Chris T wrote:
Yes, I remember that scene being re-enacted in one of the movies made about the Alamo. Of course - in Hollywood, they made it seem like Santa Anna was finished, but as you and I both know, he got away, to run, and fight - another day. But - you make it seem simple - like the WHOLE Mexican Army was finished, after that … but, that was only a faction of it, of course!!! ….
It was the part (about 1/3 of their field army) commanded by the President (Gen Santa Anna) and his brother-in-law. Between dead, wounded and captured it suffered about 90% casualties. Including Santa Anna being captured.
When he was sent to exile in Cuba just before the Mexican-American War started he secretly negotiated with both the Mexican and US governments:
He told the Mexican Gvt he did not want to be president again, just fight for Mexico against the US. They said "Come on home."
He told the US that if they helped him get back to Mexico he would take over and settle the disputes including selling the US the SW and California for a fair price. The US got him back to Mexico and supposedly gave him money to help him take over.
Then he double crossed both of them.
He took over as President again, and fought against the US.
But of course he lost and the US got the SW, California and the disputed parts of Texas between the Nueces and Rio Grande rivers.*
But the large faction of the US Congress who had been against the war pushed through paying Mexico the $15 million offered for the SW and CA before the war. They even threw in things like the residents of former Mexican lands would be automatically US citizens. Land ownership recognized etc.
Santa Anna was out as president again but then came back for the last time in 1853 at the invitation of a group of Church Officials. But he stole money from the government and sold more of Mexico to the US (Gadsden Purchase). So he was kicked out again and Benito Juarez became president. They held a trial over his corruption and confiscated all his land and wealth. He moved around while in exile to Cuba, Europe, Saint Thomas, Columbia and the US. In 1865 he offered to go back to Mexico to fight the French invasion but was turned down. He then tried to raise money in the US to take over Mexico again but was unsuccessful. In 1874 the Mexican government issued a general pardon to all involved in the revolutions, coups etc and he went home to Mexico City. By this time he was ill, crippled and going blind. He was basically ignored by everyone and died at his home in 1876, aged 82.
*Here in CA it was a 4 way war, the US & pro-US Californios on one side, pro-Mexico Californios, and a group that wanted to rejoin the Spanish Empire but would settle for the British Empire instead. Plus of course Mexico. The pro-US Californios were like in Texas a mixed group of settliers from the US and other places who had come for land. One of them discovered gold just before the US took over. News of the gold spread and in 1848-49 the gold rush took place with people coming from the US all of Central and South America, Europe, the British Empire and even China. By September of 1850 California had gone straight from military occupation to Gold Rush and almost instant statehood without any intermediate steps along the way.