Major Battles of the Texas Revolution

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Major Battles of the Texas Revolution

• The Battle of Gonzalez
• The Battle of the Alamo
• The Battle of San Jacinto

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The Battle of GonzalezOctober 2, 1835

• 1st battle between the Texan colonists and
  Mexican troops over a small cannon.
• COME AND TAKE IT!
• First Texan victory showed they would fight!

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Texan Victories Fire Up Santa Anna

• Citizens of Gonzalez turn back Mexican forces
  trying to take cannon.
• 50 Texans capture Goliad.
• FINAL BLOW 700 Texans capture the Alamo from
  1,000 Mexicans on their way to capturing San
  Antonio, and clearing Texan soil of Mexican
  troops.
• - Texans 2 killed 26 wounded
• - Mexicans 150 casualties

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The Battle of the AlamoFebruary 24 - March 6,
1836
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Strengths of the Alamo

• 12 foot walls 2-3 feet thick
• 20 cannons
• Food and water supplies very high

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Weaknesses of the Alamo

• Too much space to defend (3 acres) with Traviss
  army possessing less than 200 men
• A piece of the South wall, between the chapel and
  the main wall was built of fence planks and dirt.
• With Gonzalez 71 miles away, and Goliad 95 miles
  away, reinforcements would be tough to come by
  quickly.

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Alamo Diagram (p.218)
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Santa Anna wants to make a statement!

• Santa Anna flies the traditional RED FLAG from
  his headquarters, indicating no quarter, or no
  prisoners.
• As the Mexican Army marched toward the Alamo,
  they sang, El Deguello, an ancient chant of no
  mercy
• WHAT WAS THE STATEMENT SANTA ANNA WAS TRYING TO
  MAKE?

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The Bombardment

• The Mexican bombardment began February 24th, and
  lasted until March 5th
• The Alamo held up well with its tall, thick walls
• Also with the KENTUCKY RIFLE, the Texans were
  able to pick off Mexican troops from great
  distances
• The RIFLE vs. the MUSKET

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Measuring the Odds

• Travis could obviously see he was severely
  outnumbered - 1800 Mexicans v. 200 Texans
• VICTORY OR DEATH
• p. 217

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The Line in the Dirt

• Knowing whoever fought in the battle that was
  soon approaching was sure to meet their death,
  Travis supposedly drew a line in the dirt with
  his sword and gave every man under his command
  the opportunity to flee, one man left.
• Why? The spirit of NATIONALISM!
• What would make us fight against these same odds
  today?

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The Final Attack

• The actual battle took an estimated 90 minutes --
  530am to about 700am.
• All who defended the Alamo died, with the
  exception of women and children, and a Mexican
  soldier who convinced Santa Anna he was fighting
  against his will.
• The Mexican armies lost an estimated 600 trained
  soldiers, all of whom were very hard to replace.

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REMEMBER THE ALAMO!

• Santa Anna lost enough professional soldiers to
  be set back two weeks, two weeks the Texans
  really needed
• The brutality of Santa Anna made him lose much
  respect from his troops
• In an attempt to squash the Texan spirit, Santa
  Anna couldnt have done more to ignite the Texan
  passion for independence

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Remember Goliad

• Colonel James W. Fannin led about 300
  revolutionaries in another part of Texas while
  the battle at the Alamo raged on.
• Travis wanted him to come to San Antonio with
  reinforcements, but he never made it.
• On his way there, Mexicos General Urrea was too
  close and Sam Houston ordered a retreat. Fannins
  troops never made it..

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James Fannin and Jose Urrea
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Remember Goliad

• They stopped in a field near Coleta Creek to rest
  and were surrounded by Urreas troops.
• After two days of fighting, Fannin surrendered.
• All the captives thought they would be returned
  to the US instead, they were marched to Goliad
  where Santa Anna ordered that they all be
  executed!

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Runaway Scrape

• When Anglo settlers heard of the massacres at the
  Alamo and Goliad, they feared for their lives.
• As Santa Anna approaches Gonzales, the people
  there began to flee some all the way to
  Louisiana and some to places like Nacogdoches and
  Galveston Island.

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The Battle of San JacintoApril 21, 1836
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Houston and His Rag-Tags

• Days before the Battle of San Jacinto, Sam
  Houston was said to have had an estimated 1,000
  soldiers.
• It would be tough to say that even a half of
  these soldiers were trained military men.
• The majority of his soldiers were volunteers who
  knew a whole lot about farming, and very little
  about war.

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Charge, and Remember the Alamo!

• Houston ordered his troops to attack at 330 the
  afternoon of April 21st.
• The Mexican troops were all for the most part
  resting, watering horses, or eating.
• WHY? The Traditional Battle
• Houstons troops enter the camp virtually
  unnoticed.

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Charge, and Remember the Alamo!

• The battle lasted no more than twenty minutes.
• 10 Texans killed, 30 wounded including Sam
  Houston, who shattered his ankle due to a musket
  shot.
• 630 Mexicans killed, 750 taken prisoner including
  Santa Anna.

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Santa Anna Makes a Run for it!

• Santa Anna surprised by the attack, seeing defeat
  in sight attempts to escape capture.
• He makes a soldier switch clothes with him, and
  tries to run for it.
• He is caught later in the evening hiding in the
  tall grass of a field, a Mexican soldier calls
  him out and he is brought in to custody.

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VICTORY!!!