The Texas and Spain Connection
Does it surprise you to know that there was a Texas Connection to the American Revolution?
After all, Texas wasn't even Texas at the time! We were Tejas, a colony of New Spain. Nevertheless, those early Texians played an important part in the success of the War for Independence, thanks to King Carlos III of Spain and Bernardo de Galvez, the Spanish Governor of Louisiana.
Continue Your Experience and Learn More with Our Texas Connection Booklet (pdf)!
When most people think about the American Revolution, they picture battles fought along the Atlantic coast. Few realize that Spanish Texas played an important role in helping secure American independence.
Spain secretly aided the American colonists in 1776, shortly after the Declaration of Independence was signed. In 1779, Spain declared war against Great Britain. Spanish Governor of Louisiana Bernardo de Gálvez led a Spanish campaign against British forces along the Gulf Coast. He called upon the ranching families of San Antonio and surrounding communities to support Spain's campaign against the British.
Texas ranchers answered by supplying thousands of cattle and horses, which vaqueros—the original cowboys—drove across hundreds of miles of rugged frontier to feed and equip Spanish troops fighting along the Mississippi River and Gulf Coast. We know that thousands of cattle left Texas. Unfortunately, we do not have records at this time that show the end results of these efforts—how many cattle reached Gálvez's troops.
Support for the war effort came in another form as well. Spanish soldiers, settlers, and government officials contributed donativos—financial donations requested by the Spanish Crown to fund military operations against Great Britain. These contributions helped provide supplies, equipment, and resources needed to sustain Gálvez's successful campaigns.
After the war, many American Revolutionary War Veterans and Patriots moved west. Many came to Texas to settle and raise their families. Some even went on to fight in the Texas Revolution!
Many of the historic Texas houses of Sam Houston Park (where the exhibit is held) can trace their story back to American Patriots.
Download our Texas Connection booklet to learn more of the stories of the men and women connected to those efforts: the ranchers who supplied cattle, the vaqueros who drove them east, the soldiers who served and contributed donativos, and the American Revolution patriots whose lives and legacies became part of Texas history. Together, their stories reveal a vital but often overlooked chapter in the fight for American independence.