Posted on 04/21/2005 8:17:16 PM PDT by Dubya
STAR-TELEGRAM
Today marks the anniversary of the 1836 battle of San Jacinto. In just 18 minutes, Gen. Sam Houston led his Texian troops to a decisive victory over Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his Mexican army.
The battle, fought near the confluence of Buffalo Bayou and the San Jacinto River, began the securing of Texas' independence from Mexico and led to the addition of more than a million square miles to the United States.
A short commemoration ceremony will be conducted at 11 a.m. today at the San Jacinto Monument and Battleground, just east of Houston in LaPorte. The formal observance is organized by the Sons and Daughters of the Republic of Texas. The event will honor those who died in the battle -- on both sides.
The big event for the week will be the San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Re-enactment Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
An estimated 20,000 visitors are expected at the festival. Highlights include living history camps, craft demonstrations and vendors reflecting Texas in the 19th century. There will be a music stage with continuous performers, including Dean Shostak playing a fiddle said to have belonged to David Crockett.
There will be children's arts and crafts and, beginning at 3 p.m., the largest battle re-enactment in the state.
The one-hour re-enactment begins with the story of the Runaway Scrape and the families fleeing to safety ahead of the Mexican Army, the march of the Texas Army from Gonzales to San Jacinto and the skirmish the day before the battle. There is no admission charge for the festival.
IN THE KNOW
San Jacinto Day
For more information on the San Jacinto Day Festival and Battle Re-enactment, call (281) 479-2421, or visit www.sanjacinto-museum.org.
169 years later and Texans are still fighting the invasion from south of the Rio Grande.
BTTT
Ping!
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