Although the Battle of San Gisintogou of 1836 was not a major battle by any measure, the Texans succeeded in defeating the Mexicans in this battle, making the battle one of the most decisive and influential in American history. Its victory led to the independence of the Kosas, which formed most of the territory of the future western United States.
In the early 19th century, when Mexicans had just gained independence from the Spaniards, the Mexican government introduced policies to encourage immigrants to emigrate to the northern parts of the country, and immigrants from the United States who could accept Mexican citizenship and convert to Catholicism would be warmly welcomed by the local government.
Beginning in 1821, Americans flocked to Texas, where they reclaimed land and established farms, and by 1836 the U.S. immigrant population had exceeded 30,000, occupying a vast area of Mexican territory compared to the native Mexicans who had only 4,000 people.
The mexican government's political upheaval and corruption eventually sparked a revolutionary movement across the country, yet nowhere was it as successful as texas. In 1835, the inhabitants of Texas rebelled against Mexican government rule and occupied the towns of Gonzalez and San Antonio. On March 2, 1836, Texas officially declared its independence.
Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Ana immediately organized an army north to suppress the uprising, the general was elected president of Mexico in 1833, and immediately proclaimed himself the dictator who ruled Mexico, in addition to the president who was proud of his military prowess and called himself the "Napoleon of America". Former Tennessee Congressman General Sam Houston, a veteran of the 1812 War, quickly organized a small army in Texas, and by this time he had already established several small garrisons along Santa Anna's march route, which could completely hold off the Mexican army, and Houston would use the time to rescue and train troops.
Another of these forts was led by William Travis, Jim Bowie, and David Croctor, who were destroyed by Mexican troops on March 6 after 13 days of stubborn resistance at the Alamo Battlefield in San Antonio. Santa Anna mercilessly slaughtered 180 Texan soldiers who refused to surrender.
Three weeks later, Santa Anna besieged the nearby fortress of Goliad led by James Fanning, and this time, the Mexicans 80s once again carried out a horrific massacre, including those who tried to surrender. The Battles of Alamo and the Battle of Goliad gave Houston time to assemble and train his army, and he organized an army of 800 men to face Santa Anna's army with great strength.
In total, Santa Anna lost nearly 1,500 men at the Battle of Alamo, but he still had a living force of 4,000 men. In mid-April, Houston learned that Santa Anna had sent a vanguard of 1,000 soldiers to attack the Texan army, and they tried to catch up with the Texan soldiers. Although his army was outnumbered by the enemy, Houston was optimistic that the enemy might not necessarily have all the operational advantage, and on April 19 he ordered his army to camp north of Galveston at the confluence of the San GiscintoGu River, Vince, and Buffalo Bay.
At this point, Santa Anna, who mistakenly thought that the Texans had fallen into his trap, stopped at a distance of 2,000 yards from the Texas barracks and hurriedly built a defensive position on the jungle ridge. In order to be able to annihilate all the Texas rebels, he pooled all the remaining Mexican forces.
Houston realized he had to move quickly before Mexican troops could assemble. On 20 April, he sent a small cavalry force to raid a Mexican post in order to spy on and determine the defenses of Santa Anna's army. On 21 April, about 500 Mexican reinforcements arrived to support Santa Anna's army. As a result, the total number of Mexican troops reached 1500, and Santa Anna decided to rest for a day before launching an attack.
Eventually, the Texan army immediately launched a military operation, and Houston sent Ilastas Smith (deaf) to the battlefield to destroy the Vince Bridge near the battlefield, cutting off the transportation route for Mexican reinforcements and blocking the only retreat in Texas. At this point, all the ready Houston troops marched to the battlefield with a mighty shout of battle slogans— "Victory or Death."
By about four o'clock in the afternoon, Texan soldiers had formed an infantry column, 900 yards long and only two rows wide. The Mexican camps, on the other hand, did not react to this, convinced that the Texans were neither confident of having enough strength nor the courage to attack. However, they were very wrong, and these Texan soldiers formed such a formation 200 yards from the Mexican barracks, which was clearly intended to attack. Faced with the bombardment of two Texas artillery pieces, Santa Anna also used his few artillerymen. Neither side, however, gained much from the artillery bombardment, and in the end it was infantry that became a key factor in determining the Battle of San Gizintogou.
After the Texan soldiers rushed into the Mexican front, Smith rode alone to the enemy team and shouted that the Vince Bridge had been destroyed, and then the Texan artillery began to shoot at the Mexican team. The infantry then charged forward, smashing the enemy's head with the rifle in his hand, and engaged the enemy in hand-to-hand combat with a long knife.
By this time the defensive weapons in the hands of the Mexicans had lost their usefulness, and Pedro Delgado, Santa Anna's staff officer, later wrote in his diary, "I saw our soldiers fleeing as if they were flying, and these frightened soldiers hid behind the trees." I desperately ordered a few deserters to reorganize the fighting, but they were deaf and indifferent. Santa Anna later wrote of the battle, "The enemy's attack was so sudden and fierce that the earth seemed to be shaking and trembling." ”
The battle was over after only 18 minutes. Numerous Mexicans trying to surrender listened to the battlefield Texans chanting "Remember Alamo!" And "Remember Goliad!" All were slaughtered under the slogan, and some Mexicans drowned in the San Gizinto Ancient River. A total of 10 houston troops were killed, and 30 others, including himself, were wounded, and a bullet pierced his ankle in the fierce battle. In Mexico, however, 600 corpses lay lying on the battlefield of San Gizintogou, and the remaining Santa Anna army, including all the generals, was captured.
Santa Anna eventually signed a peace agreement with Houston, recognizing Texas' independence and leading the remnants of the army back to Mexico. However, the Mexican Congress and Santa Anna soon turned their backs, unilaterally tearing up the agreement and waging war, but never entering Texas City to reclaim the territory they had previously occupied. Later, Texas immediately applied to join the United States as a state, but for the next nine years, Texas remained independent due to the enforcement of slavery. In 1846, the United States went to war with Mexico, and Texas was eventually incorporated into the United States, which in the future affected the American Civil War.
The San Giscinto Battlefield, which also changed slightly after Texas's independence from Mexico, stands the Battle of San Gisingto Ancient Monument, which Texans are most proud of, and is taller than the Washington Monument. The monument is located on the site of the battle of 1836, and the golden pieces of metal on the monument shine in the light of the sun, fully illustrating the influence of this far-reaching battle on the only powerful and wealthy United States in the world today.
If judged by the outcome of the campaign, the Battle of San Gisintogou will be one of the decisive battles that will affect the course of the world, and it was on this battlefield that the Texans broke away from Mexico and declared independence, enabling the United States to win Texas in the subsequent Mexican War, and bringing with it the subsequent incorporation of New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma, constituting nearly one-third of the territory of the United States. In other words, nearly 1 million square kilometers of land changed hands and joined the Confederation of The United States.
References: History of the United States, War of Independence and revolution, History of the Mexican-American War