title: Physiology

text: In the 19th century, physiological knowledge began to accumulate at a rapid rate, in particular with the 1838 appearance of the Cell theory of Matthias Schleiden and Theodor Schwann. It radically stated that organisms are made up of units called cells. Claude Bernard's (1813–1878) further discoveries ultimately led to his concept of "milieu interieur" (internal environment), which would later be taken up and championed as "homeostasis" by American physiologist Walter B. Cannon in 1929. By homeostasis, Cannon meant "the maintenance of steady states in the body and the physiological processes through which they are regulated." In other words, the body's ability to regulate its internal environment. William Beaumont was the first American to utilize the practical application of physiology.


title: Physiology

text: Nineteenth-century physiologists such as Michael Foster, Max Verworn, and Alfred Binet, based on Haeckel's ideas, elaborated what came to be called "general physiology", a unified science of life based on the cell actions, later renamed in the 20th century as cell biology.


title: Physiology

text: In the 20th century, biologists became interested in how organisms other than human beings function, eventually spawning the fields of comparative physiology and ecophysiology. Major figures in these fields include Knut Schmidt-Nielsen and George Bartholomew. Most recently, evolutionary physiology has become a distinct subdiscipline.


title: Physiology

text: In 1920, August Krogh won the Nobel Prize for discovering how, in capillaries, blood flow is regulated.


title: Physiology

text: In 1954, Andrew Huxley and Hugh Huxley, alongside their research team, discovered the sliding filaments in skeletal muscle, known today as the sliding filament theory.


title: Physiology

text: Recently, there have been intense debates about the vitality of physiology as a discipline (Is it dead or alive?). If physiology is perhaps less visible nowadays than during the golden age of the 19th century, it is in large part because the field has given birth to some of the most active domains of today's biological sciences, such as neuroscience, endocrinology, and immunology. Furthermore, physiology is still often seen as an integrative discipline, which can put together into a coherent framework data coming from various different domains.


title: Physiology

text: Initially, women were largely excluded from official involvement in any physiological society. The American Physiological Society, for example, was founded in 1887 and included only men in its ranks. In 1902, the American Physiological Society elected Ida Hyde as the first female member of the society. Hyde, a representative of the American Association of University Women and a global advocate for gender equality in education, attempted to promote gender equality in every aspect of science and medicine.


title: Physiology

text: Soon thereafter, in 1913, J.S. Haldane proposed that women be allowed to formally join The Physiological Society, which had been founded in 1876. On 3 July 1915, six women were officially admitted: Florence Buchanan, Winifred Cullis, Ruth C. Skelton, Sarah C. M. Sowton, Constance Leetham Terry, and Enid M. Tribe. The centenary of the election of women was celebrated in 2015 with the publication of the book "Women Physiologists: Centenary Celebrations And Beyond For The Physiological Society." ()


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Demaryius Antwon Thomas (December 25, 1987 – December 9, 2021) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for ten seasons, primarily with the Denver Broncos. He played college football for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and was drafted by the Broncos in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft. With Denver, Thomas made four Pro Bowls and won Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers. He also played for the Houston Texans, New England Patriots, and New York Jets.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas was born in Montrose, Georgia on December 25, 1987. When he was a child, police raided the house where his mother and grandmother lived. His mother was sentenced to 20 years in prison, and his grandmother to life in prison, for crack cocaine distribution. By all accounts a shy and introverted child, Thomas grew up with his aunt and uncle after his mother was sent to prison. As a child, he was given the nickname "Bay Bay" by his uncle in reference to the bad kids from the movie "Bébé's Kids". On July 13, 2015, President Barack Obama commuted his mother's sentence. She was released at midnight on November 11, 2015 and saw her son play football for the first time on January 17, 2016. On August 2, 2016, Obama commuted the sentence of Thomas' grandmother.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas attended West Laurens High School in Dexter, Georgia, where he was a three-sport star in basketball, football, and track. He played wide receiver for the Raiders football team under the direction of then head coach John Kenny. As a junior in 2004, he recorded 32 receptions for 330 yards and three touchdowns. Thomas was named an all-region and all-Heart of Georgia player. As a senior, he recorded 82 receptions for 1,234 yards and ten touchdowns. After the game, he participated in the North-South All-Star game. Thomas was again selected as an all-region and all-Heart of Georgia, and "The Atlanta Journal-Constitution" named him to its Class AA all-state first team and PrepStar to its All-Region team. Scout.com assessed him as the 22nd-ranked college prospect in the state of Georgia, and Rivals.com rated him the 34th-ranked such prospect. He received scholarship offers from Duke, Georgia, and Georgia Tech.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: In addition to playing football, Thomas competed in track & field at West Laurens. He earned a fourth-place finish in the triple jump event at the 2006 Georgia Olympics after clearing a personal-best mark of 13.92 meters (45–4). As a sprinter, he posted a personal-best time of 10.99 seconds in the 100-meter dash and was a member of the 4 × 100 m relay squad.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas chose to attend the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) where he majored in management. Under Yellow Jackets head coach Chan Gailey, Thomas sat out the 2006 season as a redshirt freshman.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas made his collegiate debut in the 33–3 victory over Notre Dame, recording a single reception for nine yards. He scored his first collegiate touchdown on a 56-yard pass from Taylor Bennett in the Yellow Jackets' fourth game against Virginia. In the following game, against Maryland, Thomas recorded his best statistical game of the season with nine receptions for 139 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 28–26 loss. In the 2007 Humanitarian Bowl, he made four receptions for 69 yards and a touchdown in the 40–28 loss to Fresno State. "The Sporting News" named Thomas to its freshman All-Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) first team and a freshman All-America honorable mention. In 2007, he saw action in all 13 games including 10 starts, and recorded 35 receptions for 558 yards, which ranked second on the team behind Greg Smith's 588 yards. In addition, he led the team with four receiving touchdowns.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: In 2008, Paul Johnson was hired as the head coach and implemented the run-heavy triple option offense. Thomas considered transferring but decided against doing so. During the season, he recorded 39 receptions for 627 yards and three touchdowns as the leading receiver. Despite playing in a heavily run-oriented system, as one of the team's few experienced players, Thomas recorded relatively high numbers for the Yellow Jackets. Still, compared with other receivers in the Atlantic Coast Conference Thomas's statistics were much smaller. He said, "Sometimes I think about [not getting many passes], but most of the time I just want to win." Thomas's mark was the best of any wide receiver from the school since Calvin Johnson had 1,202 yards in 2006. In the 27–0 victory over Duke on October 4, he caught nine receptions for 230 yards, the second-most in a single game in school history.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas started his senior season strong with four receptions for 101 receiving yards in a 37–17 victory over Jacksonville State. In the third game, he had six receptions for 133 yards and a touchdown in the 33–17 loss to Miami. On October 3, against Mississippi State, he had eight receptions for 174 yards and one touchdown in the 42–31 victory. On November 28, in the rivalry game against Georgia, he had five receptions for 127 yards and a touchdown in the 30–24 loss. Georgia Tech finished the regular season with a 10–2 record and qualified for the ACC Championship Game against Clemson. In the 39–34 victory, Thomas recorded a 70-yard receiving touchdown. The Yellow Jackets qualified for the Orange Bowl. Thomas played in the game against Iowa but did not record any statistics in his final collegiate game.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Overall in 2009, during his redshirt junior year at Georgia Tech, Thomas had a breakout season with 46 receptions for 1,154 yards and eight touchdowns. This earned him First-Team All-ACC honors. He finished his collegiate career with 120 catches for a conference-leading 2,339 yards and 14 touchdowns.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Many draft experts had him gaining momentum with NFL scouts going into the last couple weeks leading up to the draft and most had him as the number one or two-rated wide receiver along with Dez Bryant in the 2010 NFL Draft, including "Sporting News". On January 8, 2010, he declared for the 2010 NFL Draft.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas broke his foot and was unable to participate in combine drills. He scored second highest among wide receivers with 34 on the Wonderlic test, second only to friend, fellow wide receiver, and future teammate Eric Decker, who had the highest score in the Combine with 43.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: The Denver Broncos selected Thomas in the first round, as the 22nd overall pick, in the 2010 NFL Draft. He was the first wide receiver to be chosen that year. On July 31, 2010, the Broncos signed him to a five-year, $12.155 million contract with $9.35 million guaranteed.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: In his NFL debut, Thomas had eight receptions for 97 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown as the Broncos defeated the Seattle Seahawks by a score of 31–14. Thomas's first career touchdown reception came on a 21-yard reception from quarterback Kyle Orton. He was just the ninth player since 1970 to record at least eight catches in his first game. Thomas had the second-most catches by a rookie in franchise history, trailing only Eddie Royal, who had nine in a game against the Oakland Raiders in 2008. The highlight of Thomas's season came when he beat All-Pro cornerback Darrelle Revis for a 17-yard touchdown when the Broncos hosted the New York Jets in a 24–20 loss in Week 6 on October 17.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas was plagued by injuries during his rookie season. He first missed playing time due to a forearm injury and then a concussion; an ankle injury rendered him inactive for five more games late in the season.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas finished his rookie season with 22 receptions for 283 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: On February 10, 2011, it was announced that Thomas had torn his achilles tendon while working out and was expected to miss a majority, if not the entirety, of the 2011 season. However, he was surprisingly activated from the Physically Unable to Perform List prior to the start of the season. Broncos general manager Brian Xanders said that Demaryius had responded to rehab well and was "ready to go." Unfortunately, during his first practice back, Thomas broke his left pinkie finger and missed the first five games of the season.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas made his season debut on October 23, 2011, in Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins. He linked up with quarterback Tim Tebow on a five-yard reception for the Broncos' first score of the game. Denver went on to win by a score of 18–15 in overtime. Despite this early promise, he only had four receptions for 76 total yards in the next five games as the Broncos moved towards a run-heavy option offense. Thomas broke his leg in a Week 13 game against the Minnesota Vikings on December 4, 2011. In that game, he recorded 144 yards and two touchdowns on four receptions. He ended the season strongly, emerging as Tebow's favorite receiver and setting a franchise record by leading the Broncos in both receiving and targets over the final seven games.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: In the first round of the playoffs, Thomas truly made his presence felt. On January 8, 2012, in the , Thomas caught the game-winning, 80-yard touchdown pass from Tebow on the opening play of overtime to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 29–23. The victory occurred in the first non-sudden death playoff game in NFL history. Prior to this game, if the first team scored a field goal, the game would have ended. The rule was changed to where only a safety or a touchdown would end the game before both teams could possess the ball. However, the new rules were not applied as Thomas's touchdown still marked the end of the game. The entire play took 10 seconds, and is the fastest ending to an overtime in NFL history to date. The touchdown was the longest playoff overtime score in NFL history. Thomas ended with a stat-line of four receptions for 204 yards and a touchdown in his playoff debut. It marked the most receiving yards by a Bronco in playoff history and the second-highest receiving average (51.0) in a single game in NFL annals. Thomas had six receptions for 93 yards the following week in a 45–10 loss to the New England Patriots.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas was coming off surgery to remove pins in his left pinkie when quarterback Peyton Manning signed with the Broncos during the 2012 offseason. This meant that, unlike fellow receiver Eric Decker, he was unable to participate in workouts with Manning. Thomas, however, made an effort to improve his route-running and quickly caught up. Manning noted during training camp that Thomas's "size, strength and speed just allow you to do certain things with him that other players just can't do."


