San Jacinto, Battle of
San Jacinto, Battle of (1836).The Battle of San Ja cinto, fought near present‐day Galveston, Texas, on 21 April 1836, was shaped to a large degree by the mistakes of Mexican president and general Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who after his costly victory at the Battle of the Alamo divided his remaining forces into four units. Driven by an incautious determination to capture the Texas government's leaders, his command pursued ahead of his army's other branches. He missed his political adversaries by a few hours on 19 April.
Emboldened by his numerical advantage, Texas Gen. Sam Houston and his 900 men at last turned toward the enemy's advance units and began skirmishing on 20 April. The encamped Mexican forces, trapped by a swamp to their rear, had been reinforced to twice their previous numbers and were lulled into unpreparedness by that and the lateness of the hour....
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