Texas Revolution

Conflict 1835–36 between US colonists and Mexican troops in Texas, then part of Mexico. The conflict, which included the famous siege of the Alamo in 1836, resulted in a US victory, led by Sam Houston, who became president of the new republic. Texas remained an independent republic until 1845, when it was fully annexed by the USA.

By the late 1820s friction between the rapidly growing community of US settlers and Mexican authorities led to moves for Texan independence. When the Mexican government was overthrown in a coup by Mexican revolutionary Antonia Loṕpez de Santa Anna in 1833, US leader Stephen Austin expected support in contrast to the previous restrictive government. Santa Anna, however, imprisoned him for encouraging insurrection. Upon his release in 1835, armed conflict had already begun between US settlers and Mexican troops. Texans formed a provisional government in 1835 and issued a declaration of independence in 1836.

In the siege of the Alamo, a mission in San Antonio, 4,000 Mexicans under Santa Anna attacked and killed the garrison of about 180 Texans. More than 280 Texan prisoners were subsequently executed at Goliad. On 21 April Houston led a surprise attack on Mexican troops at the San Jacinto River, capturing Santa Anna and achieving victory for the Texans.

Although the Mexican government refused to acknowledge Texan independence it made no sustained effort to regain the territory. In 1845 the USA annexed the rest of the modern state. The Texas Revolution and the US annexation of Texas were causes of the Mexican War.