The Battle of San Jacinto is described as what?

• A. The decisive Texan victory that secured independence
• B. A major Texan defeat
• C. A peace treaty signing
• D. A minor skirmish

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is that the Battle of San Jacinto was a decisive Texan victory that secured independence. On April 21, 1836, near present-day Houston, Sam Houston’s forces attacked Santa Anna’s Mexican army and won a swift, overwhelming victory. The Texans captured Santa Anna, which forced him to sign the Treaties of Velasco and effectively ended the Texas Revolution, paving the way for Texas to become an independent republic (and later join the United States). So this battle is described as decisive because it directly changed the political situation, making independence secure.

It isn’t a major Texan defeat, since the Texans emerged victorious. It isn’t simply a peace treaty signing—the treaty came as a result of the victory, not the event itself. And it isn’t a minor skirmish—the engagement was a large, decisive battle with significant impact on the war’s outcome.