Sam Houston Oak
Gonzales County, Gonzales County, Texas
Marker Inscription
1/8 mile north is Sam Houston Oak where General Sam Houston established his headquarters camp March 13, 1836, after burning the town of Gonzales. Under this oak his small army was joined by many volunteers from the eastern settlements, who went with him to San Jacinto.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
In March 1836, as Santa Anna's army pushed east after the fall of the Alamo, General Sam Houston pitched his headquarters beneath a great oak near Gonzales during the anxious retreat known as the Runaway Scrape. Here his small, ragged force gathered volunteers streaming in from the eastern settlements. From this camp they marched on toward the decisive fight at San Jacinto.
Why it matters
This quiet tree marks a hinge point in the Texas Revolution, where a retreating army regrouped before winning independence in a battle that reshaped the map of North America.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Related people
- · Sam Houston
Related events
- · Battle of San Jacinto
- · Texas Revolution
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Herder Half Moon Place
Shiner, TX
George Herder, a veteran of the Texas Revolution turned pioneer farmer and rancher, built this Greek Revival home in the 1880s in the Half Moon community. His son William later ran a butcher shop, worked the land, and opened the house to weary travelers. Held by the family for more than a century, the house and its outbuildings are the last trace of Half Moon.
David Burkett
Gonzales, TX
David Burkett came to Texas with his family in 1830 as a member of Green DeWitt's colony and took up the cause of Texas independence as a citizen soldier. In 1836 he served as a guard for the women and children fleeing Gonzales ahead of Santa Anna's advancing army — the desperate flight remembered as the Runaway Scrape. He is buried on his 4,428-acre land grant that once stretched south from this site.
Route of Gen. Sam Houston to San Jacinto
Gonzales, TX
In March 1836, reeling from news that the Alamo had fallen and facing an advancing Mexican army, Sam Houston assembled the core of his Texan force at Gonzales. On March 13 he ordered the town burned to deny it to the enemy and began the long eastward retreat later called the Runaway Scrape. Six weeks later, on April 21, that army won independence at the Battle of San Jacinto.
Gonzales Cannon
Gonzales, TX
Here on September 29, 1835, Mexican troops arrived to reclaim a small cannon the government had lent the colonists of Gonzales for defense against raids. The Texians stalled for two days while reinforcements gathered, then flung back their famous answer — "Come and Take It." The standoff over that little gun helped ignite the Texas Revolution.