Today is the 172nd anniversary of the Battle of San Jacinto, where a Texian force of 700 surprised and defeated a Mexican army force of about 1,400 under the commands of Generals Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and Martin Perfecto de Cos. The battle was brief but brutal, and was followed by the massacre of many of the surrendering Mexican soldiers.
Santa Anna was captured after the battle and brought before a wounded General Sam Houston, commander of the Texian forces. Houston understood that Texas's best hope of independence lay in negotiating with Santa Anna (while holding him hostage) and so resisted his subordinates' entreaties to hang the Mexican President. Eventually, Santa Anna signed the Treaty of Velasco with the fledgling nation's new President, David Burnet. Santa Anna then traveled to Washington, D.C., where United States President Andrew Jackson confirmed his nation's interest in the independence of the new republic.
The Battle of San Jacinto changed the destinies of both the United States of America and the United States of Mexico.
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