Thursday, February 10, 2011

Texas Tidbits: The Texas Revolution, March, 1836

The Tree of Liberty must sometimes be watered with the blood of Patriots
For the last few days, we have been covering a time line of the events that eventually concluded in Texas gaining its independence from Mexico. The day before yesterday, we took a look at Gonzales, where the first shot of the Revoltion took place, and its importance to the Texas Revolution. Yesterday's time line took us through the month of February and many of the circumstances leading up to the Battle of the Alamo. If you missed either of these posts, I urge you to take a look at them so you can refresh your memory of the events of the day in the Texas Revolution.
Today we are going to tackle the month of March and see what happened day by day that brought Texas ever closer to her freedom from tyranny. Just a reminder here, that we will delve more deeply into some of the events listed on the time lines as we near the Anniversary of the Siege of the Alamo. If you remember, yesterday's time line got us to the point where the Mexican Army had arrived at the mission and combat had begun.

A look at March, 1836:



                           Political Events                                     Military Events








March 1
March 2 Texas Declaration of Independence is signed and the Republic of Texas is declared. David G. Burnet is elected interim president by the delegates. Texans defeated at the Battle of Agua Dulce.
March 3
James B. Bonham arrives back at the Alamo telling Travis that Fannin was not coming.
March 4
March 5
Mexican artillery stops shelling the Alamo.
March 6
Battle of the Alamo: the Alamo falls. Approximately 180-250 Texans, Tejanos, and Anglos die. The thirteen-day siege resulted in the deaths of all of its defenders, including William B. Travis, Davy Crockett, and Jim Bowie. Several civilians survived.
March 8
Mexican General Gaona arrives with his artillery at the Alamo.
March 10
Mexican General Andrade arrives at the Alamo.
March 11
Houston begins his retreat from Gonzales precipitating the Runaway Scrape.
March 12
Battle of Refugio begins: Texan troops commanded by Lt. Col. William Ward and Amos King are attacked by General Urrea. After several hours of fighting, the Texans retreat. King's troops are captured by the Mexicans.
March 19
Battle of Coleto: General Urrea defeats Colonel James Fannin near Goliad. Fannin surrenders.
March 21
Battle of Copano.
March 27
March 28
Houston orders Wiley Martin and Mosley Baker to guard his retreat thus delaying Santa Anna's crossing the Brazos River.






As you read through the time line, you can see that at this point the Alamo had fallen and the Goliad massacre had taken place. These are a couple of the events that we'll look at more closely as time goes on. Imagine for a moment, yourself at either of these two historic military engagements on either side of the conflict. The Texan Revolutionaries with a few hundred fighting men, or the Mexican Army with a few thousand soldiers. What must have been going through the minds of all these men fascinates me. I will, over the next few weeks, try to locate some more personal correspondence from Mexican soldiers as well as Texan soldiers and civilians who were eyewitnesses to history - the History of Texas.


























   

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All Original Material © Toby Shoemaker