Battle of San Jacinto - Battle

Battle

At 4:30 p.m. on April 21, scout Deaf Smith announced the burning of Vince's Bridge, which cut off the only avenue of reinforcement and retreat for both armies without having to cross water more than 10 feet (3.0 m) deep. The main Texan battle line moved forward with their approach screened by the trees and rising ground. Emerging from the woods, the order was given to "advance" and a fifer began playing the popular tune "Will you come to the bower I have shaded for you?" General Houston personally led the infantry, posting the 2nd Volunteer Regiment of Colonel Sidney Sherman together with Juan Seguin's men on his far left, with Colonel Edward Burleson's 1st Volunteer Regiment next in line. In the center, two small brass (or iron) smoothbore artillery pieces (donated by citizens of Cincinnati, Ohio) known as the "Twin Sisters," were wheeled forward under the command of Major George W. Hockley. They were supported by four companies of infantry under Captain Henry Wax Karnes. Colonel Henry Millard's regiment of Texas regulars made up the right wing. To the extreme far right, 61 Texas cavalrymen under newly promoted Colonel Mirabeau B. Lamar planned to circle into the Mexicans' left flank.

The Texan militia moved quickly and silently across the high-grass plain, and then, when they were only a few dozen yards away, charged Santa Anna's camp, shouting "Remember the Alamo!" and "Remember Goliad!," only stopping a few yards from the Mexicans to open fire. Manuel Flores is credited for taking the lead in the charge against Santa Anna's army. José Maria Rodriquez states in his book, Memoirs of Early Texas, that during the charge, the Texans fired and fell to the ground expecting a volley from the Mexican camp, but Flores remained standing and challenged the Texian Army to "get up" and advance, for "Santa Anna's men are running"! Thomas Rusk also galloped up to the men shouting, "Don't stop...give 'em hell!"

The Texans achieved complete surprise. A bold attack in broad daylight, its success can be attributed in good part to Santa Anna's relaxed vigilance due to the superior number of forces he now possessed. Santa Anna's army primarily consisted of professional soldiers, but they were trained to fight in ranks, exchanging volleys with their opponents. The Mexicans were ill-prepared and unarmed at the time of the sudden attack. Most were asleep with their soldaderas (i.e., wives and female soldiers), worn out from building fortifications. Some were out gathering wood, and the cavalrymen were riding bareback fetching water. Not all were unaware; Colonel Delgado was concerned with the laxness and General Manuel Fernández Castrillón, who at the Alamo had tried to save a small band of Texian defenders, desperately tried to mount an organized resistance, but was soon shot down and killed. His panicked troops fled, and Santa Anna's defensive line quickly collapsed.

Hundreds of the demoralized and confused Mexican soldiers were routed, with many being driven into the marshes along the river to drown. The Texans chased after the fleeing enemy, Deaf Smith shouting "take prisoners like the Meskins do!", in reference to the burning of bodies after the Alamo and the mass murder of Texans at Goliad. Some of the Mexican cavalry plunged into the flooded stream by Vince's Bridge, but they were shot as they struggled in the water. Houston tried to restrain his men, but was ignored. Gen. Juan Almonte, commanding what was left of the organized Mexican resistance, soon formally surrendered his 400 remaining men to Rusk. The rest of Santa Anna's once-proud army had disintegrated into chaos. From the moment of the first charge, the battle was a slaughter, "frightful to behold", with most of the Texan casualties coming in the first minutes of battle from the first Mexican volley.

During the short but furious fighting, Houston was shot in the left ankle, two of his horses were shot from under him, and Santa Anna escaped. The combat itself lasted 18 minutes, but the slaughter of the Mexicans continued for "another hour or so". The Texan militia had won a stunning victory, killing about 700 Mexican soldiers, wounding 208, and taking 730 prisoners, including Santa Anna (the Texans did not know they had captured Santa Anna until one of the prisoners called him El Presidente) while suffering 9 killed and 30 wounded.