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Episode #5- Alamo Avengers
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In today’s episode we are going to take a look at the Texas War for Independence and the climactic battle that brought the war to a conclusion and created the Republic of Texas. We’ll discuss how the actions of a few key men changed the outcome of the war. Our funny story takes a look at a military conflict in which a country returns more than 100% of its soldiers back from conflict. Let’s dive in! Episode Sponsors:
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Transcript
Introduction to Texas Independence
00:00:04
Speaker
Hey guys, and welcome to episode 5 of Hooked On History. In today's episode, we're going to take a look at the Texas War for Independence and the climactic battle that brought the war to a conclusion and created the Republic of Texas. We'll discuss how the actions of a few key men changed the outcome of the war, and our funny story takes a look at a military conflict in which a country returns more than 100% of its soldiers back from a conflict. Let's dive in.
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Speaker
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U.S. Expansion and Mexico's Texas Strategy
00:01:34
Speaker
With the end of the War of 1812, attention was turned towards the continually westward expansion of the US. Jackson, coming off of his success at the Battle of New Orleans, was given the task of handling the Seminole situation in regards to US settlers in the South. In order to do that, Jackson invaded Spanish Hill, Florida and captured it for the US.
00:01:53
Speaker
In the treaty talks that followed, Secretary of State John Quincy Adams agreed to the border of the Sabine River as the border between the US and Spanish-held Mexico instead of the Rio Grande, basically giving all of the land of Texas to the Spanish. The Spanish will then lose control of Mexico when it wins its independence. Mexico wanted Texas to act as a buffer state between the US and Mexico. Knowing that they needed the area to be settled in order to hold their claim, they begin to encourage settlers to move there.
00:02:20
Speaker
Being next to Native American territory, though, Mexican citizens did not want to settle, and so the Mexican government will open up the land to immigrants from other countries, including the US. In exchange for settling the land, settlers had to swear allegiance to the Mexican Constitution, convert to Catholicism, and speak Spanish.
00:02:38
Speaker
Early settlers led by Stephen F. Austin began to flood into the area, and these were made up of people of all walks of life with most leaving the US for a second chance. These settlers sort of adhere to the requirements set forth by the Mexican government that held many of their American beliefs and principles.
00:02:54
Speaker
An attempt was made by President Jackson to purchase the territory of Texas from Mexico, but that was turned down. As both sides continued to have diplomatic conversations, the ever-changing leadership in Mexico slowed these talks down drastically. During that time, General Santa Ana ascended to the presidency of Mexico.
Tensions Rise: Santa Anna and Austin
00:03:11
Speaker
Santa Ana had fought on the side of the Spanish during an early rebellion in Mexico and experienced levels of cruelty that would influence his own behaviors when the 112 rebels who had surrendered were executed.
00:03:23
Speaker
Sensing the changing political tide, he does switch sides during the second attempt at a rebellion. Having one fame and reputation, he was elected to the presidency. Upon receiving the position, he went about dismantling parts of the Mexican Constitution that restricted his authority. He believed that the citizens were like children that needed him to make their decisions. Around this time, a convention was held in Texas.
00:03:45
Speaker
The purpose of this convention was to petition for Texas statehood and a relaxing of restrictions on immigration into the country. The petition was taken to the Capitol by Austin, who presented to Santa Ana and the government in 1833. After months of delays, Austin became frustrated and penned a letter to the council in his hometown of San Antonio to act together with the other towns to create a local government.
00:04:08
Speaker
This letter was intercepted by Santa Anna's men and Austin was arrested on charges of sedation and thrown in jail. This action by Santa Anna was the tipping point for many in Texas that the time had come to fall on the footsteps of their ancestors and declare their independence.
Sam Houston: Political Rise and Fall
00:04:21
Speaker
Enter the main actor of this story, Sam Houston. Sam Houston arrived in Texas in 1832 already having lived a lifetime's worth of adventure.
00:04:30
Speaker
Raised on the frontiers of Tennessee, his father died when he was 13, and his mother and he had a rocky relationship. At the age of 16, Houston ran away and found home with the Cherokee Nation, where he embraced the Cherokee lifestyle as he was trained and equipped by them for a life of war. Houston returned to Tennessee and joined up with the militia, rising through the ranks within a year to drill sergeant.
