Qualla: Battle of San Jacinto

Battle of San Jacinto: Introduction

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andrew Jackson Houston (d. 1941), Public domain. Eighteen minutes. That is how long the actual fighting lasted on April 21, 1836, when roughly 800 Texians swarmed over the breastworks of a sleeping Mexican army and won the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. General Sam Houston had spent weeks retreating, ignoring orders to fight, enduring accusations of cowardice, and watching his own troops desert. President David G. Burnet wrote him furiously: 'The enemy are laughing you to scorn. You must fight them. You must retreat no further.' When Houston finally turned and attacked at the marshy confluence of Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River, historian William C. Davis would later call the result 'one of the most one-sided victories in history.'

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Image: Andrew Jackson Houston (d. 1941) | Public domain

Battle of San Jacinto: Playing Cards in Their Hats

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nick81aku at English Wikipedia, CC BY 2.5. Houston's army was a ragged coalition. When Deaf Smith and Henry Karnes captured a Mexican courier carrying intelligence on the positions of all Mexican forces in Texas, Houston realized that Santa Anna had split off with a small force of about 700 troops. He gave a rousing speec...

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Image: Nick81aku at English Wikipedia | CC BY 2.5

Battle of San Jacinto: A General's Afternoon Nap

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Tijuana Brass at English Wikipedia, Public domain. Santa Anna made a catastrophic choice of campground. Colonel Pedro Delgado later wrote that 'the camping ground of His Excellency's selection was in all respects, against military rules. Any youngster would have done better.' The plain sat near the San Jacinto River, bordered by ...

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Image: Tijuana Brass at English Wikipedia | Public domain

Battle of San Jacinto: Remember the Alamo

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. After a single artillery volley, the Texians broke ranks and swarmed over the barricades screaming 'Remember the Alamo! Remember La Bahia!' Hand-to-hand combat erupted across the camp. Santa Anna, Almonte, and General Castrillon yelled conflicting orders, trying to organize a def...

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Image: Public domain

Battle of San Jacinto: A Private's Jacket

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Henry Arthur McArdle, Public domain. Santa Anna escaped toward Vince's Bridge, only to find it destroyed. He hid in the marsh overnight and was captured the following day wearing the uniform jacket of a common private. The disguise failed when Mexican prisoners recognized their commander and cried out. Texian soldie...

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Image: Henry Arthur McArdle | Public domain

Battle of San Jacinto: The Farmer's Unwanted Honor

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Unknown author, Public domain. The battlefield belonged to Margaret 'Peggy' McCormick, and the aftermath left her property strewn with hundreds of Mexican corpses. Houston refused to bury them, reasoning that Mexican forces had cremated every fallen Texian at the Alamo and Goliad. Santa Anna refused to order h...

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Image: Unknown author | Public domain