Grass Fight

Overview

The Grass Fight was a small battle during the Texas Revolution, fought between the Mexican Army and the Texian Army. The battle took place on November 26, 1835, just south of San Antonio de Béxar in the Mexican region of Texas. The Texas Revolution had officially begun on October 2 and by the end of the month the Texians had initiated a siege of Béxar, home of the largest Mexican garrison in the province. Bored with the inactivity, many of the Texian soldiers returned home; a smaller number of adventurers from the United States arrived to replace them. After the Texian Army rejected commander-in-chief Stephen F. Austin's call to launch an assault on Béxar on November 22, Austin resigned from the army. The men elected Edward Burleson their new commander-in-chief.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Grass Fight occurred within the context of the Texian siege of Béxar, the largest Mexican garrison in the province of Texas. By late November 1835, the siege had been underway for roughly a month, and the Texian force was in a state of some disarray: boredom had caused many soldiers to return home, replacements arriving from the United States were of uncertain commitment, and the army had just rejected commander Stephen F. Austin's call to assault Béxar, prompting his resignation. Edward Burleson was elected to replace him as commander-in-chief. The engagement on November 26 led by James Bowie and William Jack took place in this climate of flagging morale and leadership transition, making it notable less for its tactical scale than for occurring at a critical moment of institutional instability in the Texian Army during the early phase of the Revolution.

Commanders (2)