Marshes and Prairie Grasses Helped Texians Win Independence

Many a teacher has stood on the grounds of San Jacinto State Historical Site trying to explain how the massing Texian troops were not spotted by the Mexican Army and how the marsh prevented any possibility of retreat by the Mexican forces. The role topography and geography played in General Sam Houston’s victory over General Santa Anna on April 12, 1836, is difficult to envision because they both have changed. Recent and ongoing improvements are beginning to make historical interpretation of the Battle of San Jacinto much easier.

Today’s sweeping, lawn-like, park grounds at San Jacinto offer almost no place to hide. Originally, the terrain was not as flat; a rise and trees helped obscure the Texian forces. At the time of the Battle of San Jacinto, the San Jacinto River flowed slowly and was barely deep and wide enough to permit modest river commerce. Through the years, most of the area’s marshland and many of its estuaries so critical for various stages of life of marine animals subsided, buried under layers of sediment. The successful reclamation of more than 100 acres of this delicate ecosystem that once bogged down fleeing Mexican soldiers has been the result of government, corporate and community partners over a seven-year period.

A 510-foot, ADA-accessible boardwalk spanning the newly-reclaimed marsh at the edge of the park opened in 2002. Texas Parks and Wildlife now is extending this interpretive trail to a three-mile loop crossing the marsh and up into a canopy of trees to provide an alternative view of the natural surroundings. Installation of pilings for the boardwalk extension will begin in June. The Port of Houston Authority and Corps of Engineers also are embarking on a $3.3-million reclamation project along the north shoreline that includes construction of 8,000 feet of levees. This efforts will afford further protection for Houston’s vanishing tidal ecosystem.

Buttons, swivels from muskets, and musket balls are among the artifacts from the era of the Texas Revolution recently unearthed during an archeological survey. They survey is being completed prior to the implementation of additional changes recommended in the Master Plan for the park. The prime contractor for the Master Plan is Robert A. Matthai Associates of Connecticut, with planning team members including Richard Fox, PhD; Quinn Evens/Architects; Northrup Associates; Lauren Griffith Associates; Melvin F. Levine and Associates; and Carlton Abbott Partners.

Initial funding for implementation of the Master Plan was authorized through Proposition 8, which was approved by voters during the November 2001 election. Additional funds are being raised by the San Jacinto Museum of History Association. Estimates project that approximately $50 million will be required to transform the San Jacinto Battleground into a more meaningful and appropriate tribute to the heritage of Texas.

The landscape architecture firm, TBG Partners, is heading a team of experts that is executing the recommendations of the Master Plan by completing specific tasks such as an archeological survey and site planning. To the extent feasible, TBG is charged with planning the restoration of the Battleground to its 1836 condition as outlined in the Master Plan. The firm is designing a plan for the location of the new Museum/Visitor Center, recreational elements, parking, and support facilities in order to remove conflicts with the historical interpretation of the defining moment in Texas history. Vehicular traffic on the Battleground itself will be minimized as well. The plan will be presented to Texas Parks and Wildlife and the San Jacinto Museum of History Association in June.

Work currently is beginning on the restoration of 115 acres of prairie near the park entrance. Trees will be removed from this area and replaced with native grasses that would have been growing in the area in 1836. Additionally, a multi-million dollar project is underway to upgrade the Phillips Ditch, which runs along the park’s southeast boundary. Phillips Ditch protects the parkland from discharges and stormwater runoff from neighboring industries.

Visitors to the annual San Jacinto Day Celebrations on Saturday, April 26, will begin to note the differences in the battlefield area as efforts to return it to its 1836 appearance proceed. In addition to the ceremonies and reenactment of the Battle of San Jacinto, visitors can explore a treasure-trove of artifacts from early Texas housed in the San Jacinto Museum of History, located at the base of the San Jacinto Monument. They can ride to the top of the monument to get a bird’s-eye view of the 1,000-acre park, and they can experience Texas Forever!!, a rapid-fire show utilizing 42 projectors to tell the story of the Texas Revolution in hourly screenings from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission to the museum and park is free. Nominal fees are charged for monument elevator rides and for Texas Forever!! The Battleship Texas, anchored near the monument, also can be toured. The ship served in combat in World War I and World War II. For more information on the battleship and park, call 281/479-2431. For the museum and all other information, call 281/479-2421.