San Jacinto, Battle of
San Jacinto, Battle of
Battle of San Jacinto (21 April 1836), the final military action of the Texas Revolution. On 13 March 1836 the Texan forces under General Sam Houston began a retreat eastward to Louisiana, joined by hundreds of families dispossessed by the advancing Mexican army. The retreat continued until 17 April, when General Houston ordered a movement to meet the enemy. Two days later, the Texans arrived at Buffalo Bayou, where the Mexican army under President Antonio López de Santa Anna intended to pass en route to the coast. On 20 April the Texan cavalry fought a brief skirmish with Santa Anna's advance guard, while the main body of the Mexican army encamped on the plains between Buffalo Bayou and San Jacinto Bay. On the morning of 21 April the Mexican army was reinforced, and General Houston ordered the destruction of Vince's Bridge, preventing the further reinforcement or retreat of either army. That afternoon, while the Mexicans were taking their siesta, the Texans attacked. The conflict lasted only eighteen minutes but resulted in the decimation of the Mexican force and the capture of Santa Anna. Moreover, the battle secured Texas independence and nearly a million square miles of territory.
See alsoHouston, Sam; Santa Anna, Antonio López de.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Frank X. Tolbert, The Day of San Jacinto (1959).
James W. Pohl, The Battle of San Jacinto (1989).
Additional Bibliography
Brands, H. W. Lone Star Nation: How a Ragged Army of Volunteers Won the Battle for Texas Independence, and Changed America. New York: Doubleday, 2004.
Hardin, Stephen L. Texian Iliad: A Military History of the Texas Revolution, 1835–1836. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1994.
Moore, Stephen L. Eighteen Minutes: The Battle of San Jacinto and the Texas Independence Campaign. Dallas: Republic of Texas Press: Distributed by National Book Network, 2004.
Vázquez, Josefina Zoraida, and Andreas Reichstein. De la rebelión de Texas a la guerra del 47. México D.F.: Nueva Imagen, 1994.
Michael R. Green