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Despite reports describing the connection between Thomas and Manning as "balky", Thomas found success again in the Broncos' first game of the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Down 13–7, Thomas, in a move reminiscent of his game-winning touchdown in the playoffs, burned the Steelers with a 71-yard catch-and-run. The touchdown was notable because it was the first touchdown Manning had thrown in the NFL for a team other than the Indianapolis Colts, and it was also the 400th of Manning's career, making Manning just the third player in NFL history to reach that milestone. Thomas finished the day with five receptions for 110 receiving yards and the touchdown.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas set regular-season career highs in both catches, with nine, and receiving yards, with 180, in the road loss to the New England Patriots on October 7, 2012. In Week 8, against the New Orleans Saints, he had seven receptions for 137 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown in the 34–14 victory. He tied his career high of nine catches in games against the Carolina Panthers in Week 10 and the Cleveland Browns in Week 16. Thomas registered three catches for 37 yards and one touchdown in the Broncos' 2OT Divisional Round loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas had a breakout year in 2012, recording 94 receptions for 1,434 yards and 10 touchdowns. He led the team in targets, receptions, and yards, and ranked eighth in the league in receptions, fourth in yards, and seventh in touchdowns. He was selected to his first Pro Bowl in the 2012 season after receiver Wes Welker withdrew due to injury. He was ranked 68th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2013 list.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Starting the season strong, Thomas had five receptions for 161 yards and two touchdowns in a Week 1 victory over Baltimore Ravens. As he had done in Week 1 of the 2012 season, Thomas took a screen pass for a 78-yard touchdown. This was quarterback Peyton Manning's seventh touchdown pass of the game, which tied him with five other quarterbacks for the most in a single game in NFL history. Thomas's 161 receiving yards were the second-most in franchise history for a season-opening game, trailing only Shannon Sharpe's 180 in the Broncos' 1995 regular season opener. He recorded his first multi-touchdown performance of the season with two against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 52–20 victory in Week 4. Thomas received AFC Offensive Player of the Week honors for the first time in his career in the Broncos' Week 10 win over the San Diego Chargers. He posted seven receptions, 108 yards, and three touchdowns. In the following game against the Kansas City Chiefs, he had five receptions for 121 yards in the 27–17 victory. In Week 16, against the Houston Texans, he had eight receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in the 37–13 victory. In the regular season finale against the Oakland Raiders, he had six receptions for 113 yards and two touchdowns in the 34–14 victory.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas total contributions to the Broncos' historic season on offense were significant. He caught Manning's 55th touchdown, which set an NFL record for the most touchdowns thrown by a quarterback in a single season. Manning also broke the single season passing yardage mark on that same pass to Thomas. His 633 yards after catch was second in the entire league. Manning, who said that Thomas "got great speed and power and it's fun to watch once he gets it in his hands", attributed part of Thomas' success to "all the runs he had to practice at Georgia Tech".


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Recording 92 catches for 1,430 yards and 14 touchdowns during the 2013 regular season, Thomas ranked ninth in the league for receptions, fourth in yards, and second in touchdowns. His 14 touchdowns paced all wideouts in the NFL. Thomas led the team in targets, receptions, and yards for the second consecutive year. He also led the team in receiving touchdowns.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas was again voted to the Pro Bowl in 2013. He was selected to the Associated Press All-Pro team for the first time in his career.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas averaged 9.33 receptions and 102 yards per game during the 2013–2014 playoffs, including the Super Bowl. He also scored a touchdown in every playoff game. In the against the San Diego Chargers, he had eight receptions for 54 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 24–17 victory. In the , against the New England Patriots, he had seven receptions for 134 receiving yards and a touchdown in the 26–16 victory. Thomas set a then NFL record for most catches in a Super Bowl game by a player (James White broke the record in Super Bowl LI with 14 catches), despite reportedly playing most of the game with a separated shoulder. In Super Bowl XLVIII, Thomas had a then-Super Bowl record 13 receptions for 118 yards and a touchdown, but the Broncos lost 43–8 to the Seattle Seahawks. He was ranked #49 by his peers on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2014 list.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas started the 2014 season quietly with 13 receptions for 142 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown combined in the first three games, a 2–1 stretch for Broncos. On October 5, 2014, against the Arizona Cardinals, Thomas made eight receptions for 226 yards, breaking the franchise record for receiving yards in a single game held by Shannon Sharpe, and two touchdowns, of which one went for a career-high 86 yards. He earned his second AFC Offensive Player of the Week honor for his performance against the Cardinals. On October 19, 2014, against the San Francisco 49ers, Thomas caught all-time record-breaking 509th touchdown pass. The historic touchdown reception was part of a day where Thomas had eight receptions for 171 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 42–17 victory. In Week 9, against the New England Patriots, he had seven receptions for 127 receiving yards. On November 16, 2014, in a Week 11 game against the St. Louis Rams, Thomas caught seven passes for 103 yards, extending his own franchise record for consecutive 100 yard games to seven, in the 22–7 loss. Thomas finished second only to Pittsburgh's Antonio Brown in receiving yards for the 2014 season, with a career-high 1,619 yards off a career-high 111 catches. He was named to his third consecutive Pro Bowl for the 2014 season. He was ranked 20th by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015 list.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: The Broncos finished with a 12–4 record and played against the Indianapolis Colts in the . He had five receptions for 59 yards and a touchdown in the 24–13 loss.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: On March 3, 2015, the Denver Broncos placed the franchise tag ($12.823 million) on Thomas. Reports indicated that the tag is non-exclusive, which means that Thomas can negotiate with other teams, and the Broncos have the right to match any offer, or receive two first-round picks as compensation.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: On July 15, 2015, Thomas signed a five-year, $70 million contract extension with the Broncos, just hours before the deadline for franchise players. The deal was similar in structure to Dez Bryant's contract extension with the Dallas Cowboys. Bryant was also franchise tagged and signed just hours before Thomas. He was also drafted just two picks after Thomas, going 24th overall in the 2010 NFL Draft. Between Peyton Manning struggling with a plantar fasciitis injury and Brock Osweiler never having a career start before the season, Thomas's production dropped, but he still had 105 receptions for 1,304 receiving yards and six receiving touchdowns.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: After a 60-yard performance in the 19–13 victory over the Baltimore Ravens in the season opener, Thomas recorded eight receptions for 116 yards in the 31–24 "Thursday Night Football" victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2. In a Week 6 overtime victory over the Cleveland Browns, he had 10 receptions for 111 receiving yards. He followed that up with eight receptions for 168 receiving yards in the 29–10 victory over the Green Bay Packers in Week 8. Following a Week 9 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, where Peyton Manning was benched for a stint in favor of Brock Osweiler, Thomas's production slightly dropped. From Weeks 10 to 15, he averaged 61.8 yards per game but scored four receiving touchdowns in that stretch. In a Week 15 loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers, he recorded his only game of the 2015 season with two receiving touchdowns. In the regular season finale, a 27–20 victory over the San Diego Chargers, he had five receptions for 117 receiving yards and a 72-yard receiving touchdown from Osweiler on the second play from scrimmage. The game saw Manning return from the bench to help edge the Broncos to victory.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: The Broncos finished the season 12–4 and earned the #1 seed for the AFC playoffs. The Broncos defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in the by a score of 23–16 and the New England Patriots in the by a score of 20–18 to make it to Super Bowl 50, where they defeated the Carolina Panthers by a score of 24–10 to give Thomas his first Super Bowl title. Thomas had one catch for eight yards in the Super Bowl. He was ranked 62nd by his fellow players on the NFL Top 100 Players of 2015 list.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Going into the 2016 season, the Denver Broncos lost both quarterbacks that contributed to the team's Super Bowl run; Manning to retirement, and Brock Osweiler to the Houston Texans. Before the 2016 season started, Trevor Siemian was named the starter for the Broncos. Thomas recorded six receptions for 100 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in a Week 3 29–17 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals. In the next two games, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Atlanta Falcons, he scored receiving touchdowns to make three consecutive games in which he recorded a score. In Week 14 against the Tennessee Titans, he recorded 10 receptions for 126 receiving yards in the 13–10 loss.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: After his fifth consecutive 1,000-yard season, Thomas was selected to the 2017 Pro Bowl. He played in the game and recorded two receptions for 37 yards in the 20–13 victory for the AFC. He finished the 2016 season with 90 receptions for 1,083 receiving yards and five receiving touchdowns.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas remained a strong presence for the Broncos despite inconsistent quarterback play in 2017. His best statistical game came in Week 6 against the New York Giants on "NBC Sunday Night Football". In the 23–10 loss, he had ten receptions for 133 yards. From Weeks 8 to 10, he recorded three consecutive games with a receiving touchdown respectively against the Philadelphia Eagles, New England Patriots, and Cincinnati Bengals.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: He led the team with 83 receptions for 949 yards and five touchdowns as the Broncos struggled to a 5–11 record.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Going into the 2018 season, the Broncos had a new quarterback in Case Keenum. In the first four games of the season, Thomas totaled 20 receptions for 168 receiving yards and a touchdown. In Week 5, he had his best output of the season to that point with five receptions for 105 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown in a 34–16 loss to the New York Jets.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: On October 30, 2018, the Broncos traded Thomas and a seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft to the Houston Texans for a fourth and seventh round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: In his debut with the Texans, he had three receptions for 61 receiving yards in the 19–17 victory over the Broncos, his former team. In Week 12, against the Tennessee Titans, he recorded four receptions for 38 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns in the 34–17 victory. During Week 16, Thomas was carted off the field in the second half of a 32–30 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles with an apparent Achilles injury. It was revealed that he suffered a torn Achilles and was placed on injured reserve on December 24, 2018.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: In the 2018 season, combined with his time with the Broncos and Texans, Thomas recorded 59 receptions for 677 yards and five touchdowns.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: On April 16, 2019, Thomas signed a one-year contract with the New England Patriots. He was released during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019. Three days later, on September 2, 2019, the Patriots re-signed Thomas to a one-year contract, but he never played a regular-season game for the team.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: On September 10, 2019, Thomas was traded to the New York Jets in exchange for a sixth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. He made his Jets' debut in a Week 2 loss to the Cleveland Browns. He scored his first and only touchdown as a Jet on a 14-yard pass from Sam Darnold in a 22–21 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 14.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: In the 2019 season, Thomas appeared in 11 games and recorded 36 receptions for 433 yards and a touchdown.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: Thomas was an evangelical Christian, and he frequently posted about his faith on his Twitter account. He had a tattoo of a portrait of Jesus on his left arm bearing the phrase "Jesus Saves".


