In 1841, the disgraced Mexican dictator Santa Anna once again became president of Mexico and began to encourage harassment along the border.
Mexico tested the strength of the Texas Republic three times in 1842.
In March, Gen. Rafael Vasquez invaded Texas. He seized San Antonio on March 5, but found the city nearly empty. Anglo citizens had evacuated as news of the invasion spread. Vasquez retreated after only two days, but the threat prompted Pres. Sam Houston to move the state capital from Austin to Houston where he hoped it would be more secure from Mexican invasion.
On June 7, there was a skirmish at Ft. Lipantitlan when defense forces ousted Mexican troops led by Gen. Canales.
The most serious threat came when Gen. Adrian Woll captured San Antonio for Mexico on September 11 and held the city for more than a week. Though badly outnumbered, a contingent of Texas Rangers and volunteers reasoned that if they could lure Woll’s men out of the city, they would have better odds of winning in the rough terrain near Salado Creek where they could lay in ambush. The plan worked. After the Battle of Salado Creek, Gen. Woll retreated toward the border with the Texas Rangers in pursuit.
Texans’ reactions to these invasions varied.
- Some became suspicious of their Hispanic Texan neighbors. In a few cases, there was reason, but most of the prejudice was unfounded.
- Austin residents tolerated Pres. Houston’s move of the capital to Houston as a temporary precaution, but when he attempted (twice) to remove the archives from Austin, they voiced their displeasure in the Archives War.
- The Mier Expedition was a tragic retaliation against Mexico. In December 1842, about three hundred Texans marched on the Mexican town of Mier. Mexican troops forced them to surrender and were ordered to shoot all the captives. Later it was decided to imprison them at Matamoras, instead, until they could be transferred to Mexico City. The Texans escaped; however, all but three were recaptured. It was then that Santa Anna decreed that one in ten should be shot. The 176 men were forced to draw beans from a jar. A white bean meant imprisonment; a black bean meant death. In all, seventeen men were shot in the Black Bean Episode.
In June 1843, President Houston declared a truce, and in 1844 Austin once again became the undisputed capital of the Republic of Texas.
