Experts: Spot of Mexican surrender in Texas found

DALLAS (AP) -- Archaeologists believe they have found the spot where hundreds of Mexican soldiers surrendered to the Texas army after a battle that sealed Texas' independence from Mexico.

Unfired musket balls, bayonets and cavalry ornaments were found in rows in an area about 20 yards wide and 200 yards long near an NRG Energy power plant about 20 miles east of Houston. The spot is a few miles southeast of the main battlefield.

The Dallas Morning News reported Thursday that the heavily wooded area was long suspected to be a gold mine for artifacts from the Battle of San Jacinto.

The April 21, 1836, victory established the Republic of Texas' independence from Mexico. Texas became a state nine years later.

Archaeologist Roger Moore, who led the dig, thinks the commander who organized the formal surrender was Col. Juan Almonte, who was educated in the U.S. and spoke English.

Moore theorized that the surrender was a few miles from the actual battleground because Almonte had a hard time persuading the defeated soldiers to stop running. The spot is near a gully that would have slowed their flight. Fleeing soldiers who didn't surrender were killed.

"The artifacts tell an unmistakable story of military discipline in the face of otherwise disaster," said Moore. "It probably saved their lives."

He will present the new findings at the annual Battle of San Jacinto Symposium at the University of Houston on Saturday, three days before the anniversary of the surrender.

Corporate ownership and the dense overgrowth of trees made the area unfriendly to artifact looters, thus preserving the site. The group Friends of the San Jacinto Battleground won $50,000 in grants to search the area, including $20,000 from NRG Energy.

The archaeologists used a large tractor-like machine to cut through the overgrowth, then relied on volunteers to sweep the ground with metal detectors.

The artifacts were sent to Texas A&M University for cleaning and preservation, and they will be given to the state for display at San Jacinto state park.

"I'd say this is a pretty big deal," said James Crisp, an associate professor of history at North Carolina State University and an expert on the Texas revolution.

Crisp said the artifacts offer evidence historians can use to corroborate written accounts. For example, there are reports that Almonte offered his sword to the Texans in surrender and that Sam Houston, leader of the Texas army, thought at first that the surrendering soldiers were reinforcements.

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