00:04:50
Speaker
He fought for Jackson in the war with the Red Sticks and with the British in the War of 1812, suffering a couple of wounds that would hound him his entire life. It was here that Jackson first took notice of the young man. Wanting to get into politics, Houston needed a mentor from his own culture to take him under their wing. Enter Andrew Jackson, who saw a lot of himself in the young Houston.
00:05:10
Speaker
Both grew up fatherless, both looked to create a name for themselves. With Jackson's support, Houston began a legal career and was appointed General of the Tennessee Militia, a position that Jackson himself had once held. Houston became a regular visitor to Jackson's home and Jackson and his wife Rachel looked at him as their own son.
00:05:27
Speaker
Houston became a representative from Tennessee the same year Jackson became a senator. Five years later, Houston became governor of Tennessee, and his stock was on the rise and some even began to mention the presidency as a potential option. Houston's luck hour would turn. Three months into his marriage, his wife abruptly left and went home to live with her family. Houston had questioned her faithfulness and it became a full-blown scandal. No details emerged to support his claim, and he was forced to resign from the governorship of Tennessee in disgrace.
00:05:56
Speaker
Houston again left Tennessee and joined up with the Cherokee nation. The man who had seemed destined to be president of the United States disappeared entirely from American politics and will reappear in 1830 as a member of the Cherokee delegation to the U.S.
00:06:09
Speaker
President Jackson, upon seeing Houston, was overjoyed, and it became clear that whatever Houston had done in the past, that Houston was still in the good graces of the president. For the next two years, Houston acted as a Cherokee ambassador, negotiating treaties with the Osage Creek and Choctaw, as well as representing the Cherokee in Washington, D.C. It was there that his Cherokee association got him entangled in a legal case that would alter the direction of Houston's destiny. A congressman from Ohio accused Houston of defrauding the government.
00:06:38
Speaker
Houston was angered by this accusation and wanted to confront the man, but the congressman avoided him for two weeks until one night when Houston spotted him and proceeded to beat him with a cane. Houston was arrested and tried in Congress, where he was found guilty and given a more symbolic punishment of a reverend by the Speaker of the House.
00:06:55
Speaker
and $500. Although his reputation was tarnished, this event did give him a new standing in the public and a reinvigoration on the national scene. Houston, however, did not try to revive his political career. Little chance of making it past his previous achievements coupled with owing the government $500, which was roughly a year's wages, and given only a year to repay it, Houston needed to find a place to make money. Texas entered his mind as a place to get that money.
00:07:21
Speaker
It was looked at as a place where men could make a fortune. It was also a place that did not care what you had done in your past. After a short meeting with Jackson in which the topic of annexing Texas to the US was discussed and a small amount of money from Jackson, Houston set out for Texas arriving in 1832. He set up his home in law form in Nacogdoches before seeking out the man who controlled the region, Austin. Along with his journey to meet Austin, Houston met up with and became fast friends with Jim Bowie.
00:07:48
Speaker
After meeting with Austin and giving attractive land totaling over 4,000 acres, Houston traveled home where he learned that the town had elected him to be the delegate to a Texas convention aimed at requesting that Texas become his own independent Mexican state. It was this petition that Austin had carried with him to the capital of Mexico that would begin the series of events that would lead to the Texas war for independence.
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Rebellion Ignites: The Alamo and Beyond
00:09:23
Speaker
Now fearing the growing discontent of Texans, Santa Ana set about implementing a plan to suppress this discontent.
00:09:30
Speaker
General Coast was ordered to lead a group of 500 soldiers into Texas to disarm the people there. Landing at the port of Copano, Coast marched up the San Antonio River, working to disarm the Texans along the way to the town of San Antonio, where he established a base of operations. The first town that General Coast looked to disarm was a small, out-of-the-way town called Gonzales. This little town had been given a small cannon by the Mexican army to help protect it from the attacks by the Comanche.
00:09:58
Speaker
And now, though, it was time to give it back to the army. This little town posed no real threat to the army, nor did the long-forgotten cannon pose one as well. In fact, it had been taken off of its carriage and had no ammunition to it to begin with, so completely harmless. So a small group of Mexican soldiers will arrive in the town with a demand for them to turn over the cannon.
