Detailed Study Notes on the Texas Revolution: Siege of Bexar to the Alamo
Course Reader and Exam Preparation Guidelines
Essay Structure and Content Scope:
The primary essay exam question is worth to .
The essay covers key figures and sequence of events surrounding the Texas Revolution prior to the establishment of the Republic of Texas.
Main historical figures required in the essay include Antonio López de Santa Anna and Sam Houston.
Key historical dates and chronological milestones must be explicitly integrated into the narrative.
Assigned Readings in the Course Reader (Homestead Reader):
Article 5: Focuses on "determined valor and desperate courage." Essential reading for the primary essay.
Article 6: Focuses on the Tejanos and the Texas Revolution. Crucial supplementary text to pair directly with Article 5 for the primary essay.
Article 7: Focuses on the politics of the Republic of Texas. This article is less relevant to the revolution essay itself, but will likely appear as a standalone summary essay question on the exam.
Supplementary Digital Resources:
The Handbook of Texas Online must be consulted for additional detail regarding specific engagements, including the Siege and Battle of Bexar, the Battle of Coleto Creek, the Goliad Massacre, and the Battle of San Jacinto.
Essential Historical Milestones and Dates:
Battle of Bexar (San Antonio de Bexar): Began on and concluded with a formal Mexican surrender on .
Battle of Coleto Creek: Fought near Victoria, Texas; Texian forces led by James W. Fannin suffered a major military defeat due to poor tactical leadership.
Goliad Massacre: Followed the surrender at Coleto Creek; served as a major historical turning point and source of the rally cry "Remember Goliad!"
Fall of the Alamo: Occurred on following a siege by Santa Anna's Army of Operations.
Battle of San Jacinto: Final decisive battle where the split units of the Mexican Army of Operations were defeated.
The Army of the People and Early Operations
Formation and Characteristics:
The Texian "Army of the People" formed spontaneously following the skirmish at Gonzales, which gave birth to the "Come and Take It" motto.
The force lacked formal military organization, standardized uniforms, or proper military training.
Nearly all members—from privates to general officers—had no prior military experience.
Under direct fire, untrained combatants naturally tend to retreat rather than hold position, maneuver, or reload.
Outside of San Antonio de Bexar between October and December , the army maintained a force of approximately to .
Democratic Structure and Discipline:
The Texian force operated as a democratic, voting army.
Officers (including captains) obtained their rank through elections by rank-and-file soldiers.
Campaigning for officer roles frequently involved distributing intoxicating liquors to soldiers, leading to rampant drunkenness in camp.
Stephen F. Austin repeatedly expressed severe exasperation in official correspondence over the continuous influx of alcohol into the military camps.
Profiles of Key Texian Leaders:
Stephen F. Austin: Served as initial General in Chief; possessed limited prior experience commanding small militia units against Native Americans and during the Edwards Conspiracy; lacked formal military education.
James Bowie: Lacked formal officer training outside a brief stint in the U.S. Army around New Orleans; highly regarded for his charisma and willingness to lead during high-stress combat.
Sam Houston: Possessed prior military service and was wounded at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend; leveraged personal charisma and political notoriety as former Governor of Tennessee to command followers.
William B. Travis: Young leader characterized by intense bravado, but lacking genuine military experience.
Ben Milam: An adventurer, land speculator, and former miner; possessed skirmishing experience but no formal military education.
Edward Burleson: Respected Texas Ranger and veteran Indian fighter; fought at the Battle of Horseshoe Bend as a teenager during the War of 1812 alongside his father and uncle; assumed command of the Army of the People in December .
The Siege and Battle of Bexar
Siege Tactics and Execution:
The siege of Bexar lasted approximately , spanning from late October until early December
The strategic objective was to starve out the Mexican garrison by choking off food, water, and animal fodder (hay and grass) required for draft animals, mules, and cavalry horses.
Bexar had a civilian population of approximately to .
The Grass Fight:
Rumors spread through the Texian camp that a Mexican mule train loaded with gold and silver was approaching to pay Mexican soldiers (soldados).
Approximately half of the Texian force broke orders and rushed out to capture the train.
The captured train contained only dry grass to feed starving livestock inside Bexar.
Although financially disappointing, the outcome proved that the Texian siege was successfully depriving Mexican forces of crucial supplies.
Depletion of the Texian Force:
By , the Texian army diminished by half, leaving approximately .
Because soldiers had joined spontaneously, many departed spontaneously without formal discharge.
Absence of women in Texian camps meant soldiers received direct letters from home describing domestic hardship, family starvation, and unharvested crops, prompting many men to return home.
Milam's Call and Tactical Engagement:
On , Edward Burleson held a war council; subordinates advised abandoning the siege and entering winter quarters.
Ben Milam, aged to , confronted Burleson in his tent; the two engaged in a vocal argument lasting an hour.
Milam emerged from the tent and shouted: "Who will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?"
The Texian troops rallied, initiating a pre-dawn attack on Bexar at on
Combat involved intense, house-to-house and door-to-door fighting through urban structures (jacales).
