He retreated eastward for some two
hundred and fifty miles. But when he learned that Santa Anna had broken up
his army into three divisions and was approaching with only about one
thousand six hundred men Houston halted his troops and waited for them to
come up. On their approach he stood ready for attack in a well-chosen spot
near the San Jacinto River, where he defeated Santa Anna and took him
prisoner.
The Texans now organized a separate government, and in the following
autumn elected Houston as the first President of the Republic of Texas. He
did all he could to bring about the annexation of Texas to the United
States and at last succeeded, for Texas entered our Union in 1845. It was
to be expected that the people of Mexico would not like this. They were
very angry, and the outcome was the Mexican War which lasted nearly two
years.
In 1846 Texas sent Houston to the United States Senate, where he served
his State for fourteen years. When the Civil War broke out he was governor
of Texas and, although his State seceded, Houston remained firm for the
Union. On his refusal to resign, he was forced to give up his office. He
died in 1863.
JOHN C.
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