Siege of Béxar

Battle context

The Siege of Béxar was an early campaign of the Texas Revolution, following directly from the Battle of Gonzales in early October 1835, which marked the outbreak of the conflict. Texian settlers, disillusioned with Santa Anna's increasingly dictatorial rule, gathered at Gonzales and then organized a volunteer force that became the Texian Army. Stephen F. Austin, a well-respected local leader without formal military training, was elected commander. The campaign against the Mexican garrison at San Antonio de Béxar represented one of the first sustained offensive operations by the nascent Texian force, testing its capacity to challenge an organized Mexican military presence on Texas soil.