00:10:19
Speaker
The town, though, will quickly convene a council who agreed that to give up the cannon was to weaken the defenses of Texas. They refused and escorted the soldiers out of town. The defenders of the town knew that their defiance would not be acceptable to the Mexican army and so set about building a defensible position. They sent out a request for more men to bolster their force of 18 and soon men began pouring in from the surrounding countryside to add to the defense. Ammunition was gathered as well for the cannon and the town finally stood a slight chance.
00:10:49
Speaker
On September 29th of 1835, a column of 100 Mexican soldiers arrived to demand once more that they cannot be handed over. After stalling for a day, the Texans were refused and even asked for a surrender of the Mexican army. The Mexican commander refused to surrender and marched his forces north to find an easier river crossing. The Texans crossed the river and through the night advanced to a striking distance of the Mexican army.
00:11:14
Speaker
The element of surprise was lost though when the morning fog lifted to show a Mexican army ready for battle. Texans will light off the cannon and, to their surprise, the order is given on the Mexican army side to about face and retreat back to San Antonio. With that, the first battle of the rebellion ended with a victory by the Texans. Over the next few days, the Texas militia was quickly called upon and the push to oust the general coast from San Antonio began.
00:11:40
Speaker
The next battle takes place at Goliad in which a group of militia were able to push out the Mexican forces there and secure the city that controlled the main supply route for the Mexican army. A series of smaller skirmishes will take place after this battle as the Texas militia announced that poise just outside the city ready to take it.
00:11:58
Speaker
General Coast had set up his headquarters in an old Spanish mission known as the Alamo. Placed in charge of the Texas militia was the favorite son of Texas himself, Stephen F. Austin. And Austin was set about beginning to siege the city over the next couple of weeks. Towards the end of the siege, however, Austin will request and receive a release from his military duties due to his old age. In his place, Ben Milam takes over. Not wanting to just sit around and wait out the Mexican army, Milam took the initiative. Using a cannon as a diversion on one side of the Alamo,
00:12:28
Speaker
Mylum laid a majority of his army around to the other side of the town to take it. By the end of the first day, the Texans had captured a good portion of the city but got bogged down at the city square as the Mexican army, now aided by the kittens of the Alamo, halted the Texans advance. For the next five days, the Texans worked to push the Mexican army out of the square.
00:12:47
Speaker
During that time, the commander of the Texas militia, Milam, is killed by a rifleman. This was the first of two pieces of bad news for the Texas militia. The second being the black flag that was currently then flying at the Alamo, signaling that the Mexican army would not be taking prisoners. In Milam's place, General Burleson takes command and finally seizes the priest's house just outside the Alamo. This gave the Texas militia a great vantage and firing position on the Mexican army below in the square.
00:13:15
Speaker
Seeing the danger, the Mexican army will retreat, some even deserting back to the Alamo. Seeing that his position could not accommodate a large force plus women and children, and supplies all but being dried up, General Coast will give the order to surrender. The terms of surrender from the Texans were very lenient for the Mexicans. General Coast and his men had to give up their arms except for side arms and swords, but were allowed to leave back to Mexico with a promise to not take up arms against the Texans again.
00:13:43
Speaker
In just a few short months, the Texas militia had scored victory after victory and drove the Mexican forces out of Texas. While they were celebrating their successes, Santa Ana was already implementing a new plan to make the Texans regret ever resisting him. He sets out with an army tolling over 2,000 men under the banner of No Quarter for the Rebels.
00:14:03
Speaker
Santa Ana wanted all rebels to be captured and executed for their actions, and it's this order that creates the conditions for two different battles that would become the rallying cry for the Texas rebellion. Back in San Antonio, a small group of militia members were left to defend the city while the main force moved to Goliad. This small group totaled around 100 and continued the work the Mexican army had started, turning the Alamo into a defensible position.
00:14:28
Speaker
However, numerous problems will face these defenders. First, they're low on manpower. Second, they're low on supplies. And third, their position in the Alamo itself was not built to serve a military purpose. As days went by, the commander of the Alamo knew the Mexican army led by Santana was getting closer.