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: On July 15, 2016, Thomas was honored by the city council of Dublin, Georgia, which named the day as Demaryius Thomas Day.


title: Demaryius Thomas

text: On December 9, 2021, Thomas was discovered unconscious at his residence in Roswell, Georgia. He was later pronounced dead at the age of 33. The cause of death was believed to be a seizure, secondary to injuries Thomas suffered in a 2019 car crash. Police said that his death was attributed to a "medical issue". After his death, his brain was donated to Boston University for examination, which tested positive for chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE), a neurodegenerative condition associated with repeated head trauma.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Iñaki Williams Arthuer (born 15 June 1994) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Athletic Bilbao and the Ghana national team.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Developed at Athletic Bilbao's academy, he has made over 350 first-team appearances for the club, including an ongoing La Liga record of over 240 consecutive games. He scored the winning goal of the 2020–21 Supercopa de España.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Born in Spain to Ghanaian parents, Williams made his full debut for the Spain national team in 2016. In 2022, he chose to represent Ghana at international level, being selected for the 2022 World Cup.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Born in Bilbao, Biscay to Ghanaian parents (who reached Spain by crossing the Sahara on foot and jumping the Melilla border fence), Williams spent most of his childhood living in Pamplona, specifically the neighbourhood, and was playing youth football with local CD Pamplona when he was spotted by Athletic Bilbao, who signed him to their youth setup at Lezama at the age of 18. He spent his first season with the "Juvenil A" side and made a big impression, scoring at the rate of almost a goal a game (eventually ending with 36); the team finished runners-up in the Copa del Rey Juvenil de Fútbol, and on 25 June 2013 he signed a new contract with the Basque club, running until 2017.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Williams began 2013–14 playing with the farm team Basconia who competed in the Tercera División. After suffering a knee injury in August, he returned to activity in October, making his senior debut and marking it with a goal. He was immediately called up to the reserves in the Segunda División B and by the end of the same month had played his first match and scored his first goals at that level; he spent the campaign alternating between both squads.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: At the start of 2014–15, Williams scored a hat-trick for Bilbao Athletic in a 4–0 win against Amorebieta, and followed this on 7 September 2014 with another treble in a 5–1 win over Leioa. Despite only playing the first half of the season, his 13 goals from 18 appearances helped the team ascend to the Segunda División.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: On 6 December 2014, after profiting from Aritz Aduriz's injury, Williams made his first-team (and La Liga) debut, starting in a 1–0 home loss against Córdoba. He netted his first goal on 19 February of the following year, starting and contributing to a 2–2 draw at Torino in the UEFA Europa League round of 32, becoming in the process the first black player to score for the club.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: On 17 May 2015, Williams scored his first goal in the top flight, netting a last-minute winner in a 3–2 away victory over Elche to help Athletic come from being behind 2–0. Thirteen days later, he headed a consolation goal in the 3–1 loss to Barcelona in the final of the Copa del Rey at the Camp Nou. He missed the 2015 Supercopa de España victory over the same opponents three months later through injury.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Williams scored a brace (before giving away a penalty) in a 3–1 win away to Betis, on 1 November 2015. He repeated the feat the following match, at home against Partizan in the Europa League group stage (5–1). Finding the net in his third match running, he scored "a phenomenal volley" to help beat Espanyol 2–1 at the San Mamés.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: In late January 2016, having been scouted by the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester City, Williams agreed to an extension of his contract until 2021; the deal included a €50 million buyout clause. He was sent off on 6 February at the end of a goalless home draw with Villarreal, together with opponent Daniele Bonera.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: During autumn 2017, Williams scored important late goals in the Europa League against Östersund and Hertha BSC to help his team finish top of the group. On 17 January 2018, he agreed a contract renewal, running until 2025 with an incremental buyout clause of around €80 million.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: On 13 January 2019, Williams scored both goals in a 2–0 home league win over Sevilla, finding the net at San Mamés for the first time in 41 league appearances (the previous occasion being in December 2016). His second, involving a turn and sprint from his own half, touch away from the goalkeeper and precise finish at high speed, was described as "incredible" – it was later awarded as the "Marca" Golden Goal of the season. The fixture was also his 100th successive appearance in the league, only the fifth Athletic player to achieve this and the first outfield player from any Spanish club to do so since Fran in 1993; for his performances, he was named the La Liga Player of the Month.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Williams signed a nine-year contract in August 2019, with his release clause set at €135 million. Late in the same month he started and scored in a 2–0 Basque derby win for his 122nd consecutive Spanish League game, setting a new record by an outfield player in the 21st century ahead of goalkeeper Diego López. On 24 November, he repeated the feat in a 2–1 away victory against Osasuna, breaking a 31–game undefeated streak of the hosts at their El Sadar Stadium; the occasion also marked his 133rd consecutive appearance in the Spanish top tier, establishing a new club record previously held by Carmelo Cedrún.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: On 17 January 2021, Williams scored from 20 metres early into extra time of an eventual 3–2 win over Barcelona in the Spanish Supercup final. On 11 September, he celebrated his 300th appearance for Athletic with a goal in a 2–0 victory against Mallorca. A week later, he became the only second player to play in 200 successive Spanish league games as he started in a 0–0 draw away to defending champions Atlético Madrid. On 1 October, he set a new record outright with his 203rd consecutive appearance in the home match with Alavés, breaking the mark set by Juan Antonio Larrañaga of Real Sociedad between 1986 and 1992.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: On 17 April 2022, after starting against Celta, Williams passed the six-year mark since he last missed a league match for the club, and extended his own Spanish top-flight record of consecutive games to 224.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: On 20 March 2015, Williams received his first international call-up, being named in Albert Celades' Spain under-21 squad for friendlies with Norway and Belarus. He made his debut on the 26th against the former, replacing goalscorer Munir El Haddadi at half-time of a 2–0 friendly win in Cartagena.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Williams was listed as one of 11 standby players for Vicente del Bosque's Spain squad at UEFA Euro 2016. He made his senior debut on 29 May, replacing fellow debutant Marco Asensio at the hour mark of a 3–1 friendly defeat of Bosnia and Herzegovina.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: On 12 October 2018, Williams debuted for the Basque representative side, playing the full 90 minutes of a 4–2 win over Venezuela at the Mendizorrotza Stadium.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Around the time of his Spain debut in 2016, Williams was also coveted by the Ghanaian national team, being watched by their Spanish scout Gerard Nus. In 2021, having made no competitive appearances for Spain which would have tied him to his birth nation permanently, he spoke of the possibility of playing for Ghana: "My parents are from Accra and I really enjoy going. But I wasn't born or raised there, my culture's here, and there are players for whom it would mean more. I don't think it would be right to take the place of someone who really deserves to go and who feels Ghana 100%." Local media interpreted this as a rejection of any approach from the "Black Stars".


