Fair warning, friends: this thread is gonna be full of nerdy...
Caitlyn Jones, PhD@Cait1ynJones
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Mar 30, 2026
~19 min read
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Fair warning, friends: this thread is gonna be full of nerdy history stuff for the next 24+ hours. I’m covering the world’s longest history lesson attempt by UNT prof Andrew Torget.
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We’re talking Texas history from the dinosaurs until Greg Abbott and I’m going to be live tweeting the whole thing (fingers crossed)
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Torget has been prepping for this thing for a year and he’s raising money for UNT’s Portal to Texas History, a huge database that archives old documents, photos and newspapers
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Full disclosure: I took a class w/ Torget when I went to UNT but never took TX history because the class was always full.
Now I get to take it fo free!
Now I get to take it fo free!
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I’ll start using the #UNTWorldRecord hashtag now bc I’m really good at the Twitter, y’all. Btw, there’s gonna be a story in @DentonRC on Sunday
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Alright, now on w/ the history. Before humans came to TX 12,000 years ago, there were giant animals (wooly mammoths, saber tooth tigers and armadillos the size of Volkswagen bugs)
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The students here at #UNTWorldRecord have spot-on descriptors of TX geography
East TX - trees
Panhandle - dry
Houston - wet
East TX - trees
Panhandle - dry
Houston - wet
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We went from dinosaurs to Native Americans in 1500 AD in about 25 minutes. We’ll slow down now #UNTWorldRecord
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Fun facts about the Karankawan Indians:
-Name means “dog lovers.” They domesticated coyotes #thanks
-Lived in the present day Houston area
-Hunted alligators by stabbing them in the eye with spears. (Gator grease makes good mosquito repellant, apparently)
-Name means “dog lovers.” They domesticated coyotes #thanks
-Lived in the present day Houston area
-Hunted alligators by stabbing them in the eye with spears. (Gator grease makes good mosquito repellant, apparently)
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TX Native Americans were small-market tribes compared to everywhere else. U.S. and Canada had 12 mil Indians. Mexico alone had 35 mil while South America had 60 mil. While Mayans were building elaborate temples, TX Indians were out here like “LOOK CORN” #UNTWorldRecord
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So we’re onto the Spanish explorers in the #UNTWorldRecord and stuff’s about to get real for the Aztecs and Montezuma(?). Ol’ Cortes comes over for gold and all I can think about is that scene in Pocahontas where all the colonizers grab shovels and start singing
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So the Aztecs fell and these other Spanish dudes get real cocky about their knowledge of North American geography. A guy named Narvaez sails from Cuba toward Mexico but ended up in Florida. Still thinks he’s in the right spot 🙄
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Torget to class: Has anyone ever been to central Florida?
*guy in Nirvana shirt raises his hand*
Torget: What’s it like?
Nirvana guy: Gross
*guy in Nirvana shirt raises his hand*
Torget: What’s it like?
Nirvana guy: Gross
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So Narvez and his right-hand man Cabeza de Vaca land in TX in November 1528 in boats made of horse hide. They look rough and the Karankawas feel bad and give them food. Other guys with Spanish names come in and crisscross the area still looking for gold and silver #UNTWorldRecord
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Go home Coronado. You’re drunk.
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Actually I think this is De Soto, the other pasty Spanish guy
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So even though the Spanish didn’t find gold in TX, their presence was a game changer for Indians. They brought horses which helped tribes hunt (yay!) but they also bring diseases that kill them (boo!) #UNTWorldRecord
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The Spanish did start mining silver and had this little “hostile Indian problem” when they would try to transport it. I mean yeah, the natives are a little pissed that these dudes are taking their stuff #UNTWorldRecord
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They combat this by building missions to convert and assimilate the Indians. Torget calls them “boarding schools” for natives. “They learn how to farm, speak Spanish, wear pants.”
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It’s 1685, btw. La Salle plans an expedition and tries to WALK to Canada. Needless to say, it does not go well and he’s murdered by his own men
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The Spanish didn’t want the French all up in their space so they started figuring out where to set up missions to stake their claim. The modern-day equivalent of “we don’t want it, but you can’t have it either.” #UNTWorldRecord
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First attempt at mission system is a dismal failure. Spain picks the Caddo Indians to “civilize” but they bring all those diseases. The Caddos aren’t having it so they say “you can leave or we can kill you, whichever works for y’all.” #UNTWorldRecord
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The Spanish leave but the French come back so they do THE SAME THING with THE SAME TRIBE. They get so far east that they’re in western Louisiana and actually establish the first capital of Texas in a completely different state
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The Spanish realized that they needed a halfway point between Mexico and East Texas. Enter San Antonio est. 1718. (Happy 300th birthday!) In the early days, no one was moving to SA for the tacos. You were sent there as either a missionary or a soldier #UNTWorldRecord
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Torget: Most people lived in makeshift huts made of sticks that looked like something the second little pig would’ve built if he lived in SA #UNTWorldRecord
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Alright so we just took our first 10 minute break for the #UNTWorldRecord and the library folks told us they've already raised more than $3,000 for the Portal to Texas History. If you want to donate, go to one.unt.edu/portal-to-texa…
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Here's some things to catch up on before 1800:
-Indians never wanted to convert but used the missions for food, water, protection, trade.
