18 minutes in 1836 that changed the world

Houston Chronicle:

The attack on Mexican troops at the Battle of San Jacinto came at just the right time and place 171 years ago today, leading to a Texian victory that secured independence from Mexico.

If re-enacters wanted to replicate the battle today on the same ground, they'd have to wade through a reflecting pool at the base of the towering San Jacinto Monument. Officials now want to restore the landscape of the San Jacinto Battleground State Historical Park to resemble the way it was at that day, April 21, 1836.

"The landscape plays a major role" in the battle, said Earl Broussard, of Austin, a landscape architect whose firm is overseeing the battleground's restoration.

Texian troops made their way to where the Lynchberg Ferry is today and then surprised the Mexicans as they rested just over a small hill. The hill is located just beyond today's reflecting pool.

Broussard said his firm's goal "is to complete the story from the Alamo to the 46-day Runaway Scrape to San Jacinto much like they did and really try to capture the experience."

Texian troops were defeated by Mexican troops at the Alamo on March 6, 1836.

Another major blow came on March 27, when more than 350 Texian soldiers at Goliad who had surrendered were massacred.

Then came the Battle of San Jacinto.

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"The battle only took 18 minutes so you can literally take an 18-minute walk and feel the battle," he said. "The Alamo takes a lot of attention, but this is where we won it."

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More information is available at www.sanjacinto-museum.org.

Santa Anna wasted a lot of time at the Alamo and Goliad when he should have been chasing Sam Houston's army. He wound up paying for it in 18 minutes of what began as a lazy afternoon siesta.