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Ultimately, on 5 July 2022, Williams announced that he was making himself available for the African nation in time for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In September, he received his first call-up for friendlies with Brazil and Nicaragua. He made his debut against the former, playing the second half of the 3–0 loss in Le Havre. He was selected in Ghana's squad for the finals in Qatar; within the team, he was nicknamed "Kweku" due to the day in which he was born, a Ghanaian custom.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Williams received his Basque first name in honour of a Caritas Internationalis worker in Bilbao who helped his parents after they arrived in Spain in the year he was born; they had been advised by an unidentified lawyer to claim to be from a war-torn country, namely Liberia, when they first entered the country. His younger brother, Nico, is also a footballer and a forward; he too was brought up at Athletic Bilbao.


title: Iñaki Williams

text: Williams was one of the stars of the Amazon Prime television documentary series "Six Dreams", recorded during the 2017–18 season. He can speak Spanish, Akan, Basque and English. In 2021, he said that he and his family had lost fluency in English, but still communicated with relatives in the Twi dialect of Akan.


title: Loitering munition

text: A loitering munition (also known as a suicide drone or kamikaze drone) is an aerial weapon system category in which the munition loiters (waits passively) around the target area for some time and attacks only once a target is located. Loitering munitions enable faster reaction times against concealed or hidden targets that emerge for short periods without placing high-value platforms close to the target area, and also allow more selective targeting as the attack can easily be aborted.


title: Loitering munition

text: Loitering munitions fit in the niche between cruise missiles and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs), sharing characteristics with both. They differ from cruise missiles in that they are designed to loiter for a relatively long time around the target area, and from UCAVs in that a loitering munition is intended to be expended in an attack and has a built-in warhead. As such, they can also be considered a nontraditional ranged weapon.


title: Loitering munition

text: Loitering weapons first emerged in the 1980s for use in the Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD) role against surface-to-air missiles (SAMs), and were deployed for the SEAD role in a number of military forces in the 1990s. Starting in the 2000s, loitering weapons have been developed for additional roles ranging from relatively long-range strikes and fire support down to tactical, very short range battlefield systems that fit in a backpack.


title: Loitering munition

text: Initially, loitering munitions were not referred to as such but rather as 'suicide UAVs' or 'loitering missiles'. Different sources point at different projects as originating the weapon category. The early 1980s initial Israeli Delilah variants or the failed US AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow program are mentioned by some sources. Alternatively, the late 1980s IAI Harpy which was widely exported is considered by some as the first loitering munition system. Whereas the Iranian Ababil-1 was produced in the 1980s but its exact production date is unknown.


title: Loitering munition

text: Early projects did not use the "loitering munition" nomenclature that emerged much later, and used terminology existing at the time. For instance the AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow was described in a 1988 article:


title: Loitering munition

text: The response to the first generation of fixed installation surface-to-air missiles (SAMs) such as S-75 and S-125 was the development of the anti-radiation missile such as AGM-45 Shrike and other means to attack fixed SAM installations, as well as developing SEAD doctrines. The Soviet counter-response was the use of mobile SAMs such as 2K12 Kub with intermittent use of radar. Thus, the SAM battery was only visible for a small period of time, during which it was also a significant threat to high-value Wild Weasel fighters. In 1982 Operation Mole Cricket 19 various means including UAVs and air-launched Samson decoys were used over suspected SAM areas to saturate enemy SAMs and to bait them to activate their radar systems, which were then attacked by anti-radiation missiles.


title: Loitering munition

text: In the 1980s, a number of programs, such as the IAI Harpy or the AGM-136 Tacit Rainbow, integrated anti-radiation sensors into a drone or missile air frames coupled with command and control and loitering capabilities. This allowed the attacking force to place relatively cheap munitions in place over suspected SAM sites, and to attack promptly the moment the SAM battery is visible. This integrated the use of a drone as a baiting decoy with the attack role into one small and relatively cheap platform in comparison to the alternative wild weasel jet fighter.


title: Loitering munition

text: Starting in the 2000s, loitering weapons have been developed for additional roles beyond the initial SEAD role ranging from relatively long-range strikes and fire support down to tactical, very short-range battlefield use such as the AeroVironment Switchblade which is deployed at the platoon level and fits in a backpack. A documented use of loitering munitions was in 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in which an IAI Harop was used against a bus functioning as a troop transport for Armenian soldiers.


title: Loitering munition

text: Loitering munitions may be as simple as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with attached explosives that is sent on a potential "kamikaze" mission, and may even be constructed with off the shelf commercial quadcopters with strapped on explosives.


title: Loitering munition

text: Purpose-built munitions are more elaborate in flight and control capabilities, warhead size and design, and on-board sensors for locating targets. Some loitering munitions use a human operator to locate targets whereas others, such as IAI Harop, can function autonomously searching and launching attacks without human intervention. Another example is UVision HERO solutions – the loitering systems are operated remotely, controlled in real time by a communications system and equipped with an electro-optical camera whose images are received by the command and control station.


title: Loitering munition

text: Some loitering munitions may return and be recovered by the operator if they are unused in an attack and have enough fuel; in particular this is characteristic of UAVs with a secondary explosive capability. Other systems, such as the Delilah don't have a recovery option and are self-destructed in mission aborts.


title: Loitering munition

text: Loitering munitions fit in the niche between cruise missiles and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs).


title: Loitering munition

text: Whereas some cruise missiles, such as the block IV Tomahawk, have the ability to loiter and have some sensory and remote control features, their primary mission is typically strike and not target acquisition. Cruise missiles, as their name implies, are optimized for long-range flight at constant speed both in terms of propulsion systems and wings or lifting body design. They are often unable to loiter at slow fuel-efficient speeds which significantly reduces potential loiter time even when the missile has some loiter capabilities.


title: Loitering munition

text: Conversely almost any UAV could be piloted to crash onto a target and most could be fitted with an improvised explosive warhead. However the primary use of a UAV or UCAV would be for recoverable flight operations carrying reconnaissance equipment and/or munitions. While many UAVs are explicitly designed with loitering in mind, they are not optimized for a diving attack, often lacking forward facing cameras, lacking in control response-speed which is unneeded in regular UAV flight, and are noisy when diving, potentially providing warning to the target. UAV's, being designed as multi-use platforms, often have a unit cost that is not appropriate for regular one-time expendable mission use.


title: Loitering munition

text: The primary mission of a loitering munition is reaching the suspected target area, target acquisition during a loitering phase, followed by a self-destructive strike, and the munition is optimized in this regard in terms of characteristics (e.g. very short engine life time, silence in strike phase, speed of strike dive, optimization toward loitering time instead of range/speed) and unit cost (appropriate for a one-off strike mission).


title: Loitering munition

text: Loitering munitions that are capable of making autonomous attack decisions (man out of the loop) raise moral, ethical, and international humanitarian law concerns because a human being is not involved in making the actual decision to attack and potentially kill humans, as is the case with fire-and-forget missiles in common use since the 1960s. Whereas some guided munitions may lock-on after launch or may be sensor fuzed, their flight time is typically limited and a human launches them at an area where enemy activity is strongly suspected, as is the case with modern fire-and-forget missiles and airstrike planning. An autonomous loitering munition, on the other hand, may be launched at an area where enemy activity is only probable, and loiter searching autonomously for targets for potentially hours following the initial launch decision, though it may be able to request final authorization for an attack from a human. The IAI Harpy and IAI Harop are frequently cited in the relevant literature as they set a precedent for an aerial system (though not necessarily a precedent when comparing to a modern naval mine) in terms of length and quality of autonomous function, in relation to a cruise missile for example.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The Texas Revolution (October 2, 1835 – April 21, 1836) was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos (Hispanic Texans) in putting up armed resistance to the centralist government of Mexico. Although the uprising was part of a larger one, the Mexican Federalist War, that included other provinces opposed to the regime of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. The Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag". Only the province of Texas succeeded in breaking with Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas. It was eventually annexed by the United States.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The revolution began in October 1835, after a decade of political and cultural clashes between the Mexican government and the increasingly large population of Anglo-American settlers in Texas. The Mexican government had become increasingly centralized and the rights of its citizens had become increasingly curtailed, particularly regarding immigration from the United States. Mexico had officially abolished slavery in Texas in 1830, and the desire of Anglo Texans to maintain the institution of chattel slavery in Texas was also a major cause of secession. Colonists and Tejanos disagreed on whether the ultimate goal was independence or a return to the Mexican Constitution of 1824. While delegates at the Consultation (provisional government) debated the war's motives, Texians and a flood of volunteers from the United States defeated the small garrisons of Mexican soldiers by mid-December 1835. The Consultation declined to declare independence and installed an interim government, whose infighting led to political paralysis and a dearth of effective governance in Texas. An ill-conceived proposal to invade Matamoros siphoned much-needed volunteers and provisions from the fledgling Texian Army. In March 1836, a second political convention declared independence and appointed leadership for the new Republic of Texas.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Determined to avenge Mexico's honor, Santa Anna vowed to personally retake Texas. His Army of Operations entered Texas in mid-February 1836 and found the Texians completely unprepared. Mexican General José de Urrea led a contingent of troops on the Goliad Campaign up the Texas coast, defeating all Texian troops in his path and executing most of those who surrendered. Santa Anna led a larger force to San Antonio de Béxar (or Béxar), where his troops defeated the Texian garrison in the Battle of the Alamo, killing almost all of the defenders.


title: Texas Revolution

text: A newly created Texian army under the command of Sam Houston was constantly on the move, while terrified civilians fled with the army, in a melee known as the Runaway Scrape. On March 31, Houston paused his men at Groce's Landing on the Brazos River, and for the next two weeks, the Texians received rigorous military training. Becoming complacent and underestimating the strength of his foes, Santa Anna further subdivided his troops. On April 21, Houston's army staged a surprise assault on Santa Anna and his vanguard force at the Battle of San Jacinto. The Mexican troops were quickly routed, and vengeful Texians executed many who tried to surrender. Santa Anna was taken hostage; in exchange for his life, he ordered the Mexican army to retreat south of the Rio Grande. Mexico refused to recognize the Republic of Texas, and intermittent conflicts between the two countries continued into the 1840s. The annexation of Texas as the 28th state of the United States, in 1845, led directly to the Mexican–American War.


