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Today in Texas History On the trail to Texas independence. (Yet another long one.) Apr 22, 1836 - Don Miguel Aguirre, the captain of the Tampico Regiment that was acting as General Santa Anna’s guards arrived in General Vincente Filisola’s camp on the Brazos River at Old Fort with the news of the total destruction of the Mexican army at San Jacinto. Aguirre was wounded in his escape. A few soldiers and domestics also arrived and confirmed the news. Filisola was unsure about marching to Santa Anna’s aid (if Santa Anna was still alive) and risk the death of all Mexican prisoners by the Texian’s hands. The alternative was to pull back to the Colorado River and request instructions from Mexico City. The Mexican Army was spread out over twelve leagues along the Brazos River from Old Fort to Brazoria where Urrea had arrived that morning. First, Filisola had to concentrate the army and then decide which course of action to take. Sergeant J.A. Sylvester and his men, Joel W. Robinson, Joseph D. Vermillion, Alfred H. Miles, and David Cole, found a Mexican private hiding in tall grass near Vince’s Bayou. As Sylvester and his men took their captive back to the Texan camp, they realized he was more than just a common soldier. The captured Mexicans, held in a makeshift stockade, recognized the new prisoner. Many stood at attention while others cried “El Presidente!” Along with the Mexican cannon, dubbed "The Golden Standard," the Twin Sisters were stationed at the prisoner-of-war camp in a threatening manner. From the dispatches of Colonel Alexander Horton, Sam Houston's aide-de-camp: "The troops combed the area for Mexican soldiers who had escaped the carnage and capture yesterday evening. Stragglers came in all day long. Many were lone soldiers who had been captured, then given a paper and told to report to the prisoner-of-war camp. Some were escorted in. As one group arrived the Mexican prisoners became excited and began yelling "General, General." James Sylvester of Colonel Sherman’s company from Kentucky had spied a Mexican walking east of Vince’s bridge and with the help of Messrs. Alfred H. Miles, Joseph Vermillion and Charles P. Thompson apprehended him. There was later some confusion as to who else was present. Joel W. Robison and Sion R. Bostick were possibly nearby. David Cole and Anderson Barclay would later also claimed to have been there. But Sylvester delivered the prisoner to the camp guard and left before the identity was revealed. Houston sent for Sylvester and acknowledged that it was he who captured Santa Anna. "Santa Anna was quickly taken to Sam Houston where he formally surrendered to the injured Houston. Translators were brought in and a somewhat cordial conversation ensued. The troops were urging Houston to let them string Santa Anna up for the atrocities he had committed but Houston obviously felt that Santa Anna was more important, and useful, as a prisoner than a corpse. A tent was set up nearby for Santa Anna with sufficient guards to prevent his escape, or harm coming to him. "The captured Mexican troops feared that they would be murdered but soon realized that was not to be. The wounded were treated. Blankets and a fire were provided. However, Santa Anna would not allow them to bury their dead brethren. "The day was also spent in collecting 'the spoils of war.' Colonel John Forbes was to make an accounting and then Houston would determine a disposition. It is rumored that most of it would be auctioned off and the money distributed to the men. A portion was to be given to the Texas Navy since they were effective in preventing supplies from reaching the Mexican Army." The fighting for freedom was over and the building of a new nation was just beginning. Although a prisoner-of-war and officially with no authority, Mexican General Santa Anna instructed second in command General Filisola to withdraw the 2,500 troops stationed on the Brazos River. Filisola did not have to honor the orders, but because of Santa Anna’s forceful reputation, he acquiesced. As was noted at the time, God smiled on Texas and caused such a rain that the retreating Mexican Army got stuck in the mud along the San Bernard River. By the time they dug their way out and crossed the Colorado River, they had lost the will to continue to fight. For those that would like to read more about the events, see Stephen Moore’s "18 Minutes" and then Gregg Dimmick’s "Sea of Mud". The consequences of that freedom changed world history. Because of the small 18 minute battle, eventually approximately one million square miles of land changed hands from Mexico to the United States. The results elevated that event, located in Harris County, just a few miles from San Jacinto, and enshrined the Battle of San Jacinto as one of the most important battles in world history. The United States completed its westward expansion and became a bi-coastal nation. From that position it was able to build itself into a world power. That’s a Texas fact, not a Texas myth. As the next few days progressed, officials from Mexico and the new Republic of Texas negotiated the Treaty of Velasco. Texas soldiers took Santa Anna to Velasco so he could sign the treaty, which recognized the independence of Texas. The Treaties of Velasco were two documents signed at Velasco, Texas (now Surfside Beach, Texas) on May 14, 1836, between Antonio López de Santa Anna of Mexico and the Republic of Texas. Texas officials then sent Santa Anna back to Mexico via the United States. He fought the French in 1838, losing a leg in battle, and led the Mexican army to defeat in the U.S.-Mexican War (Apr 25, 1846 – Feb 2, 1848). He remained in and out of the Mexican limelight - sometimes in exile in Cuba - until retiring in 1874 to write his memoirs in Mexico City. Pictures: the painting "The Surrender of Santa Anna" by William Henry Huddle. Other important historical figures shown in the painting include General Sam Houston, the famous Texas scout Erastus "Deaf" Smith (bottom right with rifle), Secretary of War Thomas Jefferson Rusk (leaning against tree), and Colonel Mirabeau B. Lamar (behind Rusk), who later became the second president of the Republic of Texas. The original painting hangs at the Texas Capitol.