid to control the growing numbers and strength of the Texas colonists, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna abolished slave trade and enforced custom duty collection. On October 2, 1985, there were antagonisms as the Texas colonists revolted when a force of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna tried to disarm them also known as the gun control of Texas (Roell, 1994).
The Battle of Gonzales
The battle of Gonzales was one of coincidence. It happened when the small army of the Mexican government marched into the Gonzales town with the orders to find the smoothbore cannon that had been the town’s property since 1831 as their defense against The Indians. It was small sized, six-pound caliber bronze Spanish made cannon. The town refused to surrender the cannon and 100 troops, under the orders issued by Francisco de Castaneda were to go and ensure the cannon’s acquisition and sequestration. One hundred and forty settlers met the troops and an additional eighteen men branded the ‘old eighteen’ so in total it was 158 Texan settlers against the 100 Mexican trooper sent by the military commander stationed at San Antonio de Bexar, Colonel Domingo Ugartechea. One Mexican died with no Texan casualty. The Texan troops moved the cannon but it was lost on the way (Barr, 1990).
The Battle of Goliad
This was the second clash during the Texas revolution. On October 10, 1835, Texan colonists assailed soldiers of the Mexican Army at the fort of Presidio La Bahia near the Goliad settlement. Within days after the victory in Gonzales, Texian military under Captain George Collingsworth marched towards Goliad. They used axes to hack through a door and enter the fort without any of the Mexican soldiers discovering them. After a battle that lasted for an estimated period of 30 minutes, the Mexicans who had Colonel Juan Lopez Sandoval commanding them had to surrender. Three soldiers of the Mexican army were injured and one died while only one soldier in the Texan army was injured. Majority of the Mexicans left Texas and there were goods worth a sum of 10,000 dollars they seized as well as cannons that they later used in the siege of Bexar (Roell, 1994).
The Battle of Lipantitlan
Battle of Lipantitlan also the Battle of Nueces Crossing, took place along the River Nueces on November 4, 1985. Nicolas Rodriguez, commanding officer of the fort, had orders to provoke the Texian troops in Goliad. Rodriguez took majority of his men on a military expedition and while they were away, Texian Troops sent by Westover arrived in San Patricio. A local man convinced the remaining men of the Mexican army to surrender which they did and the following day they left the fort. Rodriguez and his men returned as the Texian troops were crossing the Nueces River. The two opposing sides fought but the Texian soldiers proved too strong forcing the Mexicans to make a hasty retreat. Only one Texan had injuries while 3 to 5 Mexican soldiers died and more than a dozen got injuries. The remaining Mexican soldiers retreated to Matamoros (Roell, 1994).
With the defeat of the Mexicans, Texian troops gained full dominance over the Gulf Coast meaning troops in de Bexar had to obtain their supplies and reinforcements through terrestrial means.
The Siege of Bexar
After the battle of Gonzales, more men continued to assemble in Gonzales forming the Texian army. Stephen F. Austin was their leader. Realizing he did not have enough men to attack Bexar so instead, they planned a siege. Austin sent a note to General Cos asking him and his men to surrender but Cos sent back the note without opening it and a message stating that he does not agree with rebellious groups (Edmondson, 2000). The siege went on and more reinforcements arrived under the command of Thomas J. Rusk so the Texan army now had 600 men. At the same time, General Cos received more men as well and the Mexican Army grew to 1,200 soldiers therefore discouraging the Texian men from advancing. Sam Houston arrived in San Felipe and found all the men were laying siege on Bexar meaning the men he wanted for the consultation were in San Antonio. He went to San Antonio where Members of the consultation gained release from the war to attend the meeting in San Felipe. William B. Travis and Stephen Austin were part of the consultation team but they did not leave San Antonio. Sam Houston became the full General of all Texian forces save for the ones serving in San Antonio (Edmondson, 2000).
On December 11, 1985 after laying siege on San Antonio for eight weeks, Austin and his men compelled General Cos into surrendering. The fall of Bexar and the command of General Cos was the last major force from the Mexicans in Texas.
The Battle of San Jacinto
The battle took place on April 21, 1936 and was the critical battle that was to decide the Texas Revolution. Sam Houston led the Texas Army while the Mexican Army had Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. The battle lasted for eighteen minutes at the end of which 630 Mexican soldiers lay dead and the Texian Army managed to capture 730 Mexican soldiers. Only nine Texans died at the battle (Moore, 2004).
They managed to capture President Santa Anna the day after the battle and held captive as a prisoner of war. He signed a peace treaty after three weeks to order the Mexican army to leave the region to make way for the Republic of Texas and be an Independent country. Sam Houston turned into a national celebrity (Moore, 2004).
Conclusion
Once Americans settled in Texas, a revolution was bound to happen, as there was diversity in cultures and beliefs between the colonists and the Mexicans. The colonists remained loyal to the United States as was shown by their refusal to learn the Spanish language and their maintenance of separate schools from the Spanish and their tends to trade with the United States instead of the Mexicans. Eventually, when Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna did not do what the Texans expected, a Revolution did begin. Though there was no planning, a minor denial to release the cannon in Gonzales led to battles that would go down History as a fight for Independence. Because the Mexicans did not have enough man or gun power, their defeat was inevitable and they lost Texas, which later became part of the United States.
References
Barr, A. (1990). Texans in Revolt: the Battle for San Antonio, 1835, Austin, TX: University
of Texas Press
Edmondson, J.R. (2000). The Alamo Story-From History to Current Conflicts, Plano, TX:
Republic of Texas Press
Roell, C. H. (1994). Remember Goliad! A History of La Bahia, Fred Rider Cotten Popular
History Series, Austin, Texas: Texas State Historical Association
Moore, S. L. (2004). Eighteen Minutes: The Battle of San Jacinto and the Texas
Independence
Campaign, Rowman & Littlefield
Winders, R. B. (2004). Sacrificed at the Alamo: Tragedy and Triumph in the Texas
Revolution. State House Press
