General Houston disposed his forces in battle order at about 3:30 in the
afternoon. Over on the Mexican side all was quiet; many of the foemen
were enjoying their customary _siesta_. The Texans' movements were
screened by the trees and the rising ground, and evidently Santa Anna
had no lookouts posted.
Big, shaggy and commanding in his mud-stained unmilitary garb, the
Chieftain rode his horse up and down the line. "Now hold your fire,
men," he warned in his deep voice, "until you get the order!"
At the command, "Advance," the patriots, 910 strong, moved quickly out
of the woods and over the rise, deploying.[4] Bearded and ragged from
forty days in the field, they were a fierce-looking band. But their long
rifles were clean and well oiled. Only one company, Captain William
Wood's "Kentucky Rifles," originally recruited by Sidney Sherman, wore
uniforms.
The battle line was formed with Edward Burleson's regiment in the
center; Sherman's on the left wing; the artillery, under George W.
Hockley, on Burleson's right; the infantry, under Henry Millard, on the
right of the artillery; and the cavalry, led by Lamar, on the extreme
right.
Silently and tensely the Texas battle line swept across the prairie and
swale that was No Man's land, the men bending low. A soldier's fife
piped up with "Will You Come to the Bower,"[5] a popular tune of the
day. That was the only music of the battle.
As the troops advanced, "Deaf" Smith galloped up and told Houston,
"Vince's bridge has been cut down." The General announced it to the men.
Now both armies were cut off from retreat in all directions but one, by
a roughly circular moat formed by Vince's and Buffalo Bayous to the west
and north, San Jacinto River to the north and east, and by the marshes
and the bay to the east and southeast.
At close range, the two little cannon, drawn by rawhide thongs, were
wheeled into position and belched their charges of iron slugs into the
enemy barricade. Then the whole line, led by Sherman's men, sprang
forward on the run, yelling, "Remember the Alamo!" "Remember Goliad!"
All together they opened fire, blazing away practically point-blank at
the surprised and panic-stricken Mexicans. They stormed over the
breastworks, seized the enemy's artillery, and joined in hand-to-hand
combat, emptying their pistols, swinging their guns as clubs, slashing
right and left with their knives. Mexicans fell by the scores under the
impact of the savage assault.
General Manuel Fernandez Castrillon, a brave Mexican, tried to rally the
swarthy Latins, but he was killed and his men became crazed with fright.
Many threw down their guns and ran; many wailed, "Me no Alamo!" "Me no
Goliad!" But their pleas won no mercy. The enraged revolutionists
reloaded and chased after the stampeding enemy, shooting them, stabbing
them, clubbing them to death.
From the moment of the first collision the battle was a slaughter,
frightful to behold. The fugitives ran in wild terror over the prairie
and into the boggy marshes, but the avengers of the Alamo and Goliad
followed and slew them, or drove them into the waters to drown. Men and
horses, dead and dying, in the morass in the rear and right of the
Mexican camp, formed a bridge for the pursuing Texans. Blood reddened
the water. General Houston tried to check the execution but the fury of
his men was beyond restraint.
[Illustration: Sam Houston]
[Illustration: The surrender of Santa Anna to Sam Houston on San
Jacinto battlefield, April 22, 1836.]
Some of the Mexican cavalry tried to escape over Vince's bridge, only to
find that the bridge was gone. In desperation, some of the flying
horsemen spurred their mounts down the steep bank; some dismounted and
plunged into the swollen stream. The Texans came up and poured a deadly
fire into the welter of Mexicans struggling with the flood. Escape was
virtually impossible.
General Houston rode slowly from the field of victory, his ankle
shattered by a rifle ball. At the foot of the oak where he had slept the
previous night he fainted and slid from his horse into the arms of Major
Hockley, his chief of staff.
As the crowning stroke of a glorious day, General Rusk presented to him
as a prisoner the Mexican general Almonte, who had surrendered formally
with about 400 men.
The casualties, according to Houston's official report, numbered 630
Mexicans killed, 208 wounded, and 730 taken prisoner. As against this
heavy score, only nine Texans were killed or mortally wounded, and
thirty wounded less seriously. Most of their injuries came from the
first scattered Mexican volley when the attackers stormed their
barricade. The Texans captured a large supply of muskets, pistols,
sabers, mules, horses, provisions, clothing, tents and paraphernalia,
and $12,000 in silver.