San Jacinto Day

[neferetus]

The 'Twin Sisters', on the San Jacinto Battlefield.

[neferetus]

It's San Jacinto Day, once again. Remember...

[Greg C.]

im glad that a lot of people showed up.

[TexasMac]

This past Saturday, I took my latest squeeze to the San Jacinto Battleground and monument, but it was so hot and humid and the mosquitoes were so carnivorous, we had to give up any walks off the asphalt path/road that runs through the Mexican camp. So, I didn't get to see where the old Peggy Lake was or is. Supposedly, there are markers indicating where a good many Mexican soldiers were killed at what was Peggy Lake. We did get to see Santa Ana's camp and the spot where Houston was shot in the ankle, which wasn't too far away. Assuming these positions are correct, Houston was very much in the midst of the battle. It was nice to see so many spanish moss-covered oaks, some of which looked mighty old. I wonder if any were old enough.

I will have to go back after the season changes and it's more tolerable to wade through the grasses, weeds, and marshes. Piper909 and his wife want to visit and this will provide another good opportunity.

Some notes for travelers: The monument is only open at its base, where there is a small museum and a souvenir shop. The observation tower is currently closed. No one could tell me when or if it would be reopened. When I was a kid there was a charge to go up the tower, but now it only costs a $1 per person to drive onto the property. Wandering about the Battleground was free! The same dollar will get you to the parking lot for the USS Texas, but you will pay $9 per adult to board her. The Texas is refurbished somewhat as it looked in 1945, but other than a short film, there is not much to see. I would have been pleased to have paid the $9 just to see the Battleground, so all around I got my money's worth!

At 48, I didn't get such a kick out of sitting at one of the machine guns as I did the last time I was there, when I was 13. But, it was nice to reminisce because I remember my father catching me as I fell coming too fast down one of the ship's ladders.

[TexasMac]

Today, I had lunch at a fairly new (10 months old) restaurant very close to my house.

It's called The Steamboat House Texas Streakhouse. It doesn't have a website, so I will have to describe it to you. As you might guess, the restaurant has a Sam Houston and Texas Independence theme. But, it's not a cheap restaurant with cheesy decorations. It's a nice place, but because it's Texas, there were plenty of business people in slacks and others in boots and jeans enjoying a slightly formal atmosphere. The lunch menu prices are very reasonable at $7 or $8 for an 8-oz steak. But, the dinner menu is a bit pricy. I chose to eat a full dinner of a 16 oz ribeye with salad, baked potato, and red wine, that ran me $50 after tip.

The restaurant is large. The inner diningroom walls are covered with the various national, state and battle flags that have flown in Texas. Also, there are two huge mural-size paintings - one of the Alamo and the other of the San Jacinto battle - on one side of the dining hall, and a large portrait of Sam Houston, flanked on the left and right by the U.S. and Texas State flags, on the opposite wall. Outside of the dining room, the walls are lined with various prints and photos of famous males and females notable in Texas history. Outside, the front of the brick restaurant has a steamboat design like Houston's actual last home. And, there is a small replica of the huge white statue of Sam Houston that welcomes all to Huntsville, TX, where Houston lived out his remaining years.

For those coming to the area to visit, the restaurant is located roughly between Huntsville and the San Jac battleground. It's in northwest Houston at the intersection of Gessner and the Sam Houston Tollroad (Beltway 8).

[neferetus]

Thanks for the low-down, TexasMac!


Re-reation of Mexican breastworks on the San Jacinto battlefield.

[neferetus]

Ted Cole providsed this interesting article. Thanks, Ted!


April 20, 2007, 11:46PM

18 minutes in 1836 changed the course of history
Today, work is under way to make San Jacinto look as it did 171 years ago

By RUTH RENDON
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle

BATTLE AND PARK

San Jacinto Battleground State Historical Park

• Site of April 21, 1836, Battle of San Jacinto, in which Texas won independence from Mexico

• The first state park, dedicated 100 years ago

• Park includes the battleground, the San Jacinto Monument and Museum of History and the Battleship USS Texas

• Located on Battleground Road off Texas 225
The attack on Mexican troops at the Battle of San Jacinto came at just the right time and place 171 years ago today, leading to a Texian victory that secured independence from Mexico.

If re-enacters wanted to replicate the battle today on the same ground, they'd have to wade through a reflecting pool at the base of the towering San Jacinto Monument. Officials now want to restore the landscape of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historical Park to resemble the way it was at that day, April 21, 1836.

"The landscape plays a major role" in the battle, said Earl Broussard, of Austin, a landscape architect whose firm is overseeing the battleground's restoration.

Texian troops made their way to where the Lynchberg Ferry is today and then surprised the Mexicans as they rested just over a small hill. The hill is located just beyond today's reflecting pool.

Broussard said his firm's goal "is to complete the story from the Alamo to the 46-day Runaway Scrape to San Jacinto much like they did and really try to capture the experience."

Texian troops were defeated by Mexican troops at the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

Another major blow came on March 27, when more than 350 Texian soldiers at Goliad who had surrendered were massacred.

