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August 18, 2023
Today in Texas History
By Bandera Spirits of Texas
The Bandera Prophet
On this day in 1813, the Spaniards defeated a would-be Texas republic in the bloodiest action ever fought on Texas soil. The battle of Medina ended the filibustering efforts of the Gutiérrez-Magee expedition.
The expedition collided with the Spanish royalist army 20 miles south of San Antonio in an oak forest then called el Encinal de Medina. The republican force of 1,400 men was under the command of General José Alvarez de Toledo y Dubois. The royalist army of some 1,830 men was commanded by General Joaquín de Arredondo and included the young Lt. Antonio López de Santa Anna.
On the morning of Aug. 18, royalist scouts lured the republican army into an ambush. A four-hour slaughter ensued. Only 100 of the defeated republican army survived, whereas Arredondo lost only 55 men.
The dead royalists were buried the next day on the way to San Antonio. The bodies of the fallen republicans were left to lie where they fell for nine years. The first governor of the Mexican state of Texas ordered a detachment of soldiers to gather the bones and give them an honorable burial under an oak tree growing on the battlefield.
The expedition collided with the Spanish royalist army 20 miles south of San Antonio in an oak forest then called el Encinal de Medina. The republican force of 1,400 men was under the command of General José Alvarez de Toledo y Dubois. The royalist army of some 1,830 men was commanded by General Joaquín de Arredondo and included the young Lt. Antonio López de Santa Anna.
On the morning of Aug. 18, royalist scouts lured the republican army into an ambush. A four-hour slaughter ensued. Only 100 of the defeated republican army survived, whereas Arredondo lost only 55 men.
The dead royalists were buried the next day on the way to San Antonio. The bodies of the fallen republicans were left to lie where they fell for nine years. The first governor of the Mexican state of Texas ordered a detachment of soldiers to gather the bones and give them an honorable burial under an oak tree growing on the battlefield.