Draft

Colonel Juan Seguin-

A Brief Biographical

Sketch

Juan Seguin was a native Tejeno resident of the San Antonio area. His father had first come to Texas as a Spanish Army Officer stationed at the San Antonio Prescedio. In the 1830's Juan was a Captain in the local militia and when the 1836 revolution broke out he was in the Alamo with the small force of defenders. He was ordered by Travis to carry a message seeking the reinforcements which the out numbered defenders urgently needed.

In this capacity, Juan left the Alamo making his way to East Texas where Sam Houston was gathering an army. Juan delivered his dispatch, but already it was know that the Alamo had fallen with all of its 182 defenders. He led a small company of Tejano volunteers at the Battle of San Jacinto in which the 800 man Texn force defeated the 2500 man Mexican army in an 18 minute battle that led the next day to the capture of the Mexican President and the Independence of Texas. The victory was possible because of strategic error of the Mexican President who was personally in command including a division of his forces which left his strength at the time dangerously low. Also the fact that Houston chose 3:00 PM in the Afternoon while his enemy was taking a siesta and the president was indisposed in his quarters with a lady he had acquired in San Antonio named Emlie Morgan, "the yellow rose of Texas."

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