Then came the Battle of San Jacinto.

Broussard said interpretive trails are planned to give visitors the opportunity to walk in the footsteps of the soldiers. Audio tapes will eventually be provided, complete with the sounds of muskets and cannons.

"The battle only took 18 minutes so you can literally take an 18-minute walk and feel the battle," he said. "The Alamo takes a lot of attention, but this is where we won it."

Volunteers recently planted loblolly pines, bald cypress, red maples and several species of oak at the park. The landscape of native tall grass prairie, tidal marsh and bottomland forests from 1836 has changed throughout the years through erosion, cattle grazing, timber harvesting, fire, dredging and the hurricane of 1900.

The park itself is celebrating its 100th anniversary. The state made the area its first state park.

Today's celebration surrounds the San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Re-enactment. The festival, complete with music, entertainment, food and games, runs from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the 1,200-acre park.

The most popular event of the day is the re-enactment. It culminates with the final 18-minute battle between the Texian forces, under Gen. Sam Houston, and Mexican troops led by Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, and his subsequent surrender.

The re-enactment is followed by the laying of wreaths honoring the deaths of all soldiers who died in the battle.

Admission to the festival is free. For more information, call 281-479-2421 or go to www.sanjacinto-museum.org .

[e-mail]

[Greg C.]

Beautiful flag...

[neferetus]

April 21st, 1836. The Battle of San Jacinto

As John Wayne says in ROOSTER COGBURN, "It's payday, boys! Come and get it!"


Here's another reenactment photo, courtesy of Ted Cole.

[neferetus]

Here's an article, also courtesy of Ted Cole.

Remembering the Battle of San Jacinto
By Alyson Chapman
The Daily Times

Published April 19, 2008

Monday is a day that Texans should celebrate.

It was a day when men fought and died.

It was a day when Texans engaged in an 18-minute battle for freedom.

April 21 is recognized as San Jacinto Day.

The Battle of San Jacinto was fought 172 years ago in what is now Harris County, approximately 25 miles from downtown Houston.

General Sam Houston led the Texans into battle to the tune of “Will You Come With Me To The Bower” and shouts of “Remember the Alamo” and “Remember Goliad.”

Historians say it was the decisive battle of the Texas War of Independence from Mexico.

Only nine Texan soldiers were killed and more than 20 wounded. However, 630 Mexican soldiers were killed, 208 wounded and 730 taken prisoner. General Santa Anna was captured in the aftermath of the battle, which led to negotiations for Texas to become fully independent from Mexico.

Kerr County commissioners signed a proclamation declaring April 21 as San Jacinto Day in Kerr County, and urged residents to participate in the celebration of the historic event.

Unfurl the flag with the single star on Monday. Remember the Alamo, remember Goliad and remember San Jacinto.

[Cole_blooded]

THE BATTLE OF SAN JACINTO.....

"We view ourselves on the eve of battle. We are nerved for the contest, and must conquer or perish. It is vain to look for present aid: none is at hand. We must now act or abandon all hope! Rally to the standard, and be no longer the scoff of mercenary tongues! Be men, be free men, that your children may bless their father's name."

—General Sam Houston,
before the Battle of San Jacinto


General Houston disposed his forces in battle order at about 3:30 in the afternoon. Over on the Mexican side all was quiet; many of the foemen were enjoying their customary siesta. The Texans' movements were screened by the trees and the rising ground, and evidently Santa Anna had no lookouts posted. Big, shaggy and commanding in his mud-stained unmilitary garb, the chieftain rode his horse up and down the line. "Now hold your fire, men," he warned in his deep voice, "until you get the order!"

At the command, "Advance," the patriots, 910 strong, moved quickly out of the woods and over the rise, deploying. Bearded and ragged from forty days in the field, they were a fierce-looking band. But their long rifles were clean and well oiled. Only one company, Captain William Wood's "Kentucky Rifles," originally recruited by Sidney Sherman, wore uniforms. [In his official report of the battle, April 25, 1836, Houston said 783 Texans took part. Yet in a roster published later he listed 845 officers and men at San Jacinto, and by oversight omitted Captain Alfred H. Wyly's Company. In a Senate speech February 28, 1859, Houston said his effective force never exceeded 700 at any point. Conclusive evidence in official records brings the total number at San Jacinto up to 910.] The battle line was formed with Edward Burleson's regiment in the center; Sherman's on the left wing; the artillery, under George W. Hockley, on Burleson's right; the infantry, under Henry Millard, on the right of the artillery; and the cavalry, led by Lamar, on the extreme right

Silently and tensely the Texas battle line swept across the prairie and swale that was No Man's land, the men bending low. A soldier's fife piped up with "Will You Come to the Bower,"' a popular tune of the day. That was the only music of the battle. [Several veterans of the battle said the tune played was "Yankee Doodle."] As the, troops advanced, "Deaf" Smith galloped up and told Houston, "Vince's bridge has been cut down." The General announced it to the men. Now both armies were cut off from retreat in all directions but one, by a roughly circular moat formed by Vince's and Buffalo Bayous to the west and north, San Jacinto River to the north and cast, and by the marshes and the bay to the east and southeast.

