By: Ernesto Rodriguez, III, Alamo Associate Curator
“Go and get it!” were the orders given to the Alamo Company on September 27, 1835, as they left the Alamo for the town of Gonzales. Their mission was to retrieve a small cannon that was loaned to the town years earlier. It was that action that would lead the people of Texas into revolution and eventually independence.
Before the Battle of Gonzales can be understood, the political climate of Mexico must be explained. In 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain following an eleven year revolution. With independence achieved, the new nation had to establish how it would be governed. The first government was a short lived monarchy that was followed by a turbulent republic. It was during this period that Mexico opened its borders to American immigrants. This was done in order to provide a buffer of protection along its borders. The problem with this immigration program was that it became too successful. By 1828, Texians (Anglo colonists) outnumbered the native Tejano population ten to one. It was at this time that Mexico decided to close its borders with the United States. This act caused some in Texas to become suspicious of the national government. The joining of Texas to Coahuila as one state within the republic also angered the people of Texas. These changes, along with the election of 1833, led Texas and Mexico into civil and political unrest.
The election of 1833 ushered in a new president, General Antonio López de Santa Anna. Soon after the election, Santa Anna left the day to day operations to his vice president, Valentín Gómez Farías. Farías enacted many governmental reforms aimed at the wealthy, the church and military. These three groups demanded that Santa Anna oust his Vice President and regain control of the government. Santa Anna responded that in order to undo the reforms he must be given extraordinary powers. These powers resulted in the abolishment of the Constitution of 1824 and Mexican civil war. Texas would soon enter this conflict.
As Santa Anna regained control, he put new policies in place. The most notable was the limiting of state militias. Under the federal system of government, each state had its own army called a militia. A new law passed on March 31, 1835, not only limited the militias to one person for every five hundred inhabitants, but it also called for cannons to be sent to a central location. The Alamo was the central location in Texas and would serve as the catalyst for rebellion.
The cannon in Gonzales had been loaned to Green DeWitt in 1831 to be used to protect the colonists from hostile native attacks. DeWitt acknowledged the loan in a letter to the government and promised to return the cannon if it was ever requested. Unfortunately, DeWitt died prior to the request for its return. When Lieutenant Francisco de Castañeda was sent with one hundred dragoons to recover the cannon, the people of Gonzales became alarmed. When Castañeda arrived in Gonzales, he found himself unable to cross the Guadalupe River because the inhabitants had moved the ferry to the opposite bank. He was met by eighteen colonists who refused to give up the cannon. These men believed the cannon had been a gift and that giving it up would leave them unprotected. Castañeda’s superior had warned him not to bring on a fight. Thus, he had no choice but to return and speak to the Alcalde, or mayor, who was away at the time.
Upon the arrival of the Alcalde, Castañeda found that the colonists had assembled a much larger force, which was waiting for him on the other side of the river. Asking for the cannon to be turned over, he was met with the call “If you want it, Come and Take It!” While Castañeda was not ready for a fight, the colonists were. Met with a barrage of cannon and rifle fire, Castañeda withdrew from Gonzales and returned to San Antonio to report the affair to Mexican officials.
The episode, which occurred on October 2, 1835, became known in Texas as the Battle of Gonzales. Although Castañeda had been ordered not to bring on hostilities, the colonists had no such orders. In fact, they believed it was time to take a stand against Santa Anna. Upon seeing Castañeda ride away, the colonists — now rebels — declared victory and called for support. While most people today might consider this “battle” a small victory, there is no denying that it set the colonists on the road to revolution, which ultimately ended with Texas’ independence.
This article originally appeared in Destinations San Antonio.
