Battle of San Jacinto

Battle of San Jacinto, the last battle of the Texan war of independence from Mexico fought April 21, 1836 near the site of present-day Houston, Texas. After the massacre of the garrison of The Alamo by the forces of Mexican general Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Texan commander in chief General Sam Houston, with a small force of about 800 men, made a surprise attack on the Mexican army near the mouth of the San Jacinto River. Shouting “Remember The Alamo!”, Houston's outnumbered army defeated the Mexican force of about 1300 men in less than 20 minutes. Nearly all of Santa Anna's men were either killed or captured. Santa Anna, who was among those taken prisoner, signed a treaty that granted Texans their independence and ended the war. Within that same year, Houston became the first president of the Republic of Texas. See Texas: History.