00:14:48
Speaker
He wrote to all in the countryside asking for more men and supplies to be sent. And he wrote to Houston himself too, looking for help. Even sending a letter all the way to the son of Texas himself, Austin, asking for help. A few reinforcements from neighboring towns showed up to help. And by the time Santa Ana's army had camped just outside the Alamo, the Mexican army was around 2,500 while the Texans had a force of 180. Not great odds.
00:15:16
Speaker
After 12 days of siege, the Mexican army finally initiates their attack. In the beginning, the Alamo defenders were able to hold off the first wave, exacting heavy losses on the Mexican army with their deadly, accurate fire.
00:15:29
Speaker
Running low on ammo, they could not hold off another attack. A second wave of Mexican forces attacked the Alamo, and one by one the defenses began to crumble. The defenders were pushed back to the church, and in the end, a handful that were still alive will surrender. They were brought in front of Santa Ana, where General Coast would try to persuade the Mexican president to grant leniency on these men as payback for the mercy that was shown to him and his men. Santa Ana was not swayed and ordered the prisoners to be executed.
00:15:57
Speaker
With his victory in hand, Santa Ana turns his sights on the newly formed rebellious Texas government. It's here that Santa Ana, his force now totaling maybe close to 5,000, splits his forces up again into two groups. He places General Uriah in charge of the group marching towards Goliad, while Santa Ana leads the other group in pursuit of the newly formed Texas army under the command of General Houston.
00:16:20
Speaker
The next battle took place at Goliad. Houston had sent General Fannin in order to retreat from the town and join up with his forces. General Fannin chose to wait a few days for a portion of his army to return from a nearby town where they were gathering supplies. This week-long wait caused Fannin precious time. By the time they set out from the city, they made it a couple days' march before the Mexican cavalry caught up. Trapped by a swollen Texas river, Fannin gave the order to establish defensive positions.
00:16:47
Speaker
The rest of General Uriah's forces arrived the next day, and the battle was on. Fennen held out as long as he could, but was no match for the overwhelming forces the Mexicans had. And a flag of surrender was raised by the Texans, and the terms were agreed upon. The army was marched back to Goliad, where they were to wait until a ship could be provided to carry them to the US. No ship, though, ever returned, as the men were marched to the countryside in a column with a column of Mexican soldiers on one side.
00:17:17
Speaker
After a short march, the column was halted and the Mexican soldiers turned, facing the Texans, before opening fire and, from close range, killing all there. General Fannin, who was not with them but back in Goliad, heard the gunfire and knew that the Mexican general was not going to hold up his end of the terms of surrender. General Fannin was led into the courtyard along with some officers and some of the wounded and was shot.
00:17:42
Speaker
In the span of a couple weeks, the defenders of the Alamo and Goliad were mercilessly killed, and things looked bleak for the newly declared Texas Republic. While the battles of the Alamo and Goliad were taking place, Houston, who was appointed as General of the Army of Texas, was taking stock of his forces.
Strategic Retreats and Confrontations
00:17:58
Speaker
Houston knew that his army was not equipped or trained enough yet to take on Santa Ana and his forces. He needed time, but to get that time meant doing something that most soldiers under his command would think was cowardly. Retreat.
00:18:10
Speaker
The difficulty though was keeping the morale and fighting spirit of his men up.
00:18:14
Speaker
This was a daunting task. Stationed in Gonzales, Houston had learned about the massacre at the Alamo and issued his order to General Fannin to withdraw from Goliad to Victoria. Houston was worried that his order with O was sent too late. Knowing that his men under his command were the last defense potentially between the New Republic and Santa Ana, Houston ordered that his troops pack only what they could carry, sank two unwielding cannons in the river, and proceeded to leave Gonzales heading east to Burnham's crossing at the Colorado River.
00:18:43
Speaker
The Army of Texas crossed the river the following day, putting a river that was growing wider due to the rain between the two armies. This bought precious time for Houston. The newly formed government had moved from Washington and the Brazos to Harrisburg, and this was looked at as an insult by Houston to him and his command. Houston, though, continues his retreat, and each day that went by, more and more became restless of the lack of action. As they moved along, news of Fannin's defeat and capture of Gully had reached Houston.