Key Figures at the Battle of Bexar:
Ben Milam: Killed on the first morning () around or by a Mexican sharpshooter hidden in a tree along the San Antonio River, who struck him in the forehead.
Henry Wax Karnes: Irish-descended scout and Indian fighter; displayed extreme valor in door-to-door urban combat; previously captured by Comanches who attempted to wash the red color out of his hair in a creek believing it was fire.
Erastus "Deaf" Smith: Resident of Bexar since approximately or ; married to a Tejana and fully integrated into local society. Joined the Texian forces as a chief scout after the Mexican army confiscated his stored provisions from his warehouse.
Capitulation of General Cós:
Texian forces gradually forced Mexican troops out of the town square and across the river into the Alamo complex.
Mexican Commander General Martín Perfecto de Cós surrendered on
Surrender terms required Cós and his surviving soldiers to disarm, retreat south of the Rio Grande (Rio Bravo), and pledge not to re-enter Texas.
The Mexican Army of Operations
Santa Anna's Strategic and Political Motivations:
While General Cós retreated south, he met General Antonio López de Santa Anna marching north with the Mexican Army of Operations along El Camino Real.
Santa Anna styled himself the "Napoleon of the West," driven by intense personal pride and ego.
Political priorities: As a military caudillo and dictator, Santa Anna prioritized maintaining his power base in Mexico City, fearing political rivals would overthrow him in his absence.
Strategic goal: Rapidly crush the Texas rebellion and forcibly drive all Anglo-Texians out of Texas into the United States.
Precedent of Zacatecas: Santa Anna had previously crushed the Zacatecas militia, allowing his troops to rape citizens and plunder the state's vast silver wealth. Texas lacked similar silver and monetary riches to pay or reward troops.
Invasion Routes:
El Camino Real (Western Route): Primary axis of advance led directly by Santa Anna; crossed the Rio Grande at Presidio del Rio Grande, advancing toward San Antonio de Bexar.
Atascosito Road / La Bahía Trail (Coastal Route): Secondary axis of advance originating from Matamoros and moving toward Goliad; commanded by General José de Urrea.
General José de Urrea:
Highly competent tactical commander specializing in counter-guerrilla operations.
Exception to Santa Anna’s general policy of appointing sycophantic, third-rate political generals to staff positions.
Composition and Shortcomings of the Mexican Army:
Total force size: Approximately entered Texas, with slightly under deployed at the Alamo.
Professional Core: Highly trained, career units—including zapadores (engineers), grenadiers, and heavy cavalry—formed the backbone of the assault forces.
Conscripts: A large portion of the rank-and-file consisted of men impressed from city streets or pulled directly from Mexican prisons, offering them military service in Texas over incarceration.
Extreme Weather and Uniforms:
Multiple units recruited from the tropical Yucatán Peninsula wore thin summer uniforms.
The army traversed the Sierra Madre mountains during January , encountering the coldest and snowiest winter recorded in Mexican history.
Dozens of unequipped conscripts froze to death, marching barefoot without winter coats.
Weaponry and Equipment:
Primary firearm: British "Brown Bess" smoothbore musket (, firing a round lead ball).
Manual operation required individual physical movements to load and fire.
Equipped with heavy triangular socket bayonets and heavy walnut wood stocks designed for close-quarters clubbing.
Gunpowder Deficiency: Mexican black powder was chronically low-grade and weak, occasionally failing to penetrate heavy clothing at distance.
Logistical Disasters:
The campaign suffered severe deficits in money, food, clean water, medical supplies, and transport animals.
Campaign funding relied on high-interest loans provided by the Catholic Church.
Government-contracted civilian teamsters demanded half their pay in advance; when wages ceased mid-transit in the northern deserts, teamsters abandoned the wagons and returned home.
Role of Soldaderas:
Female companions—wives, mothers, daughters, and sisters—accompanied the conscripts north.
Soldaderas consumed scarce rations and limited water supplies.
Santa Anna was prevented from dismissing them because officers knew male soldiers would desert en masse if their female relatives were sent back.
Served as the sole medical corps and nurses for common soldados; the official army provided almost no medical personnel or bandages for rank-and-file casualties.
When General Castrillón urged waiting for heavy artillery to breach the Alamo walls before assaulting, Santa Anna replied: "What are the lives of my soldiers but that of chickens?"
Arrival at the Alamo and Start of the Siege
Texian Miscalculations:
Texian military leaders assumed the Mexican army could not cross the mountain passes in deep winter, predicting no advance until April or May
Some Texians believed internal political chaos in Mexico City would prevent an expedition altogether.
Surprise Arrival and Initial Deployment:
On , Santa Anna's advance cavalry arrived outside San Antonio de Bexar.
A sentry stationed in the belfry of San Fernando Church spotted the Mexican army and continuously rang the church bells to alarm the town.
Retreat into the Compound:
Texian forces, numbering approximately led by William B. Travis and James Bowie, recognized they could not hold the open town against thousands of incoming soldiers.
Texian forces withdrew across the river into the fortified Alamo mission compound.
The Mexican army immediately invested the town, initiating the siege of the Alamo that culminated on .