Seguin's cavalry arrived in Colorado in April of 1836, and the Anglo rebels greeted the Tejanos with well deserved respect. The Mexican resistance had put up a strong defense against any notion that the Anglo colonists wanted to join the Republic. Had it not been for Seguin's speedy travel to Denver, their rebellion would have been squashed and destroyed by the Mexican population, but the capture of the city for the new Republic cemented Colorado as another base for revolution. Immediately, Seguin sent a runner on horseback to President Austin to confirm the capture of Denver for Texas. The rest of his cavalry would proceed south and capture Grand Junction and any further possessions Mexico had left in the Colorado Territory. Then, the cavalry would rejoin General Houston across the Rio Grande and aid him in defending San Antonio from Mexican invasion.
With minimal resistance in the region and with the backing of the local population, Seguin speedily raced south.
The seizure of Denver lead to Mexican withdrawal from the Colorado colony.
- - -
The capture of Denver not only put Texas in a good strategic position in the American southwest, but destroyed any chance for Mexico to stem further American diplomatic recognition of the Republic. Following the capture of Denver and the inevitable capture of Grand Junction, many Texan jingoists began to see the basis of an independent Republic that incorporated not only Texas, but also Oklahoma and Colorado, who were openly engaging Mexican forces in the name of the Republic. However, as the war raged on and as General Houston continued to defend Texas against a foreign invasion, the dreams seemed to be those of fantasy. For now, the Texans could sit and watch as their independence was decided not by the way of word and paper, but by the sword and the rifle.
- - -
In San Antonio, the defeat of General Gonzalez at the hands of Houston had left the Mexican Army demoralized and had challenged the misconception that Texas would easily fold back into Mexico. Most importantly, it gave Texas a stepping stone it could use for further formal recognition of its independence from other foreign powers, and above all, it challenged the ego of the dictator known as Santa Anna. His flamboyancy and his reputation as "Napoleon of the West" had finally been challenged by an equal leader, and like Wellington to Napoleon, the battles fought along the Rio Grande symbolized the battles fought along Waterloo. The outcomes would change the world.
Two weeks after the crushing Mexican defeat at San Antonio, the Mexicans renewed their offensive across the Rio Grande. Houston's numbers had decreased by 1,000 since April 9th, mostly due to attrition and disease, and thus Santa Anna sent only 20,000 men - a division of infantry and a division of cavalry - against the Texans. The infantry would provoke General Houston to meet them in field combat, whilst the cavalry would then make short work of the Texan positions by encircling small pockets of soldiers and dispatching them. The offensive was planned by Santa Anna himself and was lead this time by General Salas, a lifelong soldier of Mexico and close personal friend of Santa Anna.
On daybreak of May 6th, the infantry of General Salas crossed the Rio Grande. The position of battle, however, had already been chosen by General Houston, and in dug-in positions. It was clear to General Salas that he was not going to challenge Houston's position and meet the Texans in field combat. Houston had chosen a hill, surrounded by steep slopes with no cover on either side for over 600 yards, and to abandon it in favor of field combat would be utterly foolish. Salas, eager to prove himself under the vigilant eye of Santa Anna, ordered his infantry forward against Houston, whilst his cavalry swept around in a long wheel that would flank the Texan defenders on two sides and hopefully divide their fire.
The strategy seemed flawless. The Mexican offensive began, and the infantry proceeded to march with unfaltering advance against the weltering Texan fire. The cavalry, which had not been seen by the Texan defenders, further split the Texan fire, and Houston ordered a partial withdrawal from the hill to a higher position on an eastern flank before the Mexicans could reach the hill and return fire. This way, the Mexican cavalry would have to dismount due to the ridiculously steep slope of the new hill, and would be downhill to Texan rifle and artillery fire. Salas, thinking he had the advantage, pressed the offensive up the new position.
The Mexicans had taken the bait. The textbook flanking maneuver from the cavalry on the initial position had gone just as Houston anticipated, and his fall-back position, which was superior to his initial one, proved to be devastating to the Mexican soldiers. Salas broke off his engagement as further attempts to take the hill proved in vein, and by May 16th had taken over 5,000 casualties compared to Houston's 600.
The Second Battle of San Antonio resulted in a Texan victory.
- - -
The capture of Grand Junction, combined with the defeat of the Mexicans at the Second San Antonio, lead to severe diplomatic repercussions for the Mexicans. Both the United Kingdom and France had recognized Texan independence. Mexico was slowly losing its grip on the Texas territory.
The Texas political cabinet of President Austin had been biting at the chance to end the Texas War on favorable terms for the Republic. And now, with Mexico unable to cross the Rio Grande and its defeat twice at the hands of General Houston, as well as its inability to stem the tide of violence in Oklahoma and Colorado against it, gave Austin and the Texan diplomats their chance. Austin sent Thomas Rusk, the Texan ambassador to America, to seek out a defensive military alliance with the United States.