-Apaches and Comanches were fighting for control of Great Plains and would manipulate Spain into getting involved in the fray.
-Indians never wanted to convert but used the missions for food, water, protection, trade.
-Apaches and Comanches were fighting for control of Great Plains and would manipulate Spain into getting involved in the fray.
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Indians far outnumbered the Spanish (roughy 20,000 to 4,000) and the missions were getting decommissioned, so the Spanish started paying tribute to tribes to survive. One thing is clear at this point: Native Americans are calling the shots in Texas #UNTWorldRecord
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Personal side note about the SA missions: I once rode a bike to the San Jose mission and thought I was going to die because I'm super out of shape. I fell off the bike and scraped my knee, then that SA brujeria soil got in my skin and left a pretty cool scar.
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Ok back to the history.
Lots of things are happening around Texas in the early 1800s. There's the Louisiana Purchase, which brought in unwanted American neighbors. Then there's also the Mexican War of Independence. The Spanish are freaking out right meow #UNTWorldRecord
Lots of things are happening around Texas in the early 1800s. There's the Louisiana Purchase, which brought in unwanted American neighbors. Then there's also the Mexican War of Independence. The Spanish are freaking out right meow #UNTWorldRecord
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Over in Mexico, a guy named Miguel Hidalgo issues the "Grito de Dolores," a list of all the things that were wrong with the Spanish government. It wasn't necessarily a revolt, but soon he had an army of 100,000 angry people in front of him so they started marching.
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So why does this matter to TX? It makes it a lot harder for the Spanish to control the population in TX and a bunch of tiny revolts start to break out #UNTWorldRecord
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A guy named Gutierrez wants to keep the revolution going and asks the U.S. for help. The states say "nah, fam," so Gutierrez hits up the bars in NOLA to scrounge up an army. "Best place to recruit angry young men," according to Torget.
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Gutierrez, his new friend named McGee and a bunch of Americans marched on Texas and camped in San Antonio. They captured the governor, stabbed him and slit his throat, which made Spanish rulers very nervous #UNTWorldRecord
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They got a guy named Arredondo, whose nickname is "the butcher" so this will obviously go well. His army and the rebels get into a fight called the Battle of Medina, the bloodiest battle in TX history (100 rebels survived out of 1400 and only 50 Spaniards died)
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Arredondo then goes on a rampage. He executed Tejano men in SA and imprisoned women in what he called a La Quinta (no, really). The orphans were just left roaming the streets. By the end, the butcher killed 1000 Tejanos and ran 1000 more out of TX, cutting the population in half
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In 1819, six years after the Battle of Medina, the US and Spain signed a treaty establishing boundaries for TX. Spain got TX and the US got Florida. BUT that doesn't really matter because two years later, Mexico won their independence.
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Mexico won its independence, but they had some issues:
-they were in charge of 6 million ppl from Oregon to Guatemala
-most ppl didn't consider themselves Mexican
-they were surrounded by enemies
-they were flat broke
#UNTWorldRecord
-they were in charge of 6 million ppl from Oregon to Guatemala
-most ppl didn't consider themselves Mexican
-they were surrounded by enemies
-they were flat broke
#UNTWorldRecord
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But PSYCH! Mexico was more worried about the security and population of TX. This was the same time as the cotton boom, where the price of the crop doubled. Folks were pouring into the South to grow it and the US became the top producer in about 5 years.
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We can't talk about cotton without mentioning slavery. We'll get more into that later, but some quick facts for now:
-Every 3rd person in Alabama was a slave. Half of Louisiana's pop were slaves.
-For every slave, that meant 8-10 more acres plowed and 8-10 more 400-lb bales sold.
-Every 3rd person in Alabama was a slave. Half of Louisiana's pop were slaves.
-For every slave, that meant 8-10 more acres plowed and 8-10 more 400-lb bales sold.