00:19:11
Speaker
Disheartened even more by the loss of half the available forces, Houston had reached his lowest at this point, but still he pressed on and was pleased to see that discipline and training began to take amongst the soldiers. Each day, while some would leave, more and more would arrive. When Houston reached the Brazos River, a challenge to his authority would occur.
00:19:30
Speaker
To help keep the peace, Houston left the two commanding officers challenging him and a small force of men on the riverbank opposite of the Mexican army to stall and slow them down. This satisfied those men as they would finally get to see some action, but the rest will continue on. Crossing the Brazos River, the army camped at Gross's Landing and finally were able to reorganize the army and treat the sick and wounded.
00:19:53
Speaker
By the time they broke camp, the army was finally reassembled into a professional army. The retreat continued eastward though. At the same time, Santa Ana finally got his army across the Brazos. When he learned that the government of the rebellion was in striking distance at Harrisburg, Santa Ana alters his plan and marched off with his divided forces, again dividing his forces more, in pursuit thinking that he could easily capture Houston's army later.
00:20:20
Speaker
Arriving at Harrisburg, Santa Ana was mere hours too late as the rebel government had left by steamboat. Santa Ana ordered his army to rest for the night and the following morning they would destroy the city before leaving.
00:20:33
Speaker
Houston's army continued marching east through Cypress Creek to a junction in the road. At this junction was a tree called the Which Way Tree. The left branch pointed to Nacogdoches and further retreat, even possibly out of Texas, and the right branch pointed to Harrisburg and likely the impending fight between the two armies. Before Houston could make the call, his column of troops turned right. The two armies were now on a collision course that would decide the fate of Texas.
00:20:59
Speaker
Three days after that fateful turn to the right, General Houston received news that turned the Army of Texas from the hunted to the hunter. The scouting party had captured three prisoners, of which one was a captain who was a government courier.
00:21:14
Speaker
Amongst the documents were some marked for Santa Ana's eyes only. Information from these papers revealed that General Coast and 650 soldiers were arriving soon to reinforce the Mexican forces who had just burned Harrisburg, and that Santa Ana, with one division of his choice troops, had marched in the direction of Lynch's Ferry on the San Jacinto River.
Victory at San Jacinto
00:21:34
Speaker
It was this last piece of information that finally piqued Houston's interest. With Santa Ana now separated from the larger Mexican force and the Army of Texas now moving in unison, Houston was given the opportunity to plan a surprise attack on the man who had ordered the massacres at the Alamo and Goliad. Time was of the essence though, as Houston knew he needed to strike before the Mexican army could reassemble.
00:21:56
Speaker
And if he could, he could win the war. Houston and his men may not have needed further motivation, but upon further inspection of the saddlebags that carried the previous precious documents, W.B. Travis was inscribed on the inside. These bags had become a battlefield souvenir for the murderous victors at the Alamo. Meanwhile, Santana was still pursuing the rebel government, arriving in New Washington just in time to watch the rebel government sailing away by boat to Galveston Island.
00:22:22
Speaker
It's here where Santana made another strategy switch, feeling like if Houston's army was within striking distance, he could squash the armed forces in hopes of revolutionists. He will dispatch scouts and learn that Houston's army was less than a day's march away. Believing Houston is still being retreat, Santana knew there was only one place Houston would make for an attempt to get his army across the Stinges into River, and that was Lynch's Ferry. And the race was on to see who could get there first and control the crossing.
00:22:50
Speaker
If Santa Ana got there first, he could cut off the Texans escape, crush them with his fully assembled, reassembled army. But if Houston reached it first, Santa Ana believed he would cross it and continue his retreat. The winner was Houston's army by three hours, getting there on April 20th. Quickly, the Texans set about creating a defensive position. A grove of live oak trees provided a perfect concealment of Houston's army.
00:23:15
Speaker
The Texans line was anchored on the right by the cavalry, half hidden by the trees, and then the center by their two cannons. At midday, the first of Santa Ana's men appeared into view. Santa Ana orders an attack to commence, just as a sort of feel-out kind of attack. After a few exchanges of cannon fire, the pace of action slowed. Houston was pressed at this time by some of his officers to order an attack, but Houston had his doubts. Eventually, a mission was proposed to attack and seize the Mexican cannons, and Houston agrees to it.
