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Battle of Gonzales
Alcalde Andrew Ponton refused to give up the cannon without written orders. So the Mexicans tried to take the Texans' cannon, but the Texans refused give it to them and had a flag saying "Come and Take It". The Texans shot the cannon, which showed that the Texans weren't affraid to take a stand against the Mexicans. -
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Texas Revolution
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The Siege of San Antonio
In October 1835 nearly 300 Texans at Gonzales organized themselves into the Army of the People. They elected Stephen F. Austin as their commander. Although he had no military experience, he led the force to attack Cos in San Antonio. Along the way more volunteers joined the settlers, and the army was close to almost 600 people. When they arrived in San Antonio, a brief fight broke out near Mission Conception. The Mexican troops retreated farther into San Antonio, and the Texans began a siege -
The Consultation
Wuth the Army of the People in San Antonio, delegates gathered at San Felipe for a meeting called the Consultation.The delegates met to decide what action the Texans should take. The meeting began on Nov. 4, 1835. Settlers who belonged to the war party urged the delegates to declare independence from Mexico. -
Battle of San Antonio
Ben Milam asked, "Who will go into San Antonio with old ben Milam?". Abput 300 of the 500 men were ready to fight, and on December 5 they launched their attack. Hendrick Arnold led Milam's division into battle. the fighting stopped when Cos hoisted a white flag of surrender. -
Runaway Scrape
The families living in the Gonzales area panicked when they learned of Santa Anna's advance and Houston's retreat. Certain that Santa Anna intended to kill all Anglos in Texas, many settlers abandoned their homes and fled. When word of the massacres at the Alamo and at Goliad reached them, they went east as quickly as they could. Some went as far as Louisiana. Their flight is known as the Runaway Scrape. -
Consultation Convention of 1836
The delegatesgathered at Washington-on-the-Brazos for the second meeting of the Consultation, also known as the Convention of 1836. They met in an unfinished structure with one open side. The temperature was near freezing, which may have sped up the proceedings. The delegates declared Texas independent the next day, March 2. Within two weeks they had written a constitution. -
The Battle of The Alamo
The Texans were unaware that Santa Anna had ecided to lead his army into Texas. The Battle of the Alamo is the most famous military clash in Texas history. In January 1836, he sent one wing under General Jose Urrea up to the Atascosito Road. Colonel James Clinton Neill knew he did not have enough soldiers to defend the Alamo, so he recruited soldiers. The Mexicans attacked the Alamo for 13 days. All Texan soldiers were killed. -
Battle of Coleto
With Jose Urrea so close, James Fannin could not go to San Antonio. One March 14, Sam Houston ordered Fannin to retreat to Victoria. He wanted to assemble all of the troops in one place. They did not leave until March 19. Fannin commanded about only 300 men, who were outnumbered by Urrea's troops. Several Texans were wounded in the first day of fighting. Urrea received additional troops. On March 20, Fannin surrendered. The surviving Texan soldiers were taken captive by the Mexican army. -
Goliad Massacre
The fate of the captives at Coleto is the subject of much debate. Most of them were recent immigrants from the U.S. They had not taken the oath as Mexican citizens. As a result, they expected to be taken back to the U.S. Santa Anna ordered them to be shot. They marched back to Goliad and held for a week. On March 27, they were divided into 3 columns. Some hoped to be sent home. Instead, the guards started shooting them. Only a handful escaped during the confusion. The rest of them were executed. -
Battle of San Jacinto
A skirmish developed between the Mexican and the Texan calvary. The major part of the battle took place on the afternoon of April 21. At first, Houston's troops of about 800 outnumbered Santa Anna's army. During the night and morning, Santa Anna received reinforcements, bring a total of more than 1,300 soldiers. Houston ordered Deaf Smith to burn VInce's Bridge. The Texan's struck the right side of the Mexican army. The battle lasted for only 18 minutes.
