In 1835, President Antonio López de Santa Anna helped replace Mexico’s federal structure with a more centralized government. Many settlers in Mexican Texas and some Tejanos (Mexican Texans) saw this as a threat to local self-government and the protections they associated with the Constitution of 1824. Tensions over political control helped push the region toward armed conflict.
Mexican troops tried to recover a cannon previously given to settlers at Gonzales. Local militia refused and fought Mexican soldiers on October 2, 1835. The clash is widely treated as the first military engagement of the Texas Revolution.
After Gonzales, volunteer forces moved toward San Antonio de Béxar, the main Mexican stronghold in Texas. The siege began in mid-October 1835 and gradually tightened pressure on Gen. Martín Perfecto de Cos’s garrison. Controlling Béxar mattered because it was the military and political center of Mexican authority in the area.
On October 28, 1835, Mexican troops attacked a smaller Texian detachment near Mission Concepción outside Béxar. The Texians repelled the assault and inflicted heavier losses, reinforcing the idea that volunteers could defeat regular Mexican units. The result encouraged continued efforts to take Béxar.
Delegates met in a gathering known as the Consultation beginning in early November 1835. They worked to coordinate the rebellion by creating a provisional government and setting policies for the war effort. This was an important step from scattered militia actions toward organized political authority.
On November 4, 1835, Texian forces defeated a Mexican detachment near Fort Lipantitlán along the Nueces River. The victory disrupted Mexican control in the coastal region and reduced the number of active Mexican garrisons in Texas. It also showed that fighting was spreading beyond the Béxar area.
On November 7, 1835, the Consultation adopted a declaration stating that the fighting aimed to restore Mexico’s Constitution of 1824 and to seek separate statehood for Texas within Mexico. This position was meant to attract support from other Mexican federalists and avoid an immediate break from Mexico. Events in 1836 soon pushed the movement toward full independence instead.
On November 26, 1835, Texian forces attacked a Mexican supply column near Béxar, expecting it to carry silver for troop pay. Instead, the pack animals carried grass for horses, but the skirmish still disrupted Mexican operations. The clash helped set the stage for the final assault on Béxar in early December.
Texian volunteers launched a house-to-house assault in early December and forced Gen. Cos to surrender. The capitulation was signed on December 11, 1835, and Mexican troops were allowed to withdraw from Texas under terms meant to keep them from returning to fight. Many Texians mistakenly believed the war was essentially over, leaving key positions undermanned before Mexico’s counteroffensive.
Mexican forces under Santa Anna surrounded the Alamo in San Antonio on February 23, 1836. After a 13-day siege, the Alamo fell on March 6, and most defenders were killed. The defeat became a powerful rallying point for Texian forces and intensified fear among civilians.
Delegates met at Washington-on-the-Brazos and adopted the Texas Declaration of Independence on March 2, 1836. The decision formally shifted the conflict from restoring Mexican federalism to creating a separate republic. The declaration helped unify the rebellion’s political purpose during a rapidly worsening military crisis.
As Mexican armies advanced in early 1836, thousands of civilians fled eastward in what Texans later called the Runaway Scrape. The movement grew dramatically after news of the Alamo reached Sam Houston at Gonzales, prompting him to retreat and urge residents to leave with the army. The flight strained supplies and reshaped the war by tying military decisions to civilian survival.
Later in March 1836, the Convention at Washington-on-the-Brazos adopted a constitution for the new Republic of Texas. The document set up the structure of government and rules for elections and public offices. This provided a legal framework even as the war continued and the provisional government was forced to move.
On March 19–20, 1836, Col. James Fannin’s forces were surrounded near Coleto Creek by Mexican troops under Gen. José de Urrea. After fighting in open terrain with many wounded, Fannin surrendered. The surrender led directly to mass executions at Goliad days later, worsening the conflict’s brutality.
On March 27, 1836, Mexican forces executed hundreds of captured Texian soldiers at Goliad after earlier fighting and surrender. The killings shocked Texian communities and fueled calls for revenge and total resistance. Together with the Alamo, the event became a key motivation for volunteers joining Houston’s army.
On April 21, 1836, Houston’s army attacked Santa Anna’s camp near the San Jacinto River and won a decisive victory in a short battle. Santa Anna was captured soon after, and Mexican forces began withdrawing from Texas. The outcome effectively ended the main military phase of the Texas Revolution and made an independent Republic of Texas a reality in practice.
On May 14, 1836, Texas leaders and the captured Santa Anna signed public and secret agreements known as the Treaties of Velasco. The treaties called for an end to hostilities and for Mexican troops to withdraw beyond the Rio Grande, and they sought steps toward recognition of Texas independence. Mexico later rejected the agreements because Santa Anna signed them as a prisoner, leaving a long-term dispute even though Texas functioned as an independent republic.
Texas Revolution and the Republic of Texas (1835–1836)