War Finally Comes (Jun 24, 2024)

by Scott Sosebee

Mexico gained its independence in 1821, and in almost a decade and a half since, the nation faced a number of problems and dilemmas. The most pervasive question the nation confronted was how it would be governed and under what kind of system. Mexicans almost wholly believed that they wanted a republic chosen through some system of democracy, but how exactly that system would function caused clashes, tension, and more questions, much like the United States went through in the years after their independence and continuing into the Jacksonian Era of the 1820s and 1830s. Mexico, however, faced even more obstacles, such as ethnic and racial divisions, a wealth distribution that was wildly unequal and entrenched in a small elite faction, and also how to govern and control a vast area of land, much of which lacked a stable population needed to enshrine that permanency and strength.

Texas was just one of the parts of Mexico that had created some of the pressure that strained the Mexican nation, and there were internal tensions throughout the country, as the situation in Zacatecas certainly demonstrated, but Santa Anna had the conditions of Texas on his mind when he made his demonstration of power in that central state. However, in Texas itself, there was not any semblance of agreement of what direction dissatisfaction with Santa Anna and the Mexican government should take. After all, when Santa Anna seized dictatorial power, Stephen F. Austin was a prisoner, the Coahuila y Tejas state government was disintegrating into personal and corrupt feuds, and the various meetings and consultations in Texas had produced little agreement as to a direction to proceed.

Demonstrative tensions between the Texians and the Mexican government had largely faded after the Battle of Nacogdoches in the summer of 1832, but they would spring again once again in a familiar place. Although Mexico had generally not diligently and regularly collected the import duties in Texas prescribed by law, those decrees remained on the books and caused conflict in June 1835 when, once again, a group of Texans reacted against an effort to collect taxes. The Anglo residents in Southeast Texas near Anahuac accused the Mexican commander there of charging Anglos a much higher import tax than the law called for. A group of approximately thirty Anglos, again led by William B. Travis, marched to Anahuac and forced the Mexican commander and his garrison to surrender. Such an action, in turn, alarmed General Martín Perfecto de Cos, who was not only the military man in charge of the Internal Provinces—which included Texas—but was also Santa Anna’s brother-in-law. When made aware of Travis’ actions, Cos made preparations to send additional troops to Texas. His commander in San Antonio, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, had sent word to him that the Anglos regularly expressed their disdain for Santa Anna and that he expected a revolt any day.

The majority of Texians at that time were not in favor of war and searched for some way to avoid direct confrontation. The leaders of the “Peace Party” appealed directly to Cos and urged him not to make a hasty decision that would lead to rash consequences. The Mexican general wanted to make sure that the Texans understood that what Travis and his armed band did at Anahuac would not be tolerated, but he also did not want to unnecessarily cause a rebellion. Cos made an administrative compromise; he decided to send additional troops to Texas to ensure that the Anglo residents followed Mexican law, but he also issued a decree in August 1835 that said that the troops would take no action against “law-abiding citizens.” He also wanted Texas officials to demonstrate their loyalty to the Mexican nation by arresting the offending parties at Anahuac. The men he wanted arrested included not only Travis, but also Samuel May Williams—who was one of Stephen F. Austin’s business partners—and Lorenzo de Zavala, a Federalist politician from the Yucatán who had come to Texas as a political refugee earlier in 1835. Cos further let it be known that the men would not be tried by a jury of their peers in Texas but instead by a military tribunal. No one in Texas had any intention of turning these men over to Cos.

Austin made his way back to Texas in September, and it became apparent to all who met with him that he had changed his mind about the approach Texas should take. At a meeting in San Felipe, he told those assembled that Santa Anna’s turn toward authoritarianism, combined with the way he had responded to the revolt in Zacatecas, meant that Texas could not only no longer request statehood but that they should not remain in the Mexican federation in any fashion. He began to travel through his colony, and at each stop, he spread the same message. He also became a leading supporter of a new Consultation meeting to discuss actions, which would be held in Washington-on-the-Brazos on October 15.

Cos, in the interim, began to press not only his campaign to arrest Travis and the agitators from Anahuac but also to suppress any Texian attempts to even contemplate revolt. He decided to come to Texas himself at the head of an army and garrison in San Antonio. He and his soldiers boarded ships in Matamoros on September 17, landed at Copano Bay, and arrived in San Antonio before the end of September 1835. Cos’ transport of troops to Texas put Texian sensibilities on edge and, it can be assumed, made them more receptive to conflict. Cos’ next actions made the friction worse. He ordered Texas municipalities and militias to surrender their arms, including any cannon and other such ordinances they possessed.

The small town of Gonzales, east of San Antonio, had a small, anti-personnel cannon that the Mexican army had loaned them to use in case of an Indian attack. Ugartechea, following Cos’ orders, sent a small detachment from San Antonio to seize the cannon. His force arrived on September 29, 1835, and, because the Guadalupe River was high, camped on the far bank away from the town. The Mexican commander, Lieutenant Francisco Casteñeda, sent word of his intentions to the citizens. The Gonzales militia asked for volunteers and assembled a force of 150 Texians to confront the Mexican troops. Unfurling a banner with the words “COME AND TAKE IT" written in charcoal, the Texians invited Casteñeda and his men to fight. They crossed the river on the night of October 1 and attacked the Mexican encampment on the morning of October 2. It was really a small skirmish as the Mexican troops quickly withdrew from the field. But, it was the opening salvo of what would become the Texas Revolution.

Next week: The Series will end with an essay on what caused the Texas Revolution.

The East Texas Historical Association provides this column as a public service. Scott Sosebee is a Professor of History at Stephen F. Austin State University and the Executive Director of the Association. He can be contacted at sosebeem@sfasu.edu or via www.easttexashistorical.org.