00:23:44
Speaker
The mission, however, was almost a disaster when, seeing the cannons being pulled back, the mounted Texan soldiers charged into the nest of a Mexican horseman. The Texans were at disadvantage to needing to dismount the fire of their long rifles, while the Mexican cavalry fought with lances and sabers. The Texans were barely able to fall back, though, losing several horses but only two casualties.
00:24:04
Speaker
The fighting ceased for the day as both armies prepared for the battle the following day. Over the night and into the next morning, the Mexican forces had been hard at work building a breastwork of defenses. Also arriving at 8 a.m. on the 21st was General Kos and his forces, which increased the size of the Mexican army the Texans now faced. Houston calls a war council to decide what course of action to take. Attack before any more Mexican reinforcements arrive or wait for the Mexicans to attack. The vote in the end was a two to one in favor of waiting.
00:24:34
Speaker
Houston did send out a small cavalry party to destroy the bridge over Vince's bayou to slow or prevent more Mexican troops from arriving. This action would play a key factor in the battle to come.
00:24:46
Speaker
At 3.30 p.m., the order to parade and prepare for action was given. Houston's plan was simple. A small force of horsemen would attack the Mexican left as a diversionary action. The cannons would be brought to within 200 yards of the Mexican line to take on the Mexican breast work, while the main force of Texans would move across the plains keeping low in order to use the prairie grass to hide their movement. The Mexican army was sure that the Texans posed no threat, so they paid little attention in establishing sentries to guard their perimeter.
00:25:16
Speaker
The diversionary attack was successful in throwing the Mexican defenders into chaos. Houston's main force had reached a firing position and in unison released a deadly volley of musket balls.
00:25:27
Speaker
Houston ordered them to reload, but realized his forces needed to keep moving instead of staying still, so he countermanaged his order and issued an order to charge. Chaos ensued, as Mexican forces, many who had just woken up from a siesta, scrambled for their stacked guns to defend against the onslaught of Texans. In no time, Houston's men were climbing over the defensive works, and brutal hand-to-hand combat became the norm.
00:25:50
Speaker
Many of the Mexican forces, in fear, began to retreat. The fight lasted 18 minutes, but what transpired during those 18 minutes was a one-sided rout. The Texans were out to avenge the Alamo and Goliad defenders, and so little mercy was shown to the Mexican army, even though the orders from Houston himself was to take prisoners and not kill any of them. Many of the retreating Mexicans attempted to swim to safety across Peggy Lake.
00:26:15
Speaker
The Texans poured deadly, accurate fire on the Mexicans in the water, picking them off as fast as they could reload. Those who did not retreat to the lake tried to make it across the prairie to the bridge over Vince's bayou, only to find it was destroyed. Many of these Mexicans either drowned or were cut down by the pursuing Texans who, like those at the lake, shot the Mexicans while they were in the water. Only thing that stopped the bloodlust of the Texans was the approaching night.
00:26:40
Speaker
The Mexican army surrendered and the battle was over, and over the next couple of days more and more Mexican soldiers were captured, bringing the final total to around 700. Missing from those who had surrendered or were captured shortly after was the man in charge of it all. A search commenced to find Santa Ana either alive or dead on the battlefield. It was key to capture the general as more Mexican troops were in the area. If he could reach them, he could continue the fight.
Texas Secures Independence
00:27:06
Speaker
The morning after the battle would provide an answer to where Santa Ana was.
00:27:10
Speaker
Patrolling around the destroyed bridge over Vince's bayou, a group of Texans came upon a figure covered with a blanket hiding in the grass on the bank. Ordered to come out, the figure identified himself as a soldier and that he had no clue where Santa Ana was. One of the Texans though spotted something that seemed to contradict that statement. The figure before them was wearing fancy clothes that a normal soldier would not be able to wear. Pressed further, the figure confessed that he was an aide to Santa Ana.
