BECAME AN INDEPENDENT NATION...
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| San Jacinto Monument |
San Jacinto Monument, built in the 1930s to commemorate Sam Houston's dramatic victory over Mexican leader Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna.
More than 600 Mexican troops were killed and more than 700 captured in the brief afternoon battle that represented a sea change in the future republic's fortunes. The victory came after disastrous Texas defeats at the Alamo and at Goliad, and after large numbers of Texas settlers fled eastward in advance of Mexican troops.
The War for Texas Independence ended on April 21st in 1836. General Sam Houston and his outnumbered Texan forces caught the Mexican Army of Generalissimo Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana taking their afternoon siesta. Meanwhile as the army was snoozing, Santa Ana himself was in his tent with the original "Yellow Rose of Texas". Their victory at the Battle of San Jacinto, which was near the San Jacinto River east of Houston, meant the Republic of Texas was a free and independent nation.
