PRESENTATION OUTLINE
The Siege of Bexar was the longest Texian campaign of the Texas Revolution, and according to Barr, it was "the only major Texian success other than San Jacinto". According to Barr, of the 780 Texians who had participated in some way in the battle, between 30 and 35 were wounded, with 5 or 6 killed. Historian Stephen Hardin places the Texian casualties slightly lower, with 4 killed and 14 wounded. The losses were spread evenly amongst Texas residents and newcomers from the United States. Although some Texians estimated that as many as 300 Mexican soldiers were killed, historians agree that it likely that a total of 150 Mexican soldiers were killed or wounded during the five-day battle. About two-thirds of the Mexican casualties came from the infantry units defending the plazas. To celebrate their victory, Texian troops threw a fandango on the evening of December 10.
Governor Henry Smith and the governing council sent a letter to the army, calling the soldiers "invincible" and "the brave sons of Washington and freedom". After the war, those who could prove they had participated in this campaign were granted 320 acres (130 ha) of land. Eventually, 504 claims were certified. At least 79 of the Texians who participated later died at the Battle of the Alamo or the Goliad Massacre, and 90 participated in the final battle of the Texas Revolution, at San Jacinto. The Texians confiscated 400 small arms, 20 cannon, and supplies, uniforms, and equipment. During the siege, Cos's men had strengthened the Alamo mission, and the Texians chose to concentrate their forces within the Alamo rather than continue to fortify the plazas.
Cos left Bexar on December 14 with 800 men. The soldiers who were too weak to travel were left in the care of the Texian doctors. With his departure, there was no longer an organized garrison of Mexican troops in Texas, and many of the Texians believed that the war was over. Johnson described the battle as "the period put to our present war". Burleson resigned his leadership of the army on December 15 and returned to his home. Many of the men did likewise, and Johnson assumed command of the soldiers who remained. Soon after, a new contingent of Texians and volunteers from the United States arrived with more heavy artillery.
According to Barr, the large number of American volunteers "contributed to the Mexican view that Texian opposition stemmed from outside influences. That belief may have contributed in turn to Santa Anna's order of 'no quarter' in his 1836 campaign." Santa Anna was outraged that Cos had surrendered. Already in preparations to move a larger army to Texas, Santa Anna moved quickly on hearing of his brother-in-law's defeat, and by late December 1835 had begun to move his Army of Operations northward. Although many of his officers disagreed with the decision to march towards the Texian interior rather than take a coastal approach, Santa Anna was determined to first take Bexar and avenge his family's honor.
