February 16, 1836: Santa Anna crosses into Texas
When General Martin Perfecto de Cos and his troops were defeated at the Siege of Béxar (October 12- December 11, 1835), Santa Anna had already assembled his much larger army at Saltillo-Monclova, Mexico, and was prepared to invade Texas.
Santa Anna divided his forces into two groups: the smaller, of around 600, was commanded by General Jose Urrea, while the main body, numbering between 6,000 and 8,000, would be commanded by Santa Anna himself. The battle plan was for Gen. Urrea to advance his men north, along the eastern side of Texas, from San Patricio to Refugio and Goliad. Santa Anna would take the army’s main body further west, crossing the Rio Grande near where Laredo is today. But he changed his mind and traveled further upriver to the Presidio del Rio Grande, near Hidalgo, Coahuila. From there, he would make a forced march to San Antonio. On February 16, Santa Anna’s army crossed the Rio Grande into Texas.
Santa Anna was counting on this early-in-the-year campaign to surprise the rebels in Béxar, which it did. The Texians and Tejanos hadn’t expected Santa Anna until late spring when the weather was warmer. Even though Santa Anna’s plan worked as a surprise, it would be devastating for his army. While many of us northerners travel to Texas in the winter because of its warmer sub-tropical climate, for Santa Anna’s soldiers from the tropical regions of central Mexico, it was like going to the North Pole.
To make matters worse, the soldiers weren’t appropriately dressed for the harsher weather of Texas. Their uniforms were lightweight cotton, and they didn’t have proper overcoats to protect them. But sadder yet was that many of his soldiers only wore sandals or were barefoot.
When Santa Anna and Urrea’s men crossed into Texas, they were struck by a terrible blizzard. The troops were battered by razor-sharp cold winds, freezing rain, and snow-covered roads as they struggled northward. Mexican officers wrote that the trail behind the army resembled a battlefield. Cannon, munition wagons, soldiers’ packs, and dead animals littered the ground in their wake. But the most terrible was the large numbers of Soldados lying dead and frozen, intermixed amongst all these items.
But it wasn’t just Santa Anna’s soldiers who suffered and died, but also their families and the camp followers who always traveled with the army; they also had to endure the same fate. As for Gen. Santa Anna, he was insulated from the sufferings of his men, traveling in luxury upfront with his First Division.
No records have been found that tell how many soldiers perished on the long march north to Béxar. But that journey to the Alamo may have been more costly for Santa Anna than the battle itself.
Also, on February 16, or around that date, James Butler Bonham left the Alamo to ride throughout the Texas colonies to raise reinforcements for the Alamo.
February 22, 1836: Washington’s Birthday
In post-colonial America, Americans everywhere commemorated the birthday of the nation’s first president with a grand celebration, even those in Mexican Texas.
In the Cantinas of Béxar, across the river from the Alamo fort, Texan citizens and the newly arrived Americans joyously partied throughout the night to honor Washington. Besides the locals and the members of the Alamo garrison, joining them were the two co-commanders of the Alamo: James Bowie and William Travis. Travis, unlike Bowie, who had lived and married in San Antonio, had only arrived in town on February 3. And just a few days after Travis, another new arrival caused quite a stir in the town; he was the former congressman and living legend, David Crockett.
While the town celebrated, unbeknownst to them, Santa Anna sat with the vanguard of his Army of Operation just a few miles west. His army had become bogged down by the heavy downpours of the last few days. The usually peaceful Medina River between Santa Anna’s army, Béxar, and the Alamo had become an uncrossable torrent.
Santa Anna was beside himself with anger. He had planned on taking the traitorous Americans by surprise while they celebrated. Now that plan was crushed, he’d have to wait for the morning.
Still Current 