With the advance of the Mexican Army, General Sam Houston took command of the 400 ill-equipped Texas Army on March 11, 1836, at Gonzales. General Houston learned that the Alamo had fallen from Mrs. Susanna Dickson, who was one of the few survivors. General Houston ordered a strategic retreat in a bid to reorganize and train his army while looking for supplies and men to counter a large Mexican Army contingent.
Citizens scrambled toward the Trinity River and across that to the United States. This began what is known as The Runaway Scrape. Leaving behind valuables and what had become home, civilians took flight while the Texas Army stayed behind, but soon followed as General Houston plotted his moves against General Santa Anna and the Mexican Army.
Moving from his encampment at Gonzales, General Houston broke camp on March 13 at midnight and traveled ten miles and stopped for breakfast at a plantation on Peach Creek near Gonzales. The ten-mile trip took the army all night to make. He then camped in Moulton on March 14, near the Lavaca River, and on March 15 at the Navidad River.
March 16-18 brought the Texan Army to the Colorado River, approaching Burnham’s Ferry, northeast of Weimar, at the intersection of County Roads 204 and 201. Apparently, following along the Colorado River, General Houston and his army traveled south down to Beason’s on the Colorado River at what is now Columbus, where he crossed over. General Santa Anna was trailing Houston as Mexican General Ramirez y Sesma’s camp site was opposite the Texas Army just west of Columbus on Highway 90.
The Texan Army left Beason’s in the afternoon of the 26th.
By March 28, the army had arrived at the Brazos near San Felipe, having traveled 20 miles, but on March 29, it had difficulty crossing Mill Creek and traveled only three miles on March 30 to camp in the Brazos bottoms because of bad weather.
General Houston would travel on and arrive in San Jacinto on April 20, with General Santa Anna hot on his trail, and a brief skirmish took place on April 21.
General Houston had several opportunities to engage the Mexican Army while at the Colorado River, but he refused to do so because he did not want his small army to become trapped. His refusal to fight was highly unpopular among his troops. His Texan Army now had over 1,000 soldiers by late March, but most were poorly trained in the art of war. He feared his army would be overwhelmed by the superior Mexican Army led by Sesma.
General Sam Houston’s strategic retreat to San Jacinto enabled the Texas Army to become better trained and organized, and, although outnumbered at the Battle of San Jacinto, his command suffered only nine killed in action against the Mexican Army’s 650 deaths.