title: Texas Revolution

text: After a failed attempt by France to colonize Texas in the late 17th century, Spain developed a plan to settle the region. On its southern edge, along the Medina and Nueces Rivers, Spanish Texas was bordered by the province of Coahuila. On the east, Texas bordered Louisiana. Following the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, the United States also claimed the land west of the Sabine River, all the way to the Rio Grande. From 1812 to 1813 anti-Spanish republicans and U.S. filibusters rebelled against the Spanish Empire in what is known today as the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition during the Mexican War of Independence. They won battles in the beginning and captured many Texas cities from the Spanish that led to a declaration of independence of the state of Texas as part of the Mexican Republic on April 17, 1813. The new Texas government and army met their doom in the Battle of Medina in August 1813, 20 miles south of San Antonio, where 1,300 of the 1,400 rebel army were killed in battle or executed shortly afterwards by royalist soldiers. It was the deadliest single battle in Texas history. 300 republican government officials in San Antonio were captured and executed by the Spanish royalists shortly after the battle. Antonio López de Santa Anna, future President of Mexico, fought in this battle as a royalist and followed his superiors' orders to take no prisoners. Another interesting note is two founding fathers of the Republic of Texas and future signers of the Texas Declaration of Independence in 1836, José Antonio Navarro and José Francisco Ruiz, took part in the Gutiérrez–Magee Expedition. Although the United States officially renounced that claim as part of the Transcontinental Treaty with Spain in 1819, many Americans continued to believe that Texas should belong to their nation, and over the next decade the United States made several offers to purchase the region.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Following the Mexican War of Independence, Texas became part of Mexico. Under the Constitution of 1824, which defined the country as a federal republic, the provinces of Texas and Coahuila were combined to become the state Coahuila y Tejas. Texas was granted only a single seat in the state legislature, which met in Saltillo, hundreds of miles away. After months of grumbling by "Tejanos" (Mexican-born residents of Texas) outraged at the loss of their political autonomy, state officials agreed to make Texas a department of the new state, with a "de facto" capital in San Antonio de Béxar.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Texas was very sparsely populated, with fewer than 3,500 residents, and only about 200 soldiers, which made it extremely vulnerable to attacks by native tribes and American filibusters. In the hopes that an influx of settlers could control the Indian raids, the bankrupt Mexican government liberalized immigration policies for the region. Finally able to settle legally in Texas, Anglos from the United States soon vastly outnumbered the "Tejanos". Most of the immigrants came from the southern United States. Many were slave owners, and most brought with them significant prejudices against other races, attitudes often applied to the "Tejanos". Mexico's official religion was Roman Catholicism, yet the majority of the immigrants were Protestants who distrusted Catholics.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Mexican authorities became increasingly concerned about the stability of the region. The colonies teetered at the brink of revolt in 1829, after Mexico abolished slavery. In response, President Anastasio Bustamante implemented the Laws of April 6, 1830, which, among other things, prohibited further immigration to Texas from the United States, increased taxes, and reiterated the ban on slavery. Settlers simply circumvented or ignored the laws. By 1834, an estimated 30,000 Anglos lived in Coahuila y Tejas, compared to only 7,800 Mexican-born residents. By the end of 1835, almost 5,000 enslaved Africans and African Americans lived in Texas, making up 13 percent of the non-Indian population.


title: Texas Revolution

text: In 1832, Antonio López de Santa Anna led a revolt to overthrow Bustamante. Texians, or English-speaking settlers, used the rebellion as an excuse to take up arms. By mid-August, all Mexican troops had been expelled from east Texas. Buoyed by their success, Texians held two political conventions to persuade Mexican authorities to weaken the Laws of April 6, 1830. Bustamante was replaced by the liberal federalist Valentin Gomez Farias, who would attempt to reach a compromise with the Texans. In November 1833, the Mexican government attempted to address some of their concerns, repealing some sections of the law and granting the colonists further concessions, including increased representation in the state legislature. Stephen F. Austin, who had brought the first American settlers to Texas, wrote to a friend that "Every evil complained of has been remedied." Mexican authorities were quietly watchful, concerned that the colonists were maneuvering towards secession.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Santa Anna overthrew Gomez Farias in April 1834, and soon revealed himself to be a centralist, inaugurating the Centralist Republic of Mexico. In 1835, the 1824 Constitution was overturned; state legislatures were dismissed, militias disbanded. Federalists throughout Mexico were appalled. Citizens in the states of Oaxaca and Zacatecas took up arms. After Santa Anna's troops subdued the rebellion in Zacatecas in May, he gave his troops two days to pillage the city; over 2,000 noncombatants were killed. The governor of Coahuila y Tejas, Agustín Viesca, refused to dissolve the legislature, instead ordering that the session reconvene in Béxar, further from the influence of the Mexican army. Although prominent "Tejano" Juan Seguín raised a militia company to assist the governor, the Béxar "ayuntamiento" (city council) ordered him not to interfere, and Viesca was arrested before he reached Texas.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Public opinion in Texas was divided. Editorials in the United States began advocating complete independence for Texas. After several men staged a minor revolt against customs duties in Anahuac in June, local leaders began calling for a public meeting to determine whether a majority of settlers favored independence, a return to federalism, or the status quo. Although some leaders worried that Mexican officials would see this type of gathering as a step towards revolution, by the end of August most communities had agreed to send delegates to the Consultation, scheduled for October 15.


title: Texas Revolution

text: As early as April 1835, military commanders in Texas began requesting reinforcements, fearing the citizens would revolt. Mexico was ill-prepared for a large civil war, but continued unrest in Texas posed a significant danger to the power of Santa Anna and of Mexico. If the people of Coahuila also took up arms, Mexico faced losing a large portion of its territory. Without the northeastern province to act as a buffer, it was likely that United States influence would spread, and the Mexican territories of Nuevo Mexico and Alta California would be at risk of future American encroachment. Santa Anna had no wish to tangle with the United States, and he knew that the unrest needed to be subdued before the United States could be convinced to become involved. In early September, Santa Anna ordered his brother-in-law, General Martín Perfecto de Cos, to lead 500 soldiers to Texas to quell any potential rebellion. Cos and his men landed at the port of Copano on September 20. Austin called on all municipalities to raise militias to defend themselves.


title: Texas Revolution

text: In the early 1830s, the army loaned the citizens of Gonzales a small cannon for protection against Indian raids. After a Mexican soldier bludgeoned a Gonzales resident on September 10, 1835, tensions rose even further, and Mexican authorities felt it unwise to leave the settlers with a weapon. Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, commander of all Mexican military forces in Texas, sent a small detachment of troops to retrieve the cannon. After settlers escorted the group from town without the cannon, Ugartechea sent 100 dragoons with Lieutenant Francisco de Castañeda to demand compliance, with orders to avoid force if possible.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Many of the settlers believed Mexican authorities were manufacturing an excuse to attack the town and eliminate the militia. Texians stalled Castañeda's attempts to negotiate the cannon's return for several days as they waited for reinforcements from other colonies. In the early hours of October 2, approximately 140 Texian volunteers attacked Castañeda's force. After a brief skirmish, Castañeda requested a meeting with Texian leader John Henry Moore. Castañeda revealed that he shared their federalist leanings, but that he was honor-bound to follow orders. As Moore returned to camp, the Texians raised a homemade white banner with an image of the cannon painted in black in the center, over the words "Come and Take It". Realizing that he was outnumbered and outgunned, Castañeda led his troops back to Béxar. In this first battle of the revolution, two Mexican soldiers were killed, and one Texian was injured when he fell off his horse. Although the event was, as characterized by historian William C. Davis, "an inconsequential skirmish in which one side did not try to fight", Texians soon declared it a victory over Mexican troops. News of the skirmish spread throughout the United States, encouraging many adventurers to come to Texas to join the fight.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Volunteers continued to arrive in Gonzales. On October 11, the troops unanimously elected Austin, who had no official military experience, the leader of the group he had dubbed the Army of the People. From the beginning, the volunteer army proved to have little discipline. Austin's first official order was to remind his men that they were expected to obey their commanding officers. Buoyed by their victory, the Texians were determined to drive the Mexican army out of Texas, and they began preparing to march to Béxar.


title: Texas Revolution

text: After learning that Texian troops had attacked Castañeda at Gonzales, Cos made haste for Béxar. Unaware of his departure, on October 6, Texians in Matagorda marched on Presidio La Bahía in Goliad to kidnap him and steal the $50,000 that was rumored to accompany him. On October 10, approximately 125 volunteers, including 30 "Tejanos", stormed the presidio. The Mexican garrison surrendered after a thirty-minute battle. One or two Texians were wounded and three Mexican soldiers were killed with seven more wounded.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The Texians established themselves in the presidio, under the command of Captain Philip Dimmitt, who immediately sent all the local "Tejano" volunteers to join Austin on the march to Béxar. At the end of the month, Dimmitt sent a group of men under Ira Westover to engage the Mexican garrison at Fort Lipantitlán, near San Patricio. Late on November 3, the Texians took the undermanned fort without firing a shot. After dismantling the fort, they prepared to return to Goliad. The remainder of the Mexican garrison, which had been out on patrol, approached. The Mexican troops were accompanied by 15–20 loyal centralists from San Patricio, including all members of the "ayuntamiento". After a thirty-minute skirmish, the Mexican soldiers and Texian centralists retreated. With their departure, the Texian army controlled the Gulf Coast, forcing Mexican commanders to send all communication with the Mexican interior overland. The slower land journey left Cos unable to quickly request or receive reinforcements or supplies.


title: Texas Revolution

text: On their return to Goliad, Westover's group encountered Governor Viesca. After being freed by sympathetic soldiers, Viesca had immediately traveled to Texas to recreate the state government. Dimmitt welcomed Viesca but refused to recognize his authority as governor. This caused an uproar in the garrison, as many supported the governor. Dimmitt declared martial law and soon alienated most of the local residents. Over the next few months, the area between Goliad and Refugio descended into civil war. Goliad native Carlos de la Garza led a guerrilla warfare campaign against the Texian troops. According to historian Paul Lack, the Texian "antiguerilla tactics did too little to crush out opposition but quite enough to sway the uncommitted toward the centralists."


