Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna

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Antonio López de Santa Anna

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition | 2008 | The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright 2008 Columbia University Press. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Antonio López de Santa Anna , 1794-1876, Mexican general and politician. He fought in the royalist army, but later joined Iturbide in the struggle that won independence for Mexico (1821). Santa Anna then entered upon a long and tortuous political career. His actions were governed by opportunism rather than by any fixed principle, and he shifted his allegiance from party to party, his fortunes rising and falling with bewildering rapidity. He led the revolution against Iturbide (1823); aided, then revolted against, Vicente Guerrero ; and turned against Anastasio Bustamante after helping him to power. His victory over the Spanish when Guerrero was in power gained for him a popularity which he turned into political capital; he was ever afterward "the hero of Tampico." Elected president for a term beginning in 1833, he struggled with the vice president for power and established himself as a reactionary dictator in 1834. He went to Texas to crush the revolution there and became a sort of ogre in American eyes because of the slaughter at the Alamo and the brutality of the massacre at Goliad, which was carried out under his orders. His defeat and capture by Samuel Houston at San Jacinto (1836) put a temporary halt to his political career in Mexico, but his shrewd political sense, aided by the accident of losing a leg in an attempt to repulse the French at Veracruz (1838), restored his prestige. Driven from power after a wasteful, corrupt presidential administration (1841-44), he returned from exile—with U.S. aid apparently—and again became president (1846-47). He commanded in the Mexican War, but his defeats at Buena Vista, Cerro Gordo, and Puebla and the loss of Mexico City sent him again into exile. He returned and ruled (after Dec., 1853) as "perpetual dictator" until the revolution of Ayutla again drove him into exile (1855) and brought Benito Juárez to the fore. After several attempts, he was allowed to return to Mexico (1874).

Bibliography: See his memoirs, Mi historia militar y política (1905); his autobiography (ed. by A. F. Crawford, 1988); biographies by W. H. Callcott (1936, repr. 1968) and O. L. Jones (1968); R. G. Santos, Santa Anna's Campaign Against Texas 1835-1836 (1968).

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"Antonio López de Santa Anna." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 9 Jul. 2009 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>.

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San Jacinto, Battle of

The Oxford Companion to American Military History | 2000 | | © The Oxford Companion to American Military History 2000, originally published by Oxford University Press 2000. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

San Jacinto, Battle of (1836).The Battle of San Ja cinto, fought near present‐day Galveston, Texas, on 21 April 1836, was shaped to a large degree by the mistakes of Mexican president and general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who after his costly victory at the Battle of the Alamo divided his remaining forces into four units. Driven by an incautious determination to capture the Texas government's leaders, his command pursued ahead of his army's other branches. He missed his political adversaries by a few hours on 19 April.

Emboldened by his numerical advantage, Texas Gen. Sam Houston and his 900 men at last turned toward the enemy's advance units and began skirmishing on 20 April. The encamped Mexican forces, trapped by a swamp to their rear, had been reinforced to twice their previous numbers and were lulled into unpreparedness by that and the lateness of the hour. Houston's order of battle in the late afternoon the next day was a thin line, supported by artillery in the middle and cavalry on its right. The assault turned into a mad rush of hand‐to‐hand combat; the engagement lasted for fewer than twenty minutes, followed by several hours of individualized killing dominated by revenge‐seeking Texans. Santa Anna was captured, along with about half of his force of over 1,300. Houston and thirty others in the army were wounded; only nine of the Texans died in battle.

San Jacinto became a turning point when the Mexican president's retreat orders were obeyed by his next in command. It proved to be the decisive battle of the Texas revolution (San Jacinto Day is a Texas holiday) as the captured Santa Anna signed a treaty pledging recognition of an independent Texas.
[See also Mexican Revolution, U.S. Military Involvement in the.]

Paul D. Lack

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John Whiteclay Chambers II. "San Jacinto, Battle of." The Oxford Companion to American Military History. Oxford University Press. 2000. Retrieved July 09, 2009 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O126-SanJacintoBattleof.html

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Santa Anna, Antonio López de

World Encyclopedia | 2005 | © World Encyclopedia 2005, originally published by Oxford University Press 2005. (Hide copyright information) Copyright

Santa Anna, Antonio López de (1794–1876) Mexican general and dictator. He was the dominant political figure in Mexico from 1823 to 1855, sometimes as president, sometimes unofficially as the result of a coup. In 1836, Santa Anna led the forces that captured the Alamo but failed to subdue the rebellion in Texas. He regained power following gallant action against a French raid on Vera Cruz (1838). After his failure in the Mexican War (1846–48), he went into exile. He returned to power in 1853, but was overthrown in 1855.

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Santa Anna: La guerra de los pasteles. (general Antonio López de Santa Anna y el bloqueo de Veracruz por los franceses)(TT: Santa Anna: The war of the cakes) (TA: General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and the French blockade of Veracruz)
Magazine article from: Contenido; 8/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...meses y seis días permaneció Antonio López de Santa Anna en Manga de Clavo, rumiando la...Congreso encargado de convertir a Santa Anna en dictador, habían rendido...mediodía, en Manga de Clavo, Santa Anna escuchó un ruido de cañonazos... Read more
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Santa Anna: La invasión yanqui. (historia del ejercito méxicano de general Antonio López de Santa Anna y la guerra contra los Estados Unidos, 1845-1848)(TT: Santa Anna: The Yankee invasion) (TA: General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and the Mexican-American War, 1845-1848)
Magazine article from: Contenido; 8/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; La Invasión yanqui El exilio de Santa Anna en Cuba duró de junio de 1845 a...México. A raíz de la expulsión de Santa Anna se quiso colocar en la Presidencia...cosas le tocó negociar el paso de Santa Anna al ejército trigarante. Una vez... Read more
Santa Anna: La guerra de Texas. (historia del ejercito méxicano del general Antonio López de Santa Anna y la guerra contra el movimiento independentista de Texas)(TT: Santa Anna: The Texas War) (TA: history of General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's Mexican army and the war against the independence movement of Texas)
Magazine article from: Contenido; 8/1/1996; ; 700+ words ; ...la mitad de ellos concentrados en el pueblecillo de San Antonio y por lo general dedicados a capturar caballos salvajes...general Joaquín de Arredondo, el antiguo superior de Santa Anna. Se pretendía favorecer a un grupo de católicos avecindados... Read more
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Magazine article from: VFW Magazine; 6/1/2003; ; 700+ words ; ...correct. The Alamo in San Antonio is the historic site...which Mexican Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna would finally be defeated...even have prevented Santa Anna from marching farther...As a letter to a San Antonio newspaper editor pointed...a 1979 visit to San ... Read more
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Magazine article from: Reference & Research Book News; 5/1/2008; 118 words ; ...Goliad Massacre, in which about 400 prisoners on the American side were killed in 1836 under orders of President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna during Texas's fight for independence from Mexico. Stout aims to bring the event to light, describing it and... Read more
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