Tiu, Struggle for Independence, z835-z836
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The two armies met that afternoon at Lynch's Ferry. The Texans "established themselves in a live oak grove," half a mile from the bayou. To their front and right stretched a prairie for about two miles to Vince's Bayou; to their left flowed the San Jacinto River; and to their rear was Buffalo Bayou. Santa Anna marched across the prairie, and camped on its southern edge. A skirmish took place late in the afternoon when Colonel Sherman attempted to capture a cannon. Santa Anna had at this time a scant 750 men, but he was reinforced early the next morning by 400 men brought by General Cos in response to the commander's request. 60 Aware of the poor location chosen by the Texans, and desirous of giving his troops a much-needed rest, Santa Anna relaxed while the men ate their noon rations. Shortly before midday, as Deaf Smith hurried to destroy Vince's bridge in order to prevent new reinforcements from joining the Mexican army, Houston called a council of war. It was decided to attack the fol- lowing morning. The decision was impatiently protested by the ma- jority of the Texans, who were opposed to further delay. Houston re- luctantly acquiesced to the wishes of the men and at about three o'clock in the afternoon gave the order for the attack. From the thicket the Texans swept across the short distance separating them from_the enemy to surprise completely the over-confident victor of the Alamo, who was in a deep sleep. For a few minutes the Mexicans tried desperately to withstand the onrush. In vain General Castri116n tried to rally his men. In less than thirty minutes all organized resistance ceased. Con- fusion reigned supreme, and the infuriated Texans reaped a grim re- venge on the panic-stricken and disorganized army. Houston three days later declared that the enemy's loss was 630 killed, 208 wounded, and 730 prisoners. 61 6DJohnson, Te:ras and Te:rans, 447-448. The number of Santa Anna's men has been exaggerated because of Houston's official report of the battle the next day. He estimated the Mexican force at more than 1,500. Brown, History of Texas, II, 18-23; Yoakum, History of Teras, II, 498-502; Kennedy, II, 222-227 . .Mexican sources show that Santa Anna pushed forward from Fort Bend with only 7 50 men and was reinforced by Cos that night of April 20 by not more than 400. Martinez Caro, Verdadera Idea; Filisola, Jllemorias II, 47 3; Castaneda, of>. cit., 76. 6 1Houston, "Report of the Battle of San Jacinto," in Brown, of>. cil., 18-23. See also Castaneda, of>. cit., 78. There is some exaggeration in the number cited. These figures total 1,568, although it is well established that Santa Anna had hardly 1,200. The number of the Texans at San Jacinto is similarly minimized by all historians as 783, in spite of the fact that the official roster, carefully compiled since, shows there were more than 1,100 Texans. See Dixon and Kemp, H11roes of San Jacinto.
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