also rose in revolt. Not surprisingly, Santa
Anna regarded this rebellion as a direct chal-
lenge to his authority—and Mexican sover-
eignty. He quickly raised an army of 6,000
troops and hurriedly marched north toward
San Antonio. There he encountered a
makeshift fortress called the Alamo, a beaten-
down Spanish mission, garrisoned by 180 fron-
tiersmen under Col. William Travis and Davey
Crockett. During his approach and investment
of the Alamo, Santa Anna raised a large red
flag warning that no quarter would be given if
an assault was launched, and he ordered the
garrison to evacuate the premises immedi-
ately. When they refused, he ordered his
troops forward on March 6, 1836, and the de-
fenders were put to the sword. Three weeks
later Gen. Jose Urrea captured a force of 400
Texans at Goliad; upon Santa Anna’s direct
order, they, too, were executed. If through
these means the general hoped to intimidate
the rebels, he sadly miscalculated, and this
cruelty became a rallying point for further re-
sistance. Santa Anna subsequently advanced
after the army of Gen. Sam Houston, which
had been pursuing him for several weeks. Un-
fortunately for the Mexicans, their careless
dispositions along the San Jacinto River in-
vited an attack on April 22, 1836, that Houston
delivered with a vengeance. In the course of
20 minutes’ fighting, Santa Anna lost 500 killed
and wounded to a Texas tally of six dead. Fur-
thermore, he was captured and brought before
Houston. Ignoring cries to hang him outright,
Houston made Santa Anna sign the Treaty of
Valasco, which recognized Texas indepen-
dence. He was then trundled off to Washing-
ton, D.C., for a lengthy interview with Presi-
dent Andrew Jackson. The Americans became
quite impressed by the regal bearing and ur-
bane manners of this noted dictator, and his
previous notoriety for the Alamo and Goliad
massacres was overlooked.
Disgraced, Santa Anna arrived back in
Mexico, where he learned he had been dis-
posed and replaced by his old adversary Bus-
tamante. Crestfallen, he returned to his es-
tates in Vera Cruz as a private citizen. But
unexpectedly another opportunity arose for
Santa Anna to redeem himself. In November
1838, a French naval squadron attacked Vera
Cruz over the issue of unpaid reparations.
Santa Anna quickly rallied Mexican forces
and made an effective stand, losing a leg in
the process. Hailed as a national hero, he be-
came president again in 1839, was briefly dis-
posed, and served again from 1841 to 1845.
His skill at political manipulation proved ex-
ceptional, but Santa Anna lacked any scruples
whatsoever, and he looted the national treas-
ury for himself and his allies. When the Mexi-
can polity wearied of his penchant for extrav-
agance and outlandish Napoleonic uniforms,
he was deposed again and exiled for life to
Havana, Cuba.
In 1846, unresolved border disputes arising
from the Texas rebellion exploded into war
with the United States. Santa Anna wasted no
time venturing to Washington, D.C., and con-
vinced President James K. Polk that he alone
could stop the war and guarantee further ter-
ritorial concessions from Mexico. Polk, con-
vinced of his sincerity, placed Santa Anna on
an American warship that passed directly
through the U.S. Navy blockade off Vera Cruz.
Thus far the war with the United States had
gone badly for Mexico, and Gen. Zachary Tay-
lor had scored several notable victories to the
north. Santa Anna arrived in the Mexican cap-
ital like a liberator, forsook his earlier agree-
ment with the Americans, and commenced
raising a new army. He was aware that Polk,
who feared General Taylor as a possible pres-
idential contender in 1850, had stripped Tay-
lor’s army of most regular forces and trans-
ferred them to Gen. Winfield Scott. In this
weakened condition, Taylor’s little army
would be ripe for defeat if the Mexicans ad-
vanced upon him with sufficient numbers. In
the winter of 1846, Santa Anna force-marched
20,000 soldiers through the northern desert
and confronted Taylor at Buena Vista. The
Americans were badly outnumbered, but Tay-
lor and Gen. John E. Wool skillfully deployed
their meager resources on rough, defensive
terrain, thwarting all attempts to evict them.DESANTAANNA, ANTONIOLÓPEZ