Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Messing With Texas...!

Even from the very early days, messing with Texas was not a good idea! General Santa Anna found this out the hard way!

The Mexican movement to disarm the folks in Texas caused quite the stir in Gonzales, as pointed out in this article from the folks over at History.com. I think this is widely accepted as the start of the Texas Revolution!

Oct 2, 1835:
First shots of the Texas Revolution fired in the Battle of Gonzales

On this day in 1835, the growing tensions between Mexico and Texas erupt into violence when Mexican soldiers attempt to disarm the people of Gonzales, sparking the Texan war for independence.

Texas--or Tejas as the Mexicans called it--had technically been a part of the Spanish empire since the 17th century. However, even as late as the 1820s, there were only about 3,000 Spanish-Mexican settlers in Texas, and Mexico City's hold on the territory was tenuous at best. After winning its own independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico welcomed large numbers of Anglo-American immigrants into Texas in the hopes they would become loyal Mexican citizens and keep the territory from falling into the hands of the United States. During the next decade men like Stephen Austin brought more than 25,000 people to Texas, most of them Americans. But while these emigrants legally became Mexican citizens, they continued to speak English, formed their own schools, and had closer trading ties to the United States than to Mexico.

In 1835, the president of Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, overthrew the constitution and appointed himself dictator. Recognizing that the "American" Texans were likely to use his rise to power as an excuse to secede, Santa Anna ordered the Mexican military to begin disarming the Texans whenever possible. This proved more difficult than expected, and on October 2, 1835, Mexican soldiers attempting to take a small cannon from the village of Gonzales encountered stiff resistance from a hastily assembled militia of Texans. After a brief fight, the Mexicans retreated and the Texans kept their cannon.

The determined Texans would continue to battle Santa Ana and his army for another year and a half before winning their independence and establishing the Republic of Texas.

Guess the moral of the story is fairly clear here. As the saying goes..."Don't start nothing, there won't be nothing!" Makes sense to me!

Coffee out on the patio this morning. How about some fried apple pies?

9 comments:

Stephen said...

Our country could use some of those good 'ole Texans today.

HermitJim said...

Hey Stephen...
Boy, ain't that the truth!

Thanks for coming by today!

Chickenmom said...

Even back then they were trying to take our gun away! Things haven't changed much, have they? Fried Apple pies - I'll be right there. 35 here.

Mamahen said...

I was thinking as I read this, the saying the more things change, the more they stay the same....46 here this a.m. Would love to join the group and thanks for the invite! Fried apple pies, yummy!

Sunnybrook Farm said...

We may see the day when they are a country again, maybe with some surrounding states.

linda m said...

Texans have always been my heroes, even today. They won't take c..p from anyone. Fried apple pie sounds good; I'm on my way.

Sixbears said...

Now Mexico is taking it back the same way the US go it, by population shift.

HermitJim said...

Hey Phyllis...
Seems like someone is always trying to take our firearms here in Texas as well as other places!

Thanks for coming over today!



Hey Mamahen...
That about says it all!

Thanks for coming by this morning!



Hey Sunnybrook...
Wouldn't surprise me if it eventually happened. Just never know!

Thanks for coming by today!



Hey Linda...
Maybe it's something in the water, ya reckon?

I'll save ya a fried pie!

Thanks for dropping by!



Hey Sixbears...
Sure does look that way, doesn't it?

Thanks for the visit today!

Dizzy-Dick said...

I believe every household should have at least one gun and know how to use it. That would solve a lot of things