Most folk do not know of the bloodiest battle ever fought on Texas soil. It took place just southeast of Somerset in 1813. Here two armies met to determine if Texas would be free and a republic or under the harsh rule of the Empire of Spain. On August 18, 1813, somewhere near “the Encinal,” a small forest of oak trees between Poteet and the Medina River, more than 1800 Royal Spanish soldiers fought and defeated the Republican Army of the North’s 1400 men, in the Battle of Medina.
The State of Texas medallion has been stolen and the word “Medina” scratched out. I it located at the South Side ISD Central Offices at the corner of US 281 and Martinez-Losoya Road.
OUR RE-ENACTMENT, 2018
The Somerset Historical Society, the Somerset Independent School District, and the Battle of Medina Association shared in planning this re-enactment at Somerset. This new “battle” re-enactment, was held on November 10, 2018. It was an “official event” of the San Antonio-Bexar County Tricentennial Celebration. Our Official Somerset Tricentennial Event at the Somerset ISD Middle School was “fought” by members of the Somerset High School Band and JROTC. The action for this re-enactment was directed by Battle Of Medina President Mr. Dan Arellano. A video of that re-enactment can be seen on our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAkTeM6JRfE
WHO WERE THE MEN OF THE REPUBLICAN ARMY OF THE NORTH in 1813?
Back to 1813, our 1400 member Republican Army of the North was organized and led by these four: Spanish-American leader Bernardo Gutierrez de Lara, American-born, West Point graduate Lt. Augustus Magee, Cuban Jose Alvarez de Toledo, and United States special agent for President Thomas Jefferson, William Shaler. These leaders and their “invading” army were called filibusteros, or “pirates,” by the Spanish authorities. They were not pirates of the seas. They were just an army was made up of adventurers from the United States, Indians, and Tejanos, who wanted Texas to become an independent democratic republic like its neighbor, the United States.
ENTER GENERAL JUAQUIN de ARREDONDO and his SPANISH ARMY
Intending to save Spanish Texas from this thieving invasion by the Republican Army of the North was the Spanish General Jose Juaquin de Arredondo. His Spanish Army, stationed in Nueva Santander just south of the Rio Grande/Rio Bravo, was made up of some 1800 infantry, cavalry and artillery. His soldiers, outnumbering and out gunning the invading Army of the North, rather quickly defeated them. Arredondo sent his cavalry to chase down the 400 survivors mercilessly to the Villa de San Fernando (San Antonio). Once the town was secured Arredondo sent about half his cavalry north east along the Camino Real and across Texas to the Spanish fort at Nacogdoches. In their wake they left nearly 45% of the population of Texas dead. The revolution to take Texas from Spain and make it a republic was over by October, 1813.
HOW DID OUR AREA OF TEXAS BECOME THE WAR ZONE FOR GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE, SPAIN, AND THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA?
For Europe, the Napoleonic Wars of 1800-1815 saw France take over Spain with England fighting France in both France and Spain. For the newly created United States, Great Britain wanted her North American Thirteen Colonies back. The British also saw an opportunity to take the weakened Spanish colonies in Caribbean and North America to expand their world empire. Our U. S. President Thomas Jefferson was trying to keep the newly created USA free of British re-conquest – remember the War of 1812? Jefferson also realized if the British defeated Spain and took over the Spanish Empire in the North and South America, the United States would not stand a chance of remaining an independent, democratic republic. The USA would be British colonies again.
Our backwater of empires, Texas, with its major population center at the Presidio (Military Post) and surrounding Villa (Town) de San Fernando de Bexar (San Antonio) became a focus of concern for these major 18th century world powers as they fought each other for world domination. Sooo, what gave these men and women of the Villa de San Fernando de Bexar the courage to create their own independent Republic of Texas modeled on the United States?
(1) Many of the town’s leaders had fought along side Father Miguel Hidalgo in 1810 (remember El Diez y Seis, 1810?) when Fr. Hidalgo wanted to drive Spain out and create a republic in Mexico? That same Father Hidalgo;
(2) Some of them also met with President Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, his Secretary of State. They learned that these leaders were afraid of Great Britain taking Spanish lands then turning the USA back into British Colonies. Jefferson and Madison had money to spend on this military “adventure” in Texas and an advisor or two;
(3) The Texan’s also had read Jefferson’s American Declaration of Independence and the U. S. Constitution and wanted the same for their Republic of Texas;
and (4) Most Texas citizens of all colors and ethnicities wanted to be independent of all those European powers, who fought each other continually it seemed. The model of their new nation was that of the United States. They wanted be their own New World Americans…Texans.
THE BEST BOOK, IF YOU CAN FIND IT, ON THE BATTLE OF MEDINA
If you can find this old, old book, “Forgotten Battlefield of the First Texas Revolution: The Battle of Medina August 18, 1813,” by Ted Schwarz, with Robert H. Thonhoff, Editor and Annotator, copyright 1985 through Eakin Press Austin at a reasonable price….get it.
Schwartz and Thonhoff’s work is a classic read on this little known chapter in Texas history. It allows us to see how critical this “backwater” place in Texas was to the Great Powers of Europe – Spain, France, Great Britain, and the United States – as they struggled with each other across the hemisphere to keep or to win control of the Americas.
