A Select Glossary of the
TEXAS REVOLUTION
compiled by
Jean Carefoot
Archives Division
Texas State Library
1986
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
PREFACE
The active period of the Texas Revolutionlasted from October 2, 1835, to April 22,1836. The capture of General Santa Anna,coupled with the decisive victory at SanJacinto, ended, for all practical purposes,the war with Mexico. Mexico would mount tworaids into Texas, each capturing San Antoniotemporarily. But never again did Mexico havepermanent control of any Texas territorynorth of the Rio Grande. The Treaty ofGuadalupe Hidalgo, signed in 1848, finallyacknowledged Texas independence from Mexico.
The information for this select glossaryof the Texas Revolution is drawn from anumber of sources, but principally from thethree-volume Handbook of Texas. With fewexceptions, information about persons orplaces is confined to the period from October1835 through April 1836. Additionalinformation about the men who fought for andagainst Texas independence can be found inthe Handbook and in the books listed in thebibliography.
The Texas Revolution
The summer of 1835 was filled withunrest. In June the colonists had discoveredthat General Cos intended to use the militaryto force Texan compliance with governmentregulations. William B. Travis and a bodyof some 50 men responded to this threat inAugust by attacking and taking the fort atAnahuac. The action, although universallycondemned by the Texans, strengthened Mexicandetermination to bring a militarypeace-keeping force to Texas.
Texans feared that rights and libertiesguaranteed by the Mexican Constitution of1824 were threatened by this action and theincreasing centralization of the governmentin Mexico. Mexican officials viewed Texanopposition as a direct attack on Mexicannational honor, an insult to the governmentwhich had generously allowed the colonists tosettle in Texas.
The arrival of Mexican troops in Texasfinally united the Texans in opposition toSanta Anna’s government. When ColonelUgartechea demanded that a cannon at Gonzalesbe returned, the colonists refused. Thefirst battle of the Revolution took place.The Mexican commander was forced to retreat.
Gonzal