Battle of Medina
The Battle of Medina was the bloodiest battle in the history of Texas, it took place 20 miles south of San Antonio in a oak forest region called "El encinal de Medina" that is located between Atascosa and Medina rivers.
- The Battle of Medina was fought on August 18, 1813, between the republican forces of Jose Alvarez de Toledo and the spanish royal army under the power of General Joaquin de Arredondo.
- The republican army was by Tejanos and the royalists were composed of Anglos, Tejanos and former roaylists.
- The battle lasted for 4 hours.
How did the Battle of Medina occurred?
The bloodiest battle ever fought in Texas occurred after a series of events that happened the year before. Mexico and Latin America were against Spain, whose king was Joseph Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon Bonaparte). Jose Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara and Augustus William Magee were assited by the United States, and coamnded an expedition to remove the Sapnish that were in Texas. They soon captured Nacogdoches, Trinidad de Salcedo, La Bahía, where Magee died, and San Antonio, where a declaration of independence for the State of Texas under the Republic of Mexico was proclaimed on April 6, 1813. On the contrary, Joaquin de Arredondo organized an army of 1800 men and marched them from Laredo to San Antonio in order to stop the rebellion against them. The night of August 17, the Republican Army wanted to ambush Arredondo's army as they traveled from Laredo; however, royalists scouts flushed the republicans. some of them wanted to get away from the battlefield and walk slowly throught deep sand in pursut of a calvary unit, they got surprised when they mistook for an army. Arredondo told his men not to fire until they were all together. after the republicans got there thirty and tired of running away, the battle took place and after 4 hours, the republicans were defeated. Some of them tried to run away, but the ones that teh royalists captured were executed during the retreat. Arredondo only lost about 85 people which they recieved an honorable burial on the way to San Antonio, where they established and created laws and punished rebels and their families. One of Arredondo's more notable subalterns was LT. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who learn from Arredondo and later came back to Texas with another army.
Important people from The Battle of Medina
The bloodiest battle ever fought in Texas occurred after a series of events that happened the year before. Mexico and Latin America were against Spain, whose king was Joseph Bonaparte (brother of Napoleon Bonaparte). Jose Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara and Augustus William Magee were assited by the United States, and coamnded an expedition to remove the Sapnish that were in Texas. They soon captured Nacogdoches, Trinidad de Salcedo, La Bahía, where Magee died, and San Antonio, where a declaration of independence for the State of Texas under the Republic of Mexico was proclaimed on April 6, 1813. On the contrary, Joaquin de Arredondo organized an army of 1800 men and marched them from Laredo to San Antonio in order to stop the rebellion against them. The night of August 17, the Republican Army wanted to ambush Arredondo's army as they traveled from Laredo; however, royalists scouts flushed the republicans. some of them wanted to get away from the battlefield and walk slowly throught deep sand in pursut of a calvary unit, they got surprised when they mistook for an army. Arredondo told his men not to fire until they were all together. after the republicans got there thirty and tired of running away, the battle took place and after 4 hours, the republicans were defeated. Some of them tried to run away, but the ones that teh royalists captured were executed during the retreat. Arredondo only lost about 85 people which they recieved an honorable burial on the way to San Antonio, where they established and created laws and punished rebels and their families. One of Arredondo's more notable subalterns was LT. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who learn from Arredondo and later came back to Texas with another army.
Important people from The Battle of Medina
Jose Alvarez de Toledo Lt. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna
Historical Marker
Historical Marker
Bibliography
Joaquín de Arredondo, "Report of the Battle of the Medina, August 18, 1813," trans. Mattie Austin Hatcher, Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 11 (January 1908). Jean Louis Berlandier, Journey to Mexico during the Years 1826 to 1834, trans. Sheila M. Ohlendorf (2 vols, Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1980). Julia Kathryn Garrett, Green Flag Over Texas: A Story of the Last Years of Spain in Texas (Austin: Pemberton Press, 1939). Harry McCorry Henderson, "The Magee-Gutiérrez Expedition," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 55 (July 1951). A. Joachim McGraw, John W. Clark, Jr., and Elizabeth A. Robbins, eds., A Texas Legacy: The Old San Antonio Road and the Caminos Reales (Austin: Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, 1991). José Antonio Navarro, Apuntes históricos interesantes de San Antonio de Béxar (San Antonio: Siemering, 1869). Ted Schwarz and Robert H. Thonhoff, Forgotten Battlefield of the First Texas Revolution: The Battle of Medina (Austin: Eakin Press, 1985). Harris Gaylord Warren, The Sword Was Their Passport: A History of American Filibustering in the Mexican Revolution (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1943). Henderson K. Yoakum, History of Texas from Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846 (2 vols., New York: Redfield, 1855).
Citation
Robert H. Thonhoff, "MEDINA, BATTLE OF," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qfm01), accessed November 20, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.
Joaquín de Arredondo, "Report of the Battle of the Medina, August 18, 1813," trans. Mattie Austin Hatcher, Quarterly of the Texas State Historical Association 11 (January 1908). Jean Louis Berlandier, Journey to Mexico during the Years 1826 to 1834, trans. Sheila M. Ohlendorf (2 vols, Austin: Texas State Historical Association, 1980). Julia Kathryn Garrett, Green Flag Over Texas: A Story of the Last Years of Spain in Texas (Austin: Pemberton Press, 1939). Harry McCorry Henderson, "The Magee-Gutiérrez Expedition," Southwestern Historical Quarterly 55 (July 1951). A. Joachim McGraw, John W. Clark, Jr., and Elizabeth A. Robbins, eds., A Texas Legacy: The Old San Antonio Road and the Caminos Reales (Austin: Texas State Department of Highways and Public Transportation, 1991). José Antonio Navarro, Apuntes históricos interesantes de San Antonio de Béxar (San Antonio: Siemering, 1869). Ted Schwarz and Robert H. Thonhoff, Forgotten Battlefield of the First Texas Revolution: The Battle of Medina (Austin: Eakin Press, 1985). Harris Gaylord Warren, The Sword Was Their Passport: A History of American Filibustering in the Mexican Revolution (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1943). Henderson K. Yoakum, History of Texas from Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846 (2 vols., New York: Redfield, 1855).
Citation
Robert H. Thonhoff, "MEDINA, BATTLE OF," Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qfm01), accessed November 20, 2013. Published by the Texas State Historical Association.