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In addition to slaves, plantation owners needed horses. Guess where they got them? Turns out the Comanches in the Panhandle had a lucrative trade business going on with the white farmers. The Mexicans are for sure freaking out now #UNTWorldRecord
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Also going on at the time? The Panic of 1819, which caused the economy to crash. The US made it harder to buy land and sales plummeted by 80 percent as a result. Texas was starting to look really great for broke Americans like Moses Austin.
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Austin rides into SA to pitch his idea for a settlement to Gov. Antonio Martinez. The gov. is resistant at first but the Tejanos support the idea because:
-they needed people
-they wanted to develop the economy
-they weren't getting any help from Mexico City
#UNTWorldRecord
-they needed people
-they wanted to develop the economy
-they weren't getting any help from Mexico City
#UNTWorldRecord
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To be clear, no one was super gung-ho about the Americans coming in. Tejanos even tried to recruit the Swiss but like, who would want to leave Switzerland? "This wasn't the best option. It was the least bad option" - Torget
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Moses Austin is pumped and heads home to recruit colonists, but his traveling partner bails on him and takes the supplies. Austin makes it back to Missouri, but dies shortly after. Everything is left to his son named *say it with me now* STEPHEN F. AUSTIN.
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SFA rides into TX in 1821 with an escort of 14 Tejanos, so these guys had obviously formed an alliance. By the time they got to San Antonio in August, word had come about Mexican's independence.
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SFA freaked out b/c his dad had gotten permission for the colony from Spain, not Mexico. But the Tejanos said, "We're cool, bro" and Steve went off to establish the Austin colony with 300 Anglo families #UNTWorldRecord
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Another 10 minute break and all the students in the class get snacks and Red Bull. I'm still working on my 32-ounce thermos of coffee and my bag full of snacks (beef jerky, pretzels, oatmeal cream pies and Scooby Doo fruit snacks) #UNTWorldRecord
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Back in 1821 Texas:
SFA recruited families by writing letters to his friend Joseph Hawkins (probably no relation to former city council member Joey Hawkins but who knows) that he would run in the NOLA newspapers. I repeat NEWSPAPERS brought white folks to Texas.
SFA recruited families by writing letters to his friend Joseph Hawkins (probably no relation to former city council member Joey Hawkins but who knows) that he would run in the NOLA newspapers. I repeat NEWSPAPERS brought white folks to Texas.
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SFA advertised the rich soil and nice climate of Texas, basically making it out to be the land of milk and honey. Live look at the settlers below #UNTWorldRecord
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There were some perks to living in the Austin colony:
-Automatic 7 MILES of land
-Extra 200 acres for bringing a wife
-Extra 100 acres for each kid
-Extra 50 acres for each enslaved person
My millennial brain can't fathom all that personal property.
-Automatic 7 MILES of land
-Extra 200 acres for bringing a wife
-Extra 100 acres for each kid
-Extra 50 acres for each enslaved person
My millennial brain can't fathom all that personal property.
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You did have to meet some requirements, though:
-Had to be Catholic (or at least say you were)
-Bring recommendation letters
-Needed money for paperwork charges
-Needed year's worth of supplies
#UNTWorldRecord
-Had to be Catholic (or at least say you were)
-Bring recommendation letters
-Needed money for paperwork charges
-Needed year's worth of supplies
#UNTWorldRecord
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In 3 to 4 years, SFA's colony had about 3,000 people, which doubled the population of TX. It brought in more trade and infrastructure but the Mexican government hadn't actually approved the colony officially #UNTWorldRecord
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Mexico got a new emperor, Augustine I, and Austin was able to get a bill through Congress that approved his colony. But then Augustine got a little tyrannical and jailed his political opponents, which got him deposed. Mexico be like...
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Mexico started working on the Constitution of 1824. While they debated a lot of stuff, they were united on one front: they didn't want slavery in their country. They just fought a war for independence and felt weird supporting something that took away a person's independence.
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But Austin's colony had a lot of slaves (25% of their population). So Mexico left the issue of slavery up to the states. The only problem? TX didn't have enough people to be considered a state and had to be joined with Coahuila, an area that didn't want slaves #UNTWorldRecord
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Meanwhile in East Texas (S/O), a dude named Haden Edwards tries to do what SFA did. He goes to Nacogdoches, tells everyone there's a new sheriff in town and demands that they show land titles or he would run them off and sell it #UNTWorldRecord
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Word about his shenanigans gets to the Mexican government and they tell him to knock it off. He says, "Screw you!" and starts his own rebellion with 12 of his friends in Old Stone Fort, calling his new nation Fredonia. #UNTWorldRecord
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Edwards was counting on the support of SFA, but the ol' Father of Texas was not having it. “The people in your quarter have run mad or worse!" - SFA
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He and other Tejanos go to Nac to squash the rebellion and Edwards tucks his tail between his legs and runs to LA. The rebellion was short-lived but it stoked fears in the Mexican govt. about Americans. On the other hand, Tejanos put more faith in SFA because he stood with them.
