Confident after his victory at the Alamo and Goliad, Santa Anna led his troops eastward in pursuit of Sam Houston and the rest of the Texian Army. General Sam Houston’s recruits, grown to 910, had been playing a game of hide-n-seek with Santa Anna for a month after the fall of Goliad. During their month-long “retreat”, Houston was training his recruits for the inevitable final confrontation.
Houston had lived for a period with the Cherokee’s and was an adopted member the Cherokee tribe. He had also wed a Cherokee maiden and had learned the ways of the Cherokee’s. He was a tough hard drinking man that was more comfortable in buckskin than military garb. He served as a lieutenant in the War of 1812 and his military and Cherokee background came in handy as he strategized to bring an end to the dictatorial rule that Santa Anna had brought to Texas and the Texian people.
As Houston and his army retreated, his men began to question his leadership. The men were eager for a fight, but like any brilliant strategist, Houston was bidding his time. He needed to get his ragtag group of men ready for the battle and lead Santa Anna into an area that was favorable for an assault. As a cat plays with a mouse, Sam Houston led Santa Anna to the area now known as Houston Texas. During those days, the region, sitting on the Gulf coast, was a combination of marshes, bayous, woods, and meadows. This would be a more desirable location and the fight would be on Sam Houston’s terms. All along, Houston had been advising the Texas militia to bring the fight to an area that best suited the unique fighting style of these rugged frontiersmen. His men were hunters and were familiar with this type of terrain.
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| San Jacinto Monument |
Houston’s men hid in the woods and behind embankments as Santa Anna’s army approached. Overconfident, Santa Anna and his men made camp in an open meadow surrounded by water and woods. Houston and his men just bid their time watching as the Mexican Army began their siesta. Then Houston led the charge with “Remember the Alamo!!! Remember Goliad!!!” Within 18 minutes, the Battle of San Jacinto was over. It took another day to find Santa Anna who had run away when the battle started. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, President and Dictator of Mexico and self-styled "Napoleon of the West," had stripped down to his silk drawers ridding himself of his military garb and (by some accounts) was found hiding up in a tree.
On May 14, 1836, Santa Anna signed the Treaties of Velasco. These treaties called for all Mexican militia to return to Mexico and recognized Texas as an independent nation. After the Treaties of Velasco, Sam Houston was elected the President of the Republic of Texas. Texas was now a recognized country independent of Mexico and the rule of the Mexican government.
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| Statue of Sam Houston |
