Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Following Sam Houston to San Jacinto

        Join Sam Houston as he leads his rag-tag army of Texian volunteers to San Jacinto!  The story of Houston’s flight from Gonzales after learning of the fall of the Alamo is legendary.  Called the Runaway Scrape, both volunteer soldiers and civilians alike moved east as fast as they could to avoid the pursuing Mexican army.  By the end of March, virtually every civilian resident from the Colorado River westward had fled to or beyond the Brazos.  The purpose of this article is to describe the route of the Teixan army, with particular attention given to the roads used and the likely camp sites employed each night along the way. 
This exercise is not new; several authors have covered it well, especially Stephen Moore in his book Eighteen Minutes.   In this article I follow the outline other historians have developed and fill in blanks along the way, specifically with respect to details of the road followed, the stream crossings, and campsites each night of the campaign.  I also include excerpts from other sources that add detail or special interest to the route.  
Click on the following link to begin this classic journey in Texas history.






No comments:

Post a Comment