Texas Independence Day commemorates the day Texas gained its independence from Mexico March 2, 1836 by signing the Declaration of Independence, declaring Texas its own republic.
Inspired by the 1776 declaration, the Texas document claimed Mexico had "ceased to protect the lives, liberty, and property of the people" and committed "arbitrary acts of oppression and tyranny."
Nine years later in 1845, Texas became the United States' 28th state.
Here is a 200 article by Chris Roberts on the Battle of San Jacinto followed by a Texas trivia quiz:
Fight set stage for vast annexation
By Chris Roberts
El Paso Times
BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO: APRIL 21, 1836
The Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836, a victory for “Texian” fighters that led to Texas independence from Mexico, was the one of the most significant battles in the history of warfare, historians say.
The most immediate benefit of the battle was the capture of Mexico’s president — Antonio López De Santa Anna — who had been racking up victories that included the massacre at the Alamo. Although he was unrecognized when he was captured because he wasn’t wearing his uniform, Santa Anna’s men stood at attention and some called out “El Presidente” as he passed, tipping off Gen. Sam Houston’s troops.
That victory, historians say, led to the Mexican-American War. The outcome was that the United States claimed land encompassing what are now the states of Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California and Utah. The annexation also included parts of what is now Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma.
It was nearly a million square miles.
Larry Spasic, interim president of the San Jacinto Museum of History, about 21 miles east of Houston near the battle site, calls the U.S. fighters “Texians” because “there weren’t any Texans at the time.”
“Everywhere the Mexican armies had met the Texian armies, they had defeated the Texian armies,” Spasic said.
However, at the battle site near the San Jacinto River, Houston used what Santa Anna might have considered guerrilla tactics.
“They (Houston’s men) were hand-to-hand fighters, good hunters and sharpshooters,” Spasic said. Santa Anna fought in the “Napoleonic style,” he said, which meant his soldiers lined up three deep with the two front lines firing alternately and the third reloading guns. They also expected the Texians to fight in the morning as had been European custom.
The Texians attacked at about 4 p.m., when the Mexican soldiers were resting. Santa Anna’s soldiers had moved from high ground to a swampy area near the river where the horses could be refreshed, which allowed Houston’s men to get within about 100 yards of the camp before they were discovered. That meant that Santa Anna couldn’t get his soldiers set for a counterattack.
“When they fired with mass volleys, it was a wall of lead,” Spasic said, adding that if the Mexican soldiers had been able to fire even one volley, the conflict might have had a different outcome. As it happened, the battle lasted only 18 minutes.
“I don’t know if anyone out here gave it too much thought” at the time, El Paso historian Leon Metz said.
However, soon after the United States declared war on Mexico in 1846, a battle near what is now Vado, N.M., did have an impact, said Fred Morales, a local historian who specializes in Juárez and El Paso. Despite the annexation of Texas, the Paso del Norte area remained under Mexican control.
During the Battle of Brazitos, on Christmas Day 1846, a force led by Col. Alexander Doniphan routed a Mexican contingent under the command of Lt. Col. Antonio Ponce de León. Doniphan pushed on through what is now Juárez — taking it without firing a shot, Morales said — moved farther into Mexico, and ultimately won the Battle of Sacramento outside Chihuahua City.
One official military account describes Doniphan’s soldiers as “undisciplined,” engaging in gambling, dancing, drinking and brawling. Morales said there is evidence soldiers burned historic documents at the mission to light candles and raped women in what is now Juárez.
Before the battle, the area that now includes the San Jacinto Plaza in Downtown El Paso was a hacienda with a few adobe buildings and was owned by a cousin of Ponce de León’s, Morales said. In 1849, Maj. Jefferson Van Horne established the first U.S. Army garrison on the site.
After Doniphan’s victory, territory north of the Rio Grande was controlled by the United States.
“If it wasn’t for the river, my guess is that the international boundary would be further south,” Metz said.
EL PASO TIMES TEXAS QUIZ FROM 1995
General texas history
1. _____ wrote the Texas Declaration of Independence.
2. _____ is nown as the "Lexington of Texas."
3. Stephen F. Austin is known as the _____________.
4. ____________ were Austin's first group of texas colonists.
5. The Texas Constitution of 1836 was written in this Texas Village
6. Texas scouts at the grass fight were led by Tejano captain _______ and ________.
7. The siege of Alamo lasted ___ days.
8. The only adult Anglo to survive the Alamo was a woman named ___________.
9. Col. James Fannin was in command of Texas at ____, later most of these Texans were ________.
10. _______ or __________ is often called the "Betsy Ross of Texas."
11. The scramble for safety by Texans after the Alamo and Goliad is known as the __________.
12. The San Jacinto battle ground is located just outside this major Texas city.
13. What name id the Texans give their cannons at San Jacinto?
14. The first president of the Republic of Texas was ____________?
15. The Republic of Texas existed about _______ years.
16. If you were a Mier Expedition prisoner and you drew a black bean, it meant _________.
17. Texas became the _____ state in the Union Dec29, 1845.
18. During the U.S. Civil War, Texas fought on the side of the North or South?
19. African-American Texans were freed from slavery June 19, 1865. This holiday is called ________.
20. The current state capitol bjuilding in Austin is constructed of this type of stone.
El Paso (West Texas)
21. In April 1598, the _____ expedidtion crossed the Rio Grande, in the Pass of the North.
22. The highest point in the state of Texas is _______________.
23. In 1682, Catholic Friars established this mission on the upper Rio Grande.
24. __________ composed the hit song "El Paso."
25. In what year did the University of Texas at El Paso (then Texas Western) win the NCAA basketball championship?
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