At close range, the two little cannon, drawn by rawhide thongs, were wheeled into position and belched their charges of iron slugs into the enemy barricade. Then the whole line, led by Sherman's men, sprang forward on the run, yelling, "Remember the Alamo!" "Remember Goliad!" All together they opened fire, blazing away practically point-blank at the surprised and panic-stricken Mexicans. They stormed over the breastworks, seized the enemy's artillery, and joined in hand-to-hand combat, emptying their pistols, swinging their guns as clubs, slashing right and left with their knives. Mexicans fell by the scores under the impact of the savage assault.

General Manuel Fernández Castrillón, a brave Mexican, tried to rally the swarthy Latins, but he was killed and his men became crazed with fright. Many threw down their guns and ran; many wailed, "Me no Alamo!" "Me no Goliad!" But their pleas won no mercy. The enraged revolutionists reloaded and chased after the stampeding enemy, shooting them, stabbing them, clubbing them to death. From the moment of the first collision the battle was a slaughter, frightful to behold. The fugitives ran in wild terror over the prairie and into the boggy marshes, but the avengers of the Alamo and Goliad followed and slew them, or drove them into the waters to drown. Men and horses, dead and dying, in the morass in the rear and right of the Mexican camp, formed a bridge for the pursuing Texans. Blood reddened the water. General Houston tried to check the execution but the fury of his men was beyond restraint.

Some of the Mexican cavalry tried to escape over Vince's bridge, only to find that the bridge was gone. In desperation, some of the flying horsemen spurred their mounts down the steep bank; some dismounted and plunged into the swollen stream. The Texans came up and poured a deadly fire into the welter of Mexicans struggling with the flood. Escape was virtually impossible. General Houston rode slowly from the field of victory, his ankle shattered by a rifle ball. At the foot of the oak where he bad slept the previous night be fainted and slid from his horse into the arms of Major Hockley, his chief of staff.

As the crowning stroke of a glorious day, General Rusk presented to him as a prisoner the Mexican general Don Juan Almonte, who had surrendered formally with about 400 men. The casualties, according to Houston's official report, numbered 630 Mexicans killed, 208 wounded, and 730 taken prisoner. As against this heavy score, only nine Texans were killed or mortally wounded, and thirty wounded less seriously. Most of their injuries came from the first scattered Mexican volley when the attackers stormed their barricade. The Texans captured a large supply of muskets, pistols, sabers, mules, horses, provisions, clothing, tents and paraphernalia, and $12,000 in silver.


.......A very important day in Texas History, never forget

[neferetus]

Here's an intersting San Jacinto link from Ted Cole:
www.earlytexashistory.com/Tx1836/campsites.html

Will somebody at least give me a 'YeeeeeeeeHaaaaaa!?

In the calendar of Alamo events, today is the equivalent of Texas' Easter.

[seguin]

YEEEEEE HAAAAA!
HAPPY ALAMO EASTER EVERYBODY!

[Cole_blooded]

Apr 21, 2008 18:34:57 GMT -5 neferetus said:

Here's an intersting San Jacinto link from Ted Cole:
www.earlytexashistory.com/Tx1836/campsites.html

Will somebody at least give me a 'YeeeeeeeeHaaaaaa!?

In the calendar of Alamo events, today is the equivalent of Texas' Easter.

Thanks Neff and a happy San Jacinto easter to everybody!

TED COLE....aka....Cole_blooded

[neferetus]

Thanks, Ted. Back atcha!

I hope they remember... I hope Texas remembers.

[seguin]

Apr 21, 2008 22:25:06 GMT -5 neferetus said:

I hope they remember... I hope Texas remembers.

I think you can leave out all hope when it comes to Ripley´s on Alamo Plaza and the San Antonio Express...

[neferetus]

Popped into King's X about an hour ago to find our friend Martin Vazquez hard on the job. (See photo.)

Martin says that he and the boys will be participating in the Battle of San Jacinto reenactment this coming Saturday, the 26th
on the actual battle site. If anyone here is heading out that way, I will gladly hitch a ride.

[TexasMacatWork]

This picture above is gone, but if I recall correctly, the area where Peggy Lake was is not dry, but a part of the Houston ship channel.

The last time I was at the San Jacinto Battleground was in 2012 or so, and I made the mistake of going in August. I took a date, who had never been there before and who was thoroughly bored with the experience. (We didn't last long together.) Although there is a concrete pathway along the battlefield, I highly recommend that you don't venture off this pathway in August or you will be eaten alive by mosquitos!! The time prior to this that I had visited the site was when I was 13 in 1971.

[neferetus]

Very true, Texas Mac. I sprayed on deet during my visit this past Saturday.


Me and Santa Anna go back a long way. I was like his arm. (Martin Vasquez as Santa Anna.)

[neferetus]

With Jack Edmondson this past Saturday. He portrayed Sam Houston for the San
Jacinto Memorial Museum's theater.