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While this is happening, the legislature in Saltillo is deciding what to do about slavery in the Coahuila y Texas state. They print it up in 1827 and it reaches SFA and the Angles a month later #UNTWorldRecord
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(sorry about the typo of Anglos in the last tweet) Here's what Article 13 said about slavery:
-Current slaves in TX would never be free
-Anglos got a 6-month window to get more slaves that would never be free
-The children of those slaves would be free.
#UNTWorldRecord
-Current slaves in TX would never be free
-Anglos got a 6-month window to get more slaves that would never be free
-The children of those slaves would be free.
#UNTWorldRecord
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The Anglos, especially SFA, were not happy. The new laws, they said, would basically cut off American migration in 6 months because white southerners wouldn't come to TX without slaves #UNTWorldRecord
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But they had a plan. They would get the state lege to pass a law that would make American contracts legal in Mexico (which would basically circumvent the new slavery laws). #UNTWorldRecord
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Surprisingly, it worked because a friend of SFA named (I can't remember his first name) Navarro got up during a legislative lunch break after a testy tax debate and pitched the idea. The angry lawmakers were like, "yeah that's fine, whatever" and it became law #UNTWorldRecord
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But when the federal Mexican government found out, they were not happy. They passed the Law of April 6 in 1830 (clever name, I know) that said:
-No more American immigration
-Mexico would now set up forts to collect taxes
-The importation of slaves would stop
#UNTWorldRecord
-No more American immigration
-Mexico would now set up forts to collect taxes
-The importation of slaves would stop
#UNTWorldRecord
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Mexico set up two forts in Texas to collect taxes: Anahuac and Velasco. A few fights broke out and some people died, but Texas isn't fully rebelling yet. They have a lot to lose and instead want to become their own state so they could legalize slavery #UNTWorldRecord
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The Texans thought they had a pretty good shot of making this happen but they had to go down to Mexico City to talk to the president. But LOL guess who that is? Antonio Lopez de freaking SANTA ANNA #UNTWorldRecord
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Santa Anna rejects SFA's proposal. Austin gets all pissy and writes a letter to the leadership in San Antonio saying "Don't listen to Santa Anna. Let's form our own state anyway." The letter gets intercepted by the Mexican govt and SFA is put in jail #UNTWorldRecord
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Meanwhile, Santa Anna leads a coup and basically nullifies the Constitution of 1824. Federalism that gave the states power was replaced with centralism. Several states in Mexico rebelled and a civil war broke out #UNTWorldRecord
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In 1835, TX was split on the issue. There was a Peace Party made up of older men with families who had been in TX for awhile. Then there was the War Party made up of younger single dudes who had come over recently (like William B. Travis who completely ditched his family for TX)
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SFA gets out of prison (sorry crime buffs for mixing up prison and jail. I'm so ashamed) and joins the war party. "War is our only recourse," he said. #UNTWorldRecord
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Btw, Torget hasn't been wearing shoes for the last six-ish hours
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So we come to the story of the Battle of Gonzalez, which was hardly a battle tbh. The Mexican army had lent a cannon to Gonzalez to scare away Indians if they attacked. On Oct. 2, 1835, Mexico sent 100 soldiers to get the cannon back because ya know, it was theirs.
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The river was too high to cross so the Mexicans wait on the other side for the cannon. The Texans are like "HOW DARE YOU ASK FOR YOUR CANNON BACK?" So they rustle up 100 guys and make a flag (the "Come and Take It" one you've seen a billion times) #UNTWorldRecord
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The Texans cross the river at a low point, sneak up on the Mexicans and start firing. The Mexicans aren't authorized to attack so they ride away. Two of their men were killed, but the Texans felt like the kings of the castle.
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These tweets do not do Torget's telling of the story justice, I promise. There's a reason his TX history class is always full #UNTWorldRecord
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We're into the part you've probably all been waiting for....
THE TEXAS REVOLUTION
THE TEXAS REVOLUTION
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Wrapping up our 20-minute dinner break. Bless @phwolfeDRC for bringing me dinner and letting her dog, Fang, ride shotgun so I could also get a puppy break.
