Texas History

Fort Burrows, B&B Ranch

7.4 - A Troubled Time for Texans

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Main Idea:Mexican Soldiers chased the scattered ‘rebel’ armies across Texas.

Vocabulary:

tactical retreat – an organized pullback of troops from an enemy in order to

gain an advantage

atrocity – a cruel and brutal act

Setting the Scene:

Gonzales was in an uproar. Screams of grief and terror filled the air. Two Tejanos had arrived from San Antonio. They claimed that the Alamo had fallen. They said that all its defenders were dead!

General Sam Houston was in town, but seemed unconcerned. He said that the Tejanos were Mexican spies. Santa Anna had sent them to create a panic by spreading these horrible lies. To further calm the town, Houston had the two men jailed. Then he sent his trusted scout, Erastus ‘Deaf’ Smith, riding toward San Antonio. Houston feared that the Tejanos story was actually true.

After the Alamo, Santa Anna turned his army toward Gonzales. ( 75 miles East of San Antonio ) Sam Houston was in command there, but he had only a few hundred men. Some did not even have weapons. They were no match for the coming army. Houston made a tactical retreat. He told James Fannin to destroy the fort at Goliad then join him.
Houston marched to the North. He wanted to be in the Anglo part of Texas. He thought he could get more support there. The Mexicans had more support in the Southern part of Texas. He also thought the many ‘rivers’ in the north would slow Santa Anna’s advance. As Houston moved north, he gained volunteers. He trained his men to fight as an army. / Meanwhile, the rebels suffered some bad defeats. On February27, General Don Jose Urrea attacked the Texans at San Patricio. ( a town on the NuecesRiver, 130 miles S of Gonzales ) He killed or captured most of the rebels. On March 2, he defeated another rebel force. A few days later, he won a battle at Refugio ( about 50 miles SW of San Patricio ) Finally, he captured Fannin and more than 300 men. When they surrendered, they were told they would be released. A few days later, the Mexican army (#3) killed them all. Most Texas saw this as an atrocity and a brutal act. They blamed it on Santa Anna. The massacre at Goliad moved even more Texans to fight.
Meanwhile, Santa Anna’s large army marched North. Texans began the Runaway Scrape as they fled. Men joined Houston’s force. Women brought their children to safety. Some families took all their belongings in wagons. Others fled with what they could carry. The Runaway Scrape lasted until late April 1836.
The
Alamo /

After The Alamo

☼Santa Anna wrote a letter to Mexico City – Secretary of State – and claimed to have killed 400 ‘Foreigners and to have lost only 70 men

☼Houston had fewer than 400 volunteers in Gonzales. When he heard Santa Anna was approaching, he ordered a tactical retreat

☼Houston sent men to spread the news to other towns

☼Houston’s troops lacked training, guns, and ammunition

☼Houston instructed Fannin to destroy Presidio La Bahía at Goliad and join him

☼Houston destroyed the town of Gonzales so it would be of no use to Santa Anna

☼The townspeople left with Houston, gathering volunteers as they traveled northeast

☼Fannin, with 500 men, sent word that he would not help Houston

Santa Anna’s Plan

☼Terror; he wanted the Anglos to flee Texas forever (Run Away Scrape)

☼his Army was larger and better trained

☼he had no sense of Urgency!

☼split his Army up into three (3) groups to ‘sweep’ through the Texas countryside; destroying and scaring everything


San Antonio 
 / 

 / Gonzales
San Felipe
Goliad / General Cós
Santa Anna
General Urrea

Houston Decides to Retreat

☼Houston’s strategy – tactical retreat

☼he wanted to fight Santa Anna in East Texas close to the United States

☼more volunteers could join his army and get training

☼the many rivers would slow down Santa Anna as Houston destroyed bridges

☼his army had grown to 1,400

The Goliad Massacre

☼Texans Francis Johnson, James Grant, and Colonel James Fannin were defeated at San Patricio, Refugio, and Coleto Creek by Mexican Gen. Urrea

☼Colonel James Fannin still had Texans at Goliad

☼the Mexican troops attacked his force and Fannin surrendered

☼under the terms of surrender, the Texans were to be expelled from Texas

☼instead, Mexican soldiers opened fire on the prisoners and massacred more than 300 men

☼the “Angel of Goliad” Francita Alavez, a Tejano woman, helped many men escape and hide

Impact of the Massacre

☼most Texans now looked upon Santa Anna as cruel and brutal

☼news traveled to the US about this event resulting in many Americans continuing to join the revolution

☼many of them pledged their support for the Texas Revolution

The Runaway Scrape

News of Houston’s retreat and the Goliad Massacre turned Texans’ fear of Santa Anna into panic. They fled the approach of his army. Entire towns emptied. This mass movement of people was known as the “Runaway Scrape.”

Special Note: Heavy Spring Rains

☼Caused the road to be very muddy and the rivers to be very high

☼This gave additional protection to Sam Houston’s army

☼Santa Anna’s army could not easily cross over the rivers

Answer Questions for Test and Review Sheets.

1.What was the significance of the Goliad Massacre ?______

______.

2.What happened during the Runaway Scrape? ______

______.

3.What was the condition of Sam Houston’s army after the Alamo? ______

______.

4.Why did Texas rush to join Sam Houston’s army after the Alamo? ______

______.

1.How did the Goliad Massacre hurt the Mexican army ?

A.more than 300 Mexican soldiers were killed

B.the Texans responded by massacring many Mexican soldiers

C.it inspired the United States to help and support the Texans

D. Mexican soldiers quit the army when they heard of the atrocity

2.What happened during the Runaway Scrape ?

A. Texan soldiers who tried to desert were punished

B. Mexicans left Texas in large numbers

C. Mexican soldiers deserted and joined the Texas troops

D. Texans fled from their homes out of fear of Santa Anna’s army

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