 On April 20, 1836, a Texas Army under the command of General Sam Houston camped along the south bank of Buffalo Bayou near its confluence with the San Jacinto River about 22 miles east of present-day Houston. This “ragtag” army had been pursued by Mexican dictator General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna and his troops for nearly seven weeks. Earlier in the spring, the Texan army retreated after the fall of the Alamo and other defeats and Texan settlers also fled from the path of the oncoming Mexican Army in an event known as the Runaway Scrape. Santa Anna swept eastward with his army, thinking that the war for Texas independence was over. As he approached Harrisburg, capital of the new Republic of Texas, President David G. Burnet, provisional president, and his staff evaded capture by moving to Galveston Island. 
Houston’s army which had been by-passed and left in the rear of the Mexican Army moved southeastward and on April 20, took a position opposite Santa Anna in his camp at the junction of the San Jacinto River and Buffalo Bayou. Early on April 21, General Cos reinforced Santa Anna’s troops with more than 500 men. The new arrivals, who had marched all night, disrupted the camp’s routine, but soon all the soldiers and officers settled down for a midday rest. About 3 p.m., Houston ordered his men to parade and the battle was launched about 4:30 p.m. .
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