00:27:37
Speaker
The Texans brought this prisoner back to Houston thinking he might want to talk to the man, and upon arriving at the camp, the Texans would come to find out that they had not captured an aide to Santa Ana, but Santa Ana himself. So what gave it away? As they led their prisoner past the other Mexican prisoners, the Mexicans leapt to their feet and either saluted or raised their caps cheering and calling out Santa Ana's name. That's what was the giveaway.
00:28:02
Speaker
The meeting between the two generals was monumentous. Most of the Texans wanted to execute Santa Ana for his crimes at the Alamo and Goliad. Houston realized that the man hellbent on destroying Texas would be the one needed to save it. Keeping Santa Ana alive was more valuable to the recognition of Texas as an independent republic by the Mexican government than exacting Texan revenge.
00:28:26
Speaker
Terms of surrender were laid out and accepted, and Sandana would write a letter to all of his generals ordering them to release all prisoners and march out of Texas, not interfering with any of its inhabitants along the way. The agreed-upon armistice meant that the fighting had ceased and the Texans had won. With a victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, Houston and the Army of Texas had won their hard-fought independence from Mexico.
00:28:50
Speaker
The casualties for both sides reflected the truly one-sided fight that had occurred. The Texans lost nearly a dozen dead and 30 wounded, while the Mexican army suffered some 630 dead and more than 200 wounded. Santa Ana would prove valuable to the Texans, not only agreeing to a treaty to make Texan independence official, but also as a spokesperson for Texas in seeking recognition as a republic by the United States. The first election in Texas had three big questions to answer. The first was whether the proposed Texas constitution
00:29:20
Speaker
would be accepted, which was mostly copied from the U.S. Constitution. The second question was who would be the president of Texas? And the last question was whether annexation of Texas to the U.S. was something the citizens of Texas wanted. The answer to the questions were yes to the Constitution, yes to Houston becoming president, and yes to the annexation of Texas to the U.S.
00:29:42
Speaker
Houston would go on to serve multiple terms as president of Texas and eventually as governor when it became a new state in the US. He'd be forced to resign, though, from his governorship in 1860 when Texas chose to secede from the Union against the words of Houston. He would die July 26, 1863, with his last words being, Texas, Texas.
00:30:03
Speaker
Texas itself would be a republic for 10 years before being admitted to the Union as the 28th state. Mexico, however, would still hold the viewpoint that Texas belonged to them, and the treaty signed by the Texans in Santa Ana was not legally binding. After the Mexican-American War, the Mexican government finally recognized they no longer controlled Texas when they signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo. To Texans today, much is owed by the martyrs of the Alamo and Goliad.
00:30:27
Speaker
Their sacrifice to the end provided a rallying cry that united a ragtag group of individuals to take on the professional army of Mexico. But their stories and examples derives with a great lesson. When you stand behind a cause so worthy as to fight a tyrannical rule, anything is possible.
A Light-hearted Historical Anecdote
00:30:52
Speaker
Imagine fighting a war and sustaining no casualties, and in fact, returning home with one more soldier than you sent out. Our funny story of history involves such a scenario. Liechtenstein is a small little country located in the heart of Europe. Surrounded by both Switzerland and Austria, the country is most known for its beautiful picturesque landscapes. In 1866, it was also known as the only country to send an army to war and return unharmed
00:31:18
Speaker
with all of its soldiers plus more. See, in 1866, Lichtenstein lent the service of its 80-man army to the German Confederation during the Austro-Prussian War. The Prince of Lichtenstein did not want his soldiers fighting other Germans, and so the army was used for mainly defense. No fighting occurred, and with the conclusion of war, the 80-man army marched home. When they arrived back to Lichtenstein, they had picked up someone along the way.
00:31:48
Speaker
Who was this new arrival? This new arrival was an Italian soldier who they had actually befriended along the way and thus brought him back to their country. And this made Liechtenstein the only country in the world to fight in a war and return more than 100% of its forces.
00:32:06
Speaker
This would also prove to be the last military action taken by the country, as shortly after the 81-men army was disbanded and the country declared itself neutral in all conflicts, this has been honored ever since, even through two world wars. I guess if you're Lichtenstein, it's best to quit while you are ahead. Thanks for listening, and as always, stay hooked.