title: Texas Revolution

text: While Dimmitt supervised the Texian forces along the Gulf Coast, Austin led his men towards Béxar to engage Cos and his troops. Confident that they would quickly rout the Mexican troops, many Consultation delegates chose to join the military. Unable to reach a quorum, the Consultation was postponed until November 1. On October 16, the Texians paused from Béxar. Austin sent a messenger to Cos giving the requirements the Texians would need to lay down their arms and "avoid the sad consequences of the Civil War which unfortunately threatens Texas". Cos replied that Mexico would not "yield to the dictates of foreigners".


title: Texas Revolution

text: The approximately 650 Mexican troops quickly built barricades throughout the town. Within days the Texian army, about 450 strong, initiated a siege of Béxar, and gradually moved their camp nearer Béxar. On October 27, an advance party led by James Bowie and James Fannin chose Mission Concepción as the next campsite and sent for the rest of the Texian army. On learning that the Texians were temporarily divided, Ugartechea led troops to engage Bowie and Fannin's men. The Mexican cavalry was unable to fight effectively in the wooded, riverbottom terrain, and the weapons of the Mexican infantry had a much shorter range than those of the Texians. After three Mexican infantry attacks were repulsed, Ugartechea called for a retreat. One Texian soldier had died, and between 14 and 76 Mexican soldiers were killed. Although Texas Tech University professor emeritus Alwyn Barr noted that the battle of Concepción "should have taught ... lessons on Mexican courage and the value of a good defensive position", Texas history expert Stephen Hardin believes that "the relative ease of the victory at Concepción instilled in the Texians a reliance on their long rifles and a contempt for their enemies".


title: Texas Revolution

text: As the weather turned colder and rations grew smaller, groups of Texians began to leave, most without permission. Morale was boosted on November 18, when the first group of volunteers from the United States, the New Orleans Greys, joined the Texian army. Unlike the majority of the Texian volunteers, the Greys looked like soldiers, with uniforms, well-maintained rifles, adequate ammunition, and some semblance of discipline.


title: Texas Revolution

text: After Austin resigned his command to become a commissioner to the United States, soldiers elected Edward Burleson as their new commander. On November 26, Burleson received word that a Mexican pack train of mules and horses, accompanied by 50–100 Mexican soldiers, was within of Béxar. After a near mutiny, Burleson sent Bowie and William H. Jack with cavalry and infantry to intercept the supplies. In the subsequent skirmish, the Mexican forces were forced to retreat to Béxar, leaving their cargo behind. To the disappointment of the Texians, the saddlebags contained only fodder for the horses; for this reason the battle was later known as the Grass Fight. Although the victory briefly uplifted the Texian troops, morale continued to fall as the weather turned colder and the men grew bored. After several proposals to take Béxar by force were voted down by the Texian troops, on December 4 Burleson proposed that the army lift the siege and retreat to Goliad until spring. In a last effort to avoid a retreat, Colonel Ben Milam personally recruited units to participate in an attack. The following morning, Milam and Colonel Frank W. Johnson led several hundred Texians into the city. Over the next four days, Texians fought their way from house to house towards the fortified plazas near the center of town.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Cos received 650 reinforcements on December 8, but to his dismay most of them were raw recruits, including many convicts still in chains. Instead of being helpful, the reinforcements were mainly a drain on the dwindling food supplies. Seeing few other options, on December 9, Cos and the bulk of his men withdrew into the Alamo Mission on the outskirts of Béxar. Cos presented a plan for a counterattack; cavalry officers believed that they would be surrounded by Texians and refused their orders. Possibly 175 soldiers from four of the cavalry companies left the mission and rode south; Mexican officers later claimed the men misunderstood their orders and were not deserting. The following morning, Cos surrendered. Under the terms of the surrender, Cos and his men would leave Texas and no longer fight against supporters of the Constitution of 1824. With his departure, there was no longer an organized garrison of Mexican troops in Texas, and many of the Texians believed that the war was over. Burleson resigned his leadership of the army on December 15 and returned to his home. Many of the men did likewise, and Johnson assumed command of the 400 soldiers who remained.


title: Texas Revolution

text: According to Barr, the large number of American volunteers in Béxar "contributed to the Mexican view that Texian opposition stemmed from outside influences". In reality, of the 1,300 men who volunteered to fight for the Texian army in October and November 1835, only 150–200 arrived from the United States after October 2. The rest were residents of Texas with an average immigration date of 1830. Volunteers came from every municipality, including those that were partially occupied by Mexican forces. However, as residents returned to their homes following Cos's surrender, the Texian army composition changed dramatically. Of the volunteers serving from January through March 1836, 78 percent had arrived from the United States after October 2, 1835.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The Consultation finally convened on November 3 in San Felipe with 58 of the 98 elected delegates. After days of bitter debate, the delegates voted to create a provisional government based on the principles of the Constitution of 1824. Although they did not declare independence, the delegates insisted they would not rejoin Mexico until federalism had been reinstated. The new government would consist of a governor and a General Council, with one representative from each municipality. Under the assumption that these two branches would cooperate, there was no system of checks and balances.


title: Texas Revolution

text: On November 13, delegates voted to create a regular army and named Sam Houston its commander-in-chief. In an effort to attract volunteers from the United States, soldiers would be granted land bounties. This provision was significant, as all public land was owned by the state or the federal government, indicating that the delegates expected Texas to eventually declare independence. Houston was given no authority over the volunteer army led by Austin, which predated the Consultation. Houston was also appointed to the Select Committee on Indian Affairs. Three men, including Austin, were asked to go to the United States to gather money, volunteers, and supplies. The delegates elected Henry Smith as governor. On November 14, the Consultation adjourned, leaving Smith and the Council in charge.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The new Texas government had no funds, so the military was granted the authority to impress supplies. This policy soon resulted in an almost universal hatred of the council, as food and supplies became scarce, especially in the areas around Goliad and Béxar, where Texian troops were stationed. Few of the volunteers agreed to join Houston's regular army. The "Telegraph and Texas Register" noted that "some are not willing, under the present government, to do any duty ... That our government is bad, all acknowledge, and no one will deny."


title: Texas Revolution

text: Leaders in Texas continued to debate whether the army was fighting for independence or a return to federalism. On December 22, Texian soldiers stationed at La Bahía issued the Goliad Declaration of Independence. Unwilling to decide the matter themselves, the Council called for another election, for delegates to the Convention of 1836. The Council specifically noted that all free white males could vote, as well as Mexicans who did not support centralism. Smith tried to veto the latter requirement, as he believed even "Tejanos" with federalist leanings should be denied suffrage.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Leading federalists in Mexico, including former governor Viesca, Lorenzo de Zavala, and José Antonio Mexía, were advocating a plan to attack centralist troops in Matamoros. Council members were taken with the idea of a Matamoros Expedition. They hoped it would inspire other federalist states to revolt and keep the bored Texian troops from deserting the army. Most importantly, it would move the war zone outside Texas. The Council officially approved the plan on December 25, and on December 30 Johnson and his aide Dr. James Grant took the bulk of the army and almost all of the supplies to Goliad to prepare for the expedition. Historian Stuart Reid posits that Grant was secretly in the employ of the British government, and that his plan to capture Matamoros, and thus tie Texas more tightly to Mexico, may have been an unofficial plan of his to advance the interests of his employers in the region.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Petty bickering between Smith and the Council members increased dramatically, and on January 9, 1836, Smith threatened to dismiss the Council unless they agreed to revoke their approval of the Matamoros Expedition. Two days later the Council voted to impeach Smith and named James W. Robinson the Acting Governor. It was unclear whether either side actually had the authority to dismiss the other. By this point, Texas was essentially in anarchy.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Under orders from Smith, Houston successfully dissuaded all but 70 men from continuing to follow Johnson. With his own authority in question following Smith's impeachment, Houston washed his hands of the army and journeyed to Nacogdoches to negotiate a treaty with Cherokee leaders. Houston vowed that Texas would recognize Cherokee claims to land in East Texas as long as the Indians refrained from attacking settlements or assisting the Mexican army. In his absence, Fannin, as the highest-ranking officer active in the regular army, led the men who did not want to go to Matamoros to Goliad.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The council had neglected to provide specific instructions on how to structure the February vote for convention delegates, leaving it up to each municipality to determine how to balance the desires of the established residents against those of the volunteers newly arrived from the United States. Chaos ensued; in Nacogdoches, the election judge turned back a company of 40 volunteers from Kentucky who had arrived that week. The soldiers drew their weapons; Colonel Sidney Sherman announced that he "had come to Texas to fight for it and had as soon commence in the town of Nacogdoches as elsewhere". Eventually, the troops were allowed to vote. With rumors that Santa Anna was preparing a large army to advance into Texas, rhetoric degenerated into framing the conflict as a race war between Anglos defending their property against, in the words of David G. Burnet, a "mongrel race of degenerate Spaniards and Indians more depraved than they".


title: Texas Revolution

text: News of the armed uprising at Gonzales reached Santa Anna on October 23. Aside from the ruling elite and members of the army, few in Mexico knew or cared about the revolt. Those with knowledge of the events blamed the Anglos for their unwillingness to conform to the laws and culture of their new country. Anglo immigrants had forced a war on Mexico, and Mexican honor insisted that the usurpers be defeated. Santa Anna transferred his presidential duties to Miguel Barragán in order to personally lead troops to put an end to the Texian revolt. Santa Anna and his soldiers believed that the Texians would be quickly cowed. The Mexican Secretary of War, José María Tornel, wrote: "The superiority of the Mexican soldier over the mountaineers of Kentucky and the hunters of Missouri is well known. Veterans seasoned by 20 years of wars can't be intimidated by the presence of an army ignorant of the art of war, incapable of discipline, and renowned for insubordination."


