Battle Of San Jacinto Case Study

The Battle of the Alamo is probably the most famous battle to take place in the history of, and in the state of, Texas. The battle has given Texans the will to persevere against tough odds and the courage to endure through seemingly impossible situations for many generations. Many a Texan would draw inspiration during the fights following the defeat at the Alamo. This inspiration eventually led them to victory during the Texas Revolution following the Battle of San Jacinto. Had the Texas military correctly utilized their intelligence and combat assets available to them at the time, they would have been able to properly reinforce the Alamo. This would have allowed Texan leadership to develop an effective strategy to defeat the Mexican army

On the dawn of the thirteenth day of the war the Santa Anna forced their way into the base. Immediately all hope was lost and the men said goodbye to their hiding families and tried to hold off the attacking Santa Anna so their families could escape. Unfortunately the Santa Anna had expected the Texans to flee so they had men hidden waiting to kill the

Sam Houston played a monumental role in sparking the Texas revolution. He believed that independence from Mexico was necessary saying that “war inevitable” and “urging volunteers to come to the aid of their Anglo brethren” (p. 60). Also, Houston’s role as commander-in-chief of the army was very important in winning the war for Texas Independence. After the capture of Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto, many of the soldiers in the Texas Army wanted to execute him on the spot. But because of Sam Houston’s level head, he knew that “his prisoner was the key to removing all Mexicans soldiers from Texas without further bloodshed”, and “Jacinto became his password to Texas heroism forever” (p. 85-87). Furthermore, Houston’s leadership as the president of the Republic of Texas “kept the republic alive until it became a part of his mother country” (p. 198).

The battle at the Alamo is one of the most significant events in the Texas Revolution, as well as in both Mexican and American history. For Mexican President and General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, it was a tale of determination and holding to the principles of a strong, central government. For Americans living in Texas, the Alamo was a venture of small scale Revolutionary ideals; a people should be able to democratically express how they feel their homeland to be governed. As we know, both countries experienced the extreme opposites of their desired outcomes, if only initially. The tales of this specific point in time are many, though some certainly contain many varying details from the next. However, most can hardly be proven, as

As a military and political figure, Houston’s decisions were not popular at times. Elected as commander in chief of the Texas Army, while most preferred a direct confrontation with Santa Anna’s army, Houston knowing the limited size, funding and lack of training of the Texas Army, preferred what seemed to be a plan of retreat on the surface but actually was a plan of patience and timing for the right place and the right time to attack. Small victories by Santa Anna’s army inflamed Anglo Texans who began questioning Houston’s technique to the point even President David Burnet began questioning as well. However, victory was Houston’s as the opportunity presented itself for a prepared Texas Army to strike an

     The Alamo first saw action when General Cos landed at Copano, and headed to San Antonio to meet up with Colonel Ugartechea. By now war was on everyone’s mind and many events prior to Cos marching toward San Antonio set the playing field for war, but not everyone really was for it,..... at least not yet. Meanwhile, in Gonzales the revolution had started over a cannon that the settlers would not give up. This is also were the phrase “come and take it!” was born. What had happen was Ugartechea sent a lieutenant with some men to unarm a group of colonist who had a cannon at their disposal in Gonzales. What the Mexican’s did not count on was that in the end they would be sent running off to San Antonio after being repulsed by the colonists. Now the colonists formed a small army to March on Cos and his men, which the settlers wanted out of Texas for good. As Lord points out Cos would be ready for the settlers in San Antonio. Lord also points out how the mission in San Antonio got its name, Lord states that the mission once held a colonial company from the Alamo de Parras in Mexico, and that the named carried over and was shortened to just being called the Alamo.

On February 15 and 16, 1836, General Santa Anna and his men crossed the Rio Grande to put down the uprising and prevent Texas from becoming its own state. The Mexican Army successfully won multiple skirmishes and battles, to include the Alamo and Goliad (Hardin, 2004).

The battle for Texas’ independence was a hard battle. Many lives were taken, home destroyed, and families were torn apart. Texas residents wanted to break away from Mexico and become a self-governing republic inside of Mexico because they did not like Santa Anna’s laws. Mexico did not allow slave immigration, so Texas wanted to be a part of the United States that allowed slavery. But the main reason was that Mexico would not change or consider any government ideas that the Anglos and Mexicans had for Texas, and resulted in Santa Anna ruling and making all the laws and decisions. Santa Anna also overthrew the Mexican government and made himself the Mexican dictator. Stephen Austin came to try and settle the trouble caused by the suggestion of Texas’ constitution, but instead Santa Anna imprisoned him for a year.

There were many events that led to the battle. years before the battle, Mexico had fought many wars, including one against America. These wars left Mexico sink deeply in debt. Benito Juarez suspended payments to England and France and broke diplomatic relations. The suspension of payments made France angry and they desperately wanted the money so, France invited England

The battle of the Alamo only spanned an approximate 13 days yet it’s a very critical battle in winning the independence of Texas and helping expand the United States to the west. There were many small conflicts that led up to this battle but it all started as white settlers

Have you ever been so passionate about something in life that no matter what, you didn’t want to see it end? I think that Commander Theodore H. Barrett had that same desire. In May of 1865, Commander Theodore H. Barnett led troops into what is known as the last battle of the Civil War. The Battle of Palmito Ranch did not impact the outcome of the Civil War; but it still made history. This battle was led by a man who wasn’t ready to see the Civil War end, a man who was passionate about what he was fighting for.

A little history before we start diving into the significance of the battles, there some precursors to the beginning of the conflict. There were a lot of political and cultural clashes between the Mexican government and American settlers in Texas. In the 1820 's, this was in the early stages. Mexico wanted to attract settlers to the state known as Coahuila which is known as Texas today. The American settlers where wanting to go because the land was good for farming and ranching. Though the American settlers soon started pushing the Mexicans away, and Mexico was slowly becoming reluctant to allow the Americans to settle here. When Americans settlers started to migrate in Texas, Mexico tried to stop them by implementing a law that they convert to Catholicism and become Mexican citizens. Though, most of the Texas settlers approved of the Mexican constitution of 1824,

The Battle of Palmito Ranch occurred on 12-13 May 1865 and it is commonly correlated with the surrender of General Lee at Appomattox Court House on 9 April 1865, more than a month after General Lee’s official surrender of the Confederacy.

The Battle of San Juan Hill (also know as the Battle of San Juan Heights) commenced on 01 July 1898. It was a significant and definitive battle of the Spanish-American War as well as the bloodiest. The names of the two hills at San Juan Heights were given by the Americans, San Juan Hill and Kettle Hill. The American press deemed this victory as the greatest victory for Theodore Roosevelt and the Rough Riders of the 1st Volunteer Cavalry even though the Buffalo Soldiers of the 10th Cavalry and 24th Infantry Regiment had done the bulk of the fighting.

The Battle of Palo Alto was an event that took the world by surprise. This was what triggered the Mexican-American War, which is also very interesting to learn about. Many items helped our group to choose this topic, for example, the fact that it’s a local event that had a huge effect on the state of Texas. We did our research in our school library which had more than enough resources and we also got assistance to help us find out more about our topic. Lastly, our fifth grade field trip to the Battle of Palo Alto National Park was a huge reason why we decided to do this project.