The outcome of Rusk's negotiations would decide the fate of the new Republic.
- - -
The second attempt by the Mexicans to dislodge Houston from San Antonio province had been completely futile. In actuality, the defeat of General Salas had lead to an additional 1,000 volunteers joining the Army of Texas, putting Santa Anna in an even tighter position. He knew that if he was to incorporate Texas back into the fold of Mexico, especially since the United Kingdom and France now recognized the Republic, he would have to crush Houston in one last offensive. Santa Anna knew, however, that Houston was superior to him and his generals, although he never admitted it publicly. Rather than strengthen the Texan resolve through another failed offensive, Santa Anna instead crossed into San Antonio, but did not engage Houston in direct confrontation. Rather, in a display that looked much like the First World War in a timeline, the two armies sat and dug in, staring at each other and waiting for each other to make the first move.
The Texans, however, were preparing to go on the offensive. Houston knew that in order to negotiate peace with the Mexicans on favorable terms for the Republic, he would have to negotiate with Santa Anna through a medium. Santa Anna, however, would not go to the peace table unless under the watchful eye of a Texan holding a rifle. Thus, the stage was set to dislodge the Mexicans from San Antonio and ultimately capture Santa Anna.
The Mexican Army east of the Rio Grande was under the command of General Anaya, who became the natural successor to the commanding spot after Gonzalez and Salas failed to destroy Houston and the Army of Texas. On the night of June 1st, the Army of Texas quickly surprised the Mexican Army in the San Antonio territory just east of the Rio Grande. The Texans had burned the bridges leading back into Mexico and had cut off their avenue of retreat, and due to General Anaya's inability to set up a proper defense, was defeated and routed in less than 30 minutes.
However, Houston had been unable to capture Santa Anna. As the Mexican Army retreated north to find bridges that they could use to retreat into Mexico, Houston gave chase, and finally captured Santa Anna on June 7th, administering 5,000 casualties to the Mexicans and taking only 500. Without a leader, the Mexican Army quickly sunk back into Mexico, whilst Santa Anna was taken under guard to Washington D.C. to negotiate a peace with the Republic of Texas. General Houston had won Texas' independence.
The Third Battle of San Antonio lead to the capture of Santa Anna and the independence of the Republic of Texas.
- - -
News of the victory at the Third San Antonio and the capture of Santa Anna that resulted spread cheer throughout the Republic. Even more-so when Thomas Rusk returned to Texas to announce that the United States was now in official alliance with the Republic. With this announcement, it was clear that Texas would not only be able to negotiate a favorable peace with the Mexicans, but would also be able to make further advancements in the field of spheres of influence.
The United States entered a defensive military alliance with Texas following Santa Anna's capture.
Peace and influence, however, began to form even before the Battles of the Second and Third San Antonio. Both Great Britain and the United States found a common ground when they supported Texan independence, despite all three countries having a definite dispute in terms of borders west of the Mississippi. Great Britain had claimed Washington, Oregon and Idaho, whilst the United States had claimed them likewise as well as two Canadian provinces in British Columbia. Furthermore, Texas controlled both Grand Junction and Denver, Colorado as part of the rebellions supported by Juan Seguin, as well as the colony of Beaver, Oklahoma, which had long been a province of Texas.
These disputes, in light of the recent victories of Texans, now came to the discussion table. Peace for Texas was never in question following Houston's resounding victories, but the territorial limits of the new Republic were of concern to the powers who recognized it. In April of 1836, President Austin and Thomas Rusk, in secret to the rest of the political cabinet of Texas, began discussing terms with the British and Americans for spheres of influence in Ottawa, Canada.
In what was known as the Treaty of Ottawa, the terms issued the following verdicts: the United States was to be given the Idaho, Washington and Oregon territories, whilst the British were to be given rights to all of British Columbia. As a reward for Texas in negotiating these claims, Texas would receive sovereignty over Colorado and Oklahoma.
The Treaty remained as a prototype for many months, until Texas captured Santa Anna and sent him to Washington after the Third Battle of San Antonio. Santa Anna sued for peace with the Texans in December, and with Texan Independence now in complete certainty, the Treaty was put into vote by both the American, British and Texan Legislatures.
The Treaty of Ottawa and its territorial changes.
The Treaty received backlash from many American abolitionists, who saw that negotiation with a slave Republic put negative prestige on the United States and deflated their image in the eyes of the world. However, few could argue against the territorial changes each nation went through following the Treaty. In a sweeping success, the Treaty was passed on New Years Day by an emergency meeting of both the Texan, American and British Senates.
The Treaty of Ottawa allowed Texas to claim both the Oklahoma and Colorado territories free of American or Mexican intervention.
Santa Anna returned home to Mexico, ashamed and heartbroken. The Army of Mexico began to fall back from the Rio Grande and turn home, and peace was formally negotiated between the Republic and Mexico weeks later.
A little over a year after its starting date, the Texan War for Independence ended in a resounding Texan victory.
Next Post
