A complete account of the decisive Battle of San Jacinto which wrested the independence of the state of Texas from Mexican control. Drawing its title from Edward Creasy's "Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World," this book argues that the American victory at San Jacinto changed the future history of all of North America. The 1836 battle, which saw the Mexican president Santa Anna and his army driven out of what was to become the state of Mexico and parts of at least four other US states certainly changed the course of American history, as the author asserts. Set against the backdrop of the defense of the Alamo by William Travis, and the subsequent Mexican massacre of American prisoners at Goliad, this work tells the story of the forty fateful days between the retreat from Gonzales and the epic battle at Lynchburg, now called San Jacinto. "Had the Mexican Commander consolidated his forces, the battle of San Jacinto could not have been won by the Patriot Army. Had he carefully selected his camp site and kept a diligent watch, the thin line of seven hundred and twenty odd infantry which surprised his camp in the mid-afternoon could not have reached the crest of the hill . . . Had he won, the Texas settlements would have been wiped out and Mexican supremacy would have been re-established north and east of the Rio Grande. The Anti-Slavery sentiment in the northern States was so opposed to the acquisition of more territory in which the spread of slavery was feared, that these States would have been allies of Mexico against further Southern aggression." This new edition has been completely reset, contains the entire text and all 41 original illustrations. In addition, it contains two new appendices providing a Mexican account of the battle, and of an eye-witness account of the massacre at Goliad which preceded the battle.