The Defeat of the Mexican Army at San Jacinto During the Mexican-American War

Throughout history, when armies face each other in battle, the victor usually is the greater, mightier, more experienced of the two armies. Occasionally, the victor is the smaller, more cunning, and more resourceful army that is able to win because of the incompetence of its adversary. This happened in the battle of San Jacinto between Texan revolutionaries and the Mexican army. Despite more than adequate soldiers and supplies, the Mexican armys inept planning and positioning, combined with ineffective commanders, directly caused its defeat to Texan revolutionaries at the battle of San Jacinto.

The Mexican army had more than adequate men for battle when the Texans attacked on April 21, 1836. Before April 21 the Texans and the Mexicans had an almost equal number of soldiers, but the Mexican army enjoyed superiority after General Cs arrived on the morning of April 21. He came with additional troops for Mexican President and General Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna. The Mexicans, then, had at least 1250 men and my have had “upwards of fifteen hundred men,”(Williams 151), while the Texans consisted of a mere 738 to 910 men commanded by former Tennessee governor Sam Houston.

The Mexican army also possessed adequate resources for the battle. They had new English muskets, many boxes of ammunition, swords, and bayonets. The Mexicans also had a twelve-pound cannon named the “Golden Standard.” These arms gave the Mexicans a big advantage because the Texans had hatchets, old muskets, and a dwindling supply of ammunition. The Mexicans had a mountain of assorted gear, mules, horses, and $12,000 in silver pesos.

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When the Texans pillaged the Mexican camp, they found, “… a cornucopia of armaments vital to Texan survival,”(Williams 155).

Perhaps this superiority caused the Mexicans to be over confident and led to their poor planning and positioning before the battle. The Mexicans established their camp in an essentially undefendable area. While the placement of their camp was such that an enemy could attack only from one side, the Mexicans were cut off from both reinforcements and escape. The area behind, to the right of, and to the left of the camp was a ” . . . marshy swamp area where one could easily drown, “(Hardin 216). The only bridge away from the battleground had been burned by the Texans before the battle to ensure that one army would not leave, and to make sure no more Mexican reinforcements could arrive. The area in front of the camp, to the north, was separated from the Texan camp by a grove of trees. While the trees were in the distance, they were close enough for the Texans to position their cannons, to collect intelligence reports, and to hide in before they attacked.

Santa Anna most likely thought an attack by the Texans during the night of April 20 was imminent, so he sent for his brother-in-law, General Cs, to bring his troops to the Presidents aid. Santa Anna forced his troops to build breastworks, or barricades, throughout the night. When the night passed without an attack, Santa Anna allowed his troops, along with Cs men who were tired “…. from the rigorous forced marching throughout the night, “(McDowell 324), to sleep through the morning and into the afternoon. After the morning and early afternoon passed with still no attack, Santa Anna himself went to sleep, having stayed up throughout the night supervising the breastworks construction. He went to sleep with only a handful of guards protecting the camp. Santa Anna did not expect the Texans to attack his superior army so late in the afternoon.

When the attack by the Texans finally came, the Mexican senior officers were asleep. They and most of their soldiers were awakened by the explosions of the cannons and muskets. The soldiers rushed out of their tents looking for their superior officers who also were rushing out of their tents. The Texans overpowered the guards before the Mexican officers could organize the soldiers. The officers gave orders that contradicted each other. This led to bewilderment by the soldiers on what to do. When the commanding officers who survived the original onslaught tried to rally their men, many “dropped their weapons in panic and fled to the rear…,” (Williams 154) toward the marsh. The inablity of the Mexican commanders to control the men led to even more soldiers breaking formation. Most of the Mexican soldiers ran away from the Texan battle cries of “Remember the Alamo!”, and “Remember Goliad,” sites where the Mexican army had murdered defenseless Texans. The brave soldiers who stayed to fight formed into groups and were easy targets for the vengeful Texans. During the battle, President Santa Anna was seen riding away from the battle. Without effective leadership, the Mexican army crumbled under the ferocity of the Texans.

The Mexican armys inept planning and positioning combined with their ineffective commanders led to their defeat at San Jacinto despite superior manpower and supplies. The battle of San Jacinto was the deciding battle of the Texan Revolution. It resulted in the loss of territory for the Mexicans and freedom for the Texans.