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Stephen Austin meets with Mexican President Santa Anna
For various causes, Austin was the only one of the commissioners that went to Mexico. He set out shortly after the adjournment of the convention, and reached the capitol in time to see it the scene of confusion and intrigue. As his stay in Mexico was lengthy, and greatly prolonged by political events, it will be proper to refer to them in this place. -
Battle of the Alamo
Texans * Colonel William Travis * Jim Bowie * Davy Crockett * 180-250 men * 21 guns Mexicans * General Antonio López de Santa Anna * 6,000 men * 20 guns -
Battle of San Jacinto
Several free Blacks participated in the Battle at San Jacinto. Hendrick Arnold was the son-in-law to Deaf Smith and served as a spy and guide to the Army. <NHBTx:1-252> Dick the Drummer Boy was a Negro freedman who played the drum at the battle, and also served with the United States Army in the same capacity during the Mexican War. Dick helped defeat Santa Anna twice. Four other veterans of San Jacinto also participated in the Mexican War -
# Treaty of Velasco grants Texas Independence
The public treaty provided that hostilities would cease and that Santa Anna would withdraw his forces below the Rio Grande and not take up arms again against Texas. In addition, he also pledged to restore property that had been confiscated by the Mexicans. Both sides promised to exchange prisoners on an equal basis. The Texans would send Santa Anna back to Mexico and would not pursue the retreating Mexican troops. -
U.S. annexes Texas
A treaty to annex Texas was submitted to the Senate on April 22, 1844. In opposition, Rep. Joshua Giddings, an Ohio Whig, denounced the prospect in a speech to the House on May 21, 1844. After pointing out the benefits of the balance of power being held by the North and West. -
General Taylor marches troops across Rio Grande
The war fell into three main campaigns. The first, in Texas, started on 24 March 1846, when General Taylor with 3,500 men advanced to the Rio Grande, and established a fortified camp (Fort Texas) opposite the city of Matamoros, before marching with most of his force to his supply camp at the mouth of the Rio Grande. -
U.S. declares war on Mexico
Mexico had a highly unstable government. The federal constitution of 1824 had been abrogated in 1835 and replaced by a centralized dictatorship. Two diametrically opposed factions had arisen: the Federalists, who supported a constitutional democracy; and the Centralists, who supported an autocratic government under a monarch or dictator. -
John Slidell's Rejection
Anger over the pending annexation of Texas had prompted Mexico to break off diplomatic relations with the United States soon after Polk took office in the spring of 1845. By the fall, however, the administration had received word that the Herrera government was prepared to accept a minister from the United States. Anxious to resume diplomatic relations as soon as possible, Polk appointed Slidell, who was fluent in Spanish, while Congress was in recess. -
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends war with Mexico
The oldest treaty still in force between the United States and Mexico. As a result of the treaty, the United States acquired more than 500,000 square miles of valuable territory and emerged as a world power in the late nineteenth century. -
The Gadsden Purchase
The boundary between the United States and Mexico was to extend from the Gulf of Mexico and follow the Rio Grande to a point eight miles north of El Paso and then continue west to the first branch of the Gila River. The boundary was established from a map drawn by J. Disturnell of New York. When the United States sent men to survey the boundary, they found that the Disturnell map was in error.