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Alright so back in Texas:
A militia of Texans decides to descend on San Antonio to fight Mexican troops stationed there. They were originally led by SFA, but they fired him. Then they were led by a guy named Burleson, but he got fired.
A militia of Texans decides to descend on San Antonio to fight Mexican troops stationed there. They were originally led by SFA, but they fired him. Then they were led by a guy named Burleson, but he got fired.
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Then a guy named Ben Miliam got up on a tree stump and said, "Follow me!" and they did. They went street by street in SA, battling in urban warfare. The Mexican troops holed up in a mission (SPOILER: IT WAS THE ALAMO) and surrendered #UNTWorldRecord
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Side note: Ben Milam died during this 5-day battle after he got sniped in the head. Side, side note: Alamo means cottonwood tree in Spanish #UNTWorldRecord
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Just so we're clear, the Texans still really don't have a plan. They don't really have an army or a government yet. They should've been preparing and fortifying their forces, but they were still celebrating their win in SA.
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Santa Anna, on the other hand, is prepping out the wazzoo. He recruits a 2,500-man army virtually overnight and they march from Mexico City to Texas in the middle of winter. People report to the Texans that Santa Anna is coming but they're like "Whaaaa? Nah....." #UNTWorldRecord
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On Feb. 22, 1836, Santa Anna sends a small cavalry unit to San Antonio. They see a bunch of lights and hear a lot of people so they're like "Crap, they know we're coming." Turns out, they were just having a party to celebrate George Washington's birthday. #UNTWorldRecord
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The next day, two Texan lookouts see Santa Anna's army coming. They run back to town, grab some spare corn and everyone hides out in the Alamo (which did not look like this gif btw)
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Santa Anna told the men inside that they could surrender at discretion, which means they could die...or not, they could have their land taken...or not. No one really knew. The Texans said "eff that" and went back inside #UNTWorldRecord
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Santa Anna decided to lay siege to the fort, which held about 200 Texans. The Alamo was a huge structure and super hard to defend. The Texans were not at all prepared, but Santa Anna didn't know that and tried to shoot down the walls with cannons #UNTWorldRecord
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(Some of the walls were literally held up with sticks)
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(Also some of the walls were actually made with sticks)
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The Texas strategy? Live long enough for someone else to show up. On Feb. 24, Travis writes his famous "victory or death" letter to quite literally anyone who will come.
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Santa Anna starts testing the Alamo defenses, moving the cannons a little bit closer to the mission every night. The Texans have a slight advantage here with their guns because they have rifles that are more accurate and have a longer range than the Mexicans' muskets
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On March 1, 32 men from Gonzalez ride toward the Alamo. The Mexicans start shooting and the Texans think they’re being attacked so they start shooting. One of the Gonzalez men actually got shot in the foot. Either way, they get in the fort and boost morale #UNTWorldRecord
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The next day, Texans declare independence at Washington-on-the-Brazos. "Santa Anna's boot is on their throats" as one student put it #UNTWorldRecord. Sad note: no one at the Alamo ever learned about that independence
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On March 3, the Alamo defenders learn that a fancy pants guy named James Fannin isn’t coming to help.
On March 4, Texans climb over the Alamo walls to literally rebuild them. Food is low, gunpowder is low, morale is low #UNTWorldRecord
On March 4, Texans climb over the Alamo walls to literally rebuild them. Food is low, gunpowder is low, morale is low #UNTWorldRecord
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March 5 comes and Santa Anna prepares for an attack on all sides of the Alamo. The Mexicans start building ladders to scale the 12-foot walls and the Texans know that something is coming #UNTWorldRecord
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You know that story about Travis drawing a line in the sand with his sword and telling people to join him in battle? Well, that *might* not be true. The story comes in the 1870s from a guy who heard it from another guy who said he was there
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Here we come to the Battle of the Alamo on March 6. Texans had finally fallen asleep after the cannon fire ceased. The Mexicans are so kind to wake them up with an attack a little after midnight #UNTWorldRecord
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Travis gets up and yells “They’re on us boys! Let’s give em hell!” He leans over the top of the wall and starts shooting down at the Mexicans below. He gets hit in the forehead with a musket ball and dies instantly #UNTWorldRecord
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It’s just pure chaos at this point. The Mexicans can’t break through the walls so they retreat. Santa Anna orders a second assault. It’s still chaos and the Mexicans retreat again. Santa Anna has a conniption fit and orders a third attack on the north wall with reserve troops.
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The third attack finally succeeds and the Mexicans get over the wall. The Texans have to make their last stand around the barracks and the chapel (which is the part of the Alamo you see today)