The Revolution Begins

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In the 1830’s Mexico’s president, Antonio Lopes de Santa Anna, began taking control away from the people of Texas. Coahuila y Texas was no longer permitted to make its own laws and policies. President Santa Anna ordered Mexican troops and tax collectors to Texas. Against the Constitution of 1824, those who broke the law were arrested and sent to prison without a trial. When famous empresario, Stephen F. Austin, returned from his imprisonment in Mexico, he told his followers to prepare for war.

The first shots of the Texas Revolution were fired on October 2, 1835, in the town of Gonzales. In an effort to take complete control of Texas, the Mexican government demanded that settlers give up their cannons. In Gonzales, American settlers not only refused to give up their cannon, they buried it. They dared Mexicans to “come and take it.” Americans also removed the ferry, or boat, for transporting people, from the Guadalupe River to keep Mexican soldiers from entering Gonzales and taking the cannon. During the Battle of Gonzales, at least one Mexican soldier died. No Texans lost their lives during the battle. Accepting defeat, Mexican soldiers returned to San Antonio. There was no turning back for Texans. The Texas Revolution had begun.

The rebels—Texans against the Mexican government—chose Stephen F. Austin to be their leader. Austin’s army included about 100 Mexicans who were against President Santa Anna’s government. Erasmo Seguín, a well-known politician and head postmaster of San Antonio, supported separating the states of Coahuila and Texas. Seguin joined Stephen Austin’s troops and fought with the rebels. By the end of October 1835, Austin’s army had only grown to about 600 soldiers who were in need of training and weapons. Before his troops could attack, Stephen Austin needed to build up his own cavalry—soldiers who fought on horseback. He also needed to establish a safe defensive position outside of San Antonio.