title: Texas Revolution

text: At this time, there were only 2,500 soldiers in the Mexican interior. This was not enough to crush a rebellion and provide security—from attacks by both Indians and federalists—throughout the rest of the country. According to author Will Fowler, Santa Anna financed the Texas expedition with three loans; one from the city of San Luis Potosí, and the other two loans from individuals Cayetano Rubio and Juan N. Errazo. Santa Anna had guaranteed at least a portion of the repayments with his own financial holdings. He began to assemble a new army, which he dubbed the Army of Operations in Texas. A majority of the troops had been conscripted or were convicts who chose service in the military over jail. The Mexican officers knew that the Brown Bess muskets they carried lacked the range of the Texian weapons, but Santa Anna was convinced that his superior planning would nonetheless result in an easy victory. Corruption was rampant, and supplies were not plentiful. Almost from the beginning, rations were short, and there were no medical supplies or doctors. Few troops were issued heavy coats or blankets for the winter.


title: Texas Revolution

text: In late December, at Santa Anna's behest, the Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag." In the early nineteenth century, captured pirates were executed immediately. The resolution thus gave the Mexican army permission to take no prisoners in the war against the Texians. This information was not widely distributed, and it is unlikely that most of the American recruits serving in the Texian army were aware that there would be no prisoners-of-war.


title: Texas Revolution

text: By December 1835, 6,019 soldiers had begun their march towards Texas. Progress was slow. There were not enough mules to transport all of the supplies, and many of the teamsters, all civilians, quit when their pay was delayed. The large number of "soldaderas"—women and children who followed the army—reduced the already scarce supplies. In Saltillo, Cos and his men from Béxar joined Santa Anna's forces. Santa Anna regarded Cos's promise not to take up arms in Texas as meaningless because it had been given to rebels.


title: Texas Revolution

text: From Saltillo, the army had three choices: advance along the coast on the Atascocita Road from Matamoros to Goliad, or march on Béxar from the south, along the Laredo road, or from the west, along the Camino Real. Santa Anna ordered General José de Urrea to lead 550 troops to Goliad. Although several of Santa Anna's officers argued that the entire army should advance along the coast, where supplies could be gained via sea, Santa Anna instead focused on Béxar, the political center of Texas and the site of Cos's defeat. His brother-in-law's surrender was seen as a blow to the honor of his family and to Mexico; Santa Anna was determined to restore both. Santa Anna may also have thought Béxar would be easier to defeat, as his spies had informed him that most of the Texian army was along the coast, preparing for the Matamoros Expedition. Santa Anna led the bulk of his men up the Camino Real to approach Béxar from the west, confounding the Texians, who had expected any advancing troops to approach from the south. On February 17, they crossed the Nueces River, officially entering Texas.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Temperatures reached record lows, and by February 13 an estimated of snow had fallen. A large number of the new recruits were from the tropical climate of the Yucatán and had been unable to acclimate to the harsh winter conditions. Some of them died of hypothermia, and others contracted dysentery. Soldiers who fell behind were sometimes killed by Comanche raiding parties. Nevertheless, the army continued to march towards Béxar. As they progressed, settlers in their path in South Texas evacuated northward. The Mexican army ransacked and occasionally burned the vacant homes. Santa Anna and his commanders received timely intelligence on Texian troop locations, strengths, and plans, from a network of "Tejano" spies organized by de la Garza.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Fewer than 100 Texian soldiers remained at the Alamo Mission in Béxar, under the command of Colonel James C. Neill. Unable to spare the number of men necessary to mount a successful defense of the sprawling facility, in January Houston sent Bowie with 30 men to remove the artillery and destroy the complex. In a letter to Governor Smith, Bowie argued that "the salvation of Texas depends in great measure on keeping Béxar out of the hands of the enemy. It serves as the frontier picquet guard, and if it were in the possession of Santa Anna, there is no stronghold from which to repel him in his march towards the Sabine." The letter to Smith ended, "Colonel Neill and myself have come to the solemn resolution that we will rather die in these ditches than give it up to the enemy." Few reinforcements were authorized; cavalry officer William B. Travis arrived in Béxar with 30 men on February 3 and five days later, a small group of volunteers arrived, including the famous frontiersman Davy Crockett. On February 11, Neill left to recruit additional reinforcements and gather supplies. In his absence, Travis and Bowie shared command.


title: Texas Revolution

text: When scouts brought word on February 23 that the Mexican advance guard was in sight, the unprepared Texians gathered what food they could find in town and fell back to the Alamo. By late afternoon, Béxar was occupied by about 1,500 Mexican troops, who quickly raised a blood-red flag signifying no quarter. For the next 13 days, the Mexican army besieged the Alamo. Several small skirmishes gave the defenders much-needed optimism, but had little real impact. Bowie fell ill on February 24, leaving Travis in sole command of the Texian forces. The same day, Travis sent messengers with a letter To the People of Texas & All Americans in the World, begging for reinforcements and vowing "victory or death"; this letter was reprinted throughout the United States and much of Europe. Texian and American volunteers began to gather in Gonzales, waiting for Fannin to arrive and lead them to reinforce the Alamo. After days of indecision, on February 26 Fannin prepared to march his 300 troops to the Alamo; they turned back the next day. Fewer than 100 Texian reinforcements reached the fort.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Approximately 1,000 Mexican reinforcements arrived on March 3. The following day, a local woman, likely Bowie's relative Juana Navarro Alsbury, was rebuffed by Santa Anna when she attempted to negotiate a surrender for the Alamo defenders. This visit increased Santa Anna's impatience, and he scheduled an assault for early on March 6. Many of his officers were against the plan; they preferred to wait until the artillery had further damaged the Alamo's walls and the defenders were forced to surrender. Santa Anna was convinced that a decisive victory would improve morale and sound a strong message to those still agitating in the interior and elsewhere in Texas.


title: Texas Revolution

text: In the early hours of March 6, the Mexican army attacked the fort. Troops from Béxar were excused from the front lines, so that they would not be forced to fight their families and friends. In the initial moments of the assault the Mexican troops were at a disadvantage. Although their column formation allowed only the front rows of soldiers to fire safely, inexperienced recruits in the back also discharged their weapons; many Mexican soldiers were unintentionally killed by their own comrades. As Mexican soldiers swarmed over the walls, at least 80 Texians fled the Alamo and were cut down by Mexican cavalry. Within an hour, almost all of the Texian defenders, estimated at 182–257 men, were killed. Between four and seven Texians, possibly including Crockett, surrendered. Although General Manuel Fernández Castrillón attempted to intercede on their behalf, Santa Anna insisted that the prisoners be executed immediately.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Most Alamo historians agree that 400–600 Mexicans were killed or wounded. This would represent about one-third of the Mexican soldiers involved in the final assault, which historian Timothy Todish remarks is "a tremendous casualty rate by any standards". The battle was militarily insignificant, but had an enormous political impact. Travis had succeeded in buying time for the Convention of 1836, scheduled for March 1, to meet. If Santa Anna had not paused in Béxar for two weeks, he would have reached San Felipe by March 2 and very likely would have captured the delegates or caused them to flee.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The survivors, primarily women and children, were questioned by Santa Anna and then released. Susanna Dickinson was sent with Travis's slave Joe to Gonzales, where she lived, to spread the news of the Texian defeat. Santa Anna assumed that knowledge of the disparity in troop numbers and the fate of the Texian soldiers at the Alamo would quell the resistance, and that Texian soldiers would quickly leave the territory.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Urrea reached Matamoros on January 31. A committed federalist himself, he soon convinced other federalists in the area that the Texians' ultimate goal was secession and their attempt to spark a federalist revolt in Matamoros was just a method of diverting attention from themselves. Mexican double agents continued to assure Johnson and Grant that they would be able to take Matamoros easily. While Johnson waited in San Patricio with a small group of men, Grant and between 26 and 53 others roamed the area between the Nueces River and Matamoros. Although they were ostensibly searching for more horses, it is likely Grant was also attempting to contact his sources in Matamoros to further coordinate an attack.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Just after midnight on February 27, Urrea's men surprised Johnson's forces. Six Texians, including Johnson, escaped; the remainder were captured or killed. After learning of Grant's whereabouts from local spies, Mexican dragoons ambushed the Texians at Agua Dulce Creek on March 2. Twelve Texians were killed, including Grant, four were captured, and six escaped. Although Urrea's orders were to execute those captured, he instead sent them to Matamoros as prisoners.


title: Texas Revolution

text: On March 11, Fannin sent Captain Amon B. King to help evacuate settlers from the mission in Refugio. King and his men instead spent a day searching local ranches for centralist sympathizers. They returned to the mission on March 12 and were soon besieged by Urrea's advance guard and de la Garza's Victoriana Guardes. That same day, Fannin received orders from Houston to destroy Presidio La Bahía (by then renamed Fort Defiance) and march to Victoria. Unwilling to leave any of his men behind, Fannin sent William Ward with 120 men to help King's company. Ward's men drove off the troops besieging the church, but rather than return to Goliad, they delayed a day to conduct further raids on local ranches.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Urrea arrived with almost 1,000 troops on March 14. At the battle of Refugio, an engagement markedly similar to the battle of Concepción, the Texians repulsed several attacks and inflicted heavy casualties, relying on the greater accuracy and range of their rifles. By the end of the day, the Texians were hungry, thirsty, tired, and almost out of ammunition. Ward ordered a retreat, and under cover of darkness and rain the Texian soldiers slipped through Mexican lines, leaving several severely wounded men behind. Over the next several days, Urrea's men, with the help of local centralist supporters, rounded up many of the Texians who had escaped. Most were executed, although Urrea pardoned a few after their wives begged for their lives, and Mexican Colonel Juan José Holzinger insisted that all of the non-Americans be spared.


title: Texas Revolution

text: By the end of the day on March 16, the bulk of Urrea's forces began marching to Goliad to corner Fannin. Still waiting for word from King and Ward, Fannin continued to delay his evacuation from Goliad. As they prepared to leave on March 18, Urrea's advance guard arrived. For the rest of the day, the two cavalries skirmished aimlessly, succeeding only in exhausting the Texian oxen, which had remained hitched to their wagons with no food or water throughout the day.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The Texians began their retreat on March 19. The pace was unhurried, and after travelling only , the group stopped for an hour to rest and allow the oxen to graze. Urrea's troops caught up to the Texians later that afternoon, while Fannin and his force of about 300 men were crossing a prairie. Having learned from the fighting at Refugio, Urrea was determined that the Texians would not reach the cover of timber approximately ahead, along Coleto Creek. As Mexican forces surrounded them, the Texians formed a tight hollow square for defense. They repulsed three charges during this battle of Coleto, resulting in about nine Texians killed and 51 wounded, including Fannin. Urrea lost 50 men, with another 140 wounded. Texians had little food, no water, and declining supplies of ammunition, but voted to not try to break for the timber, as they would have had to leave the wounded behind.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The following morning, March 20, Urrea paraded his men and his newly arrived artillery. Seeing the hopelessness of their situation, the Texians with Fannin surrendered. Mexican records show that the Texians surrendered at discretion; Texian accounts claim that Urrea promised the Texians would be treated as prisoners-of-war and granted passage to the United States. Two days later, a group of Urrea's men surrounded Ward and the last of his group less than from Victoria. Over Ward's vehement objections, his men voted to surrender, later recalling they were told they would be sent back to the United States.


title: Texas Revolution

text: On Palm Sunday, March 27, Fannin, Ward, Westover, and their men were marched out of the presidio and shot. Mexican cavalry were stationed nearby to chase down any who tried to escape. Approximately 342 Texians died, and 27 either escaped or were spared by Mexican troops. Several weeks after the Goliad massacre, the Mexican Congress granted an official reprieve to any Texas prisoners who had incurred capital punishment.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The Convention of 1836 in Washington-on-the-Brazos on March 1 attracted 45 delegates, representing 21 municipalities. Within an hour of the convention's opening, George C. Childress submitted a proposed Texas Declaration of Independence, which passed overwhelmingly on March 2. On March 6, hours after the Alamo had fallen, Travis's final dispatch arrived. His distress was evident; delegate Robert Potter immediately moved that the convention be adjourned and all delegates join the army. Houston convinced the delegates to remain, and then left to take charge of the army. With the backing of the convention, Houston was now commander-in-chief of all regular, volunteer, and militia forces in Texas.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Over the next ten days, delegates prepared a constitution for the Republic of Texas. Parts of the document were copied verbatim from the United States Constitution; other articles were paraphrased. The new nation's government was structured similarly to that of the United States, with a bicameral legislature, a chief executive, and a supreme court. In a sharp departure from its model, the new constitution expressly permitted impressment of goods and forced housing for soldiers. It also explicitly legalized slavery and recognized the people's right to revolt against government authority. After adopting the constitution on March 17, delegates elected interim officers to govern the country and then adjourned. David G. Burnet, who had not been a delegate, was elected president. The following day, Burnet announced the government was leaving for Harrisburg.


title: Texas Revolution

text: On March 11, Santa Anna sent one column of troops to join Urrea, with instructions to move to Brazoria once Fannin's men had been neutralized. A second set of 700 troops under General Antonio Gaona would advance along the Camino Real to Mina, and then on to Nacogdoches. General Joaquín Ramírez y Sesma would take an additional 700 men to San Felipe. The Mexican columns were thus moving northeast on roughly parallel paths, separated by .


title: Texas Revolution

text: The same day that Mexican troops departed Béxar, Houston arrived in Gonzales and informed the 374 volunteers (some without weapons) gathered there that Texas was now an independent republic. Just after on March 13, Susanna Dickinson and Joe brought news that the Alamo garrison had been defeated and the Mexican army was marching towards Texian settlements. A hastily convened council of war voted to evacuate the area and retreat. The evacuation commenced at midnight and happened so quickly that many Texian scouts were unaware the army had moved on. Everything that could not be carried was burned, and the army's only two cannon were thrown into the Guadalupe River. When Ramírez y Sesma reached Gonzales the morning of March 14, he found the buildings still smoldering.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Most citizens fled on foot, many carrying their small children. A cavalry company led by Seguín and Salvador Flores were assigned as rear guard to evacuate the more isolated ranches and protect the civilians from attacks by Mexican troops or Indians. The further the army retreated, the more civilians joined the flight. For both armies and the civilians, the pace was slow; torrential rains had flooded the rivers and turned the roads into mud pits.


title: Texas Revolution

text: As news of the Alamo's fall spread, volunteer ranks swelled, reaching about 1,400 men on March 19. Houston learned of Fannin's defeat on March 20 and realized his army was the last hope for an independent Texas. Concerned that his ill-trained and ill-disciplined force would only be good for one battle and aware that his men could easily be outflanked by Urrea's forces, Houston continued to avoid engagement, to the immense displeasure of his troops. By March 28, the Texian army had retreated across the Navidad and Colorado Rivers. Many troops deserted; those who remained grumbled that their commander was a coward.


title: Texas Revolution

text: On March 31, Houston paused his men at Groce's Landing, roughly north of San Felipe. Two companies that refused to retreat further than San Felipe were assigned to guard the crossings on the Brazos River. For the next two weeks, the Texians rested, recovered from illness, and, for the first time, began practicing military drills. While there, two cannons, known as the Twin Sisters, arrived from Cincinnati, Ohio. Interim Secretary of War Thomas Rusk joined the camp, with orders from Burnet to replace Houston if he refused to fight. Houston quickly persuaded Rusk that his plans were sound. Secretary of State Samuel P. Carson advised Houston to continue retreating all the way to the Sabine River, where more volunteers would likely flock from the United States and allow the army to counterattack. Unhappy with everyone involved, Burnet wrote to Houston: "The enemy are laughing you to scorn. You must fight them. You must retreat no further. The country expects you to fight. The salvation of the country depends on your doing so." Complaints within the camp became so strong that Houston posted notices that anyone attempting to usurp his position would be court-martialed and shot.


title: Texas Revolution

text: Santa Anna and a smaller force had remained in Béxar. After receiving word that the acting president, Miguel Barragán, had died, Santa Anna seriously considered returning to Mexico City to solidify his position. Fear that Urrea's victories would position him as a political rival convinced Santa Anna to remain in Texas to personally oversee the final phase of the campaign. He left on March 29 to join Ramírez y Sesma, leaving only a small force to hold Béxar. At dawn on April 7, their combined force marched into San Felipe and captured a Texian soldier, who informed Santa Anna that the Texians planned to retreat further if the Mexican army crossed the Brazos River. Unable to cross the Brazos due to the small company of Texians barricaded at the river crossing, on April 14 a frustrated Santa Anna led a force of about 700 troops to capture the interim Texas government. Government officials fled mere hours before Mexican troops arrived in Harrisburg, and Santa Anna sent Colonel Juan Almonte with 50 cavalry to intercept them in New Washington. Almonte arrived just as Burnet shoved off in a rowboat, bound for Galveston Island. Although the boat was still within range of their weapons, Almonte ordered his men to hold their fire so as not to endanger Burnet's family.


title: Texas Revolution

text: At this point, Santa Anna believed the rebellion was in its final death throes. The Texian government had been forced off the mainland, with no way to communicate with its army, which had shown no interest in fighting. He determined to block the Texian army's retreat and put a decisive end to the war. Almonte's scouts incorrectly reported that Houston's army was going to Lynchburg Crossing, on Buffalo Bayou, in preparation for joining the government in Galveston, so Santa Anna ordered Harrisburg burned and pressed on towards Lynchburg.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The Texian army had resumed their march eastward. On April 16, they came to a crossroads; one road led north towards Nacogdoches, the other went to Harrisburg. Without orders from Houston and with no discussion amongst themselves, the troops in the lead took the road to Harrisburg. They arrived on April 18, not long after the Mexican army's departure. That same day, Deaf Smith and Henry Karnes captured a Mexican courier carrying intelligence on the locations and future plans of all of the Mexican troops in Texas. Realizing that Santa Anna had only a small force and was not far away, Houston gave a rousing speech to his men, exhorting them to "Remember the Alamo" and "Remember Goliad". His army then raced towards Lynchburg. Out of concern that his men might not differentiate between Mexican soldiers and the "Tejanos" in Seguín's company, Houston originally ordered Seguín and his men to remain in Harrisburg to guard those who were too ill to travel quickly. After loud protests from Seguín and Antonio Menchaca, the order was rescinded, provided the "Tejanos" wear a piece of cardboard in their hats to identify them as Texian soldiers.


title: Texas Revolution

text: The area along Buffalo Bayou had many thick oak groves, separated by marshes. This type of terrain was familiar to the Texians and quite alien to the Mexican soldiers. Houston's army, comprising 900 men, reached Lynch's Ferry mid-morning on April 20; Santa Anna's 700-man force arrived a few hours later. The Texians made camp in a wooded area along the bank of Buffalo Bayou; while the location provided good cover and helped hide their full strength, it also left the Texians no room for retreat. Over the protests of several of his officers, Santa Anna chose to make camp in a vulnerable location, a plain near the San Jacinto River, bordered by woods on one side, marsh and lake on another. The two camps were approximately apart, separated by a grassy area with a slight rise in the middle. Colonel Pedro Delgado later wrote that "the camping ground of His Excellency's selection was in all respects, against military rules. Any youngster would have done better."