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12 Grandeur of Gonzales On April 21, 1836, Sam Houston's Texas army attacked and defeated Santa Anna at San Jacinto. Texas' independence was won. Even though Santa Anna had been defeated, settlers were concerned about the return of Mexican troops and threat of Indian attacks. Because of these concerns they did not return to Gonzales until 1837. TEXAS HEROES MONUMENT With the encouragement of the Gonzales Chapter of the Daughters of the Republic of Texas, the State of Texas erected this monument in 1920. The monument, created by famed sculptor Pompeo Coppini, shows a bronze statue of a Texas frontierman atop a pedestal of Llano granite. The inscription reads: "ERECTED BY THE STATE OF TEXAS IN GRATEFUL MEMORY OF THOSE HEROES WHO MADE THIS SPOT HISTORIC AS THE BIRTH-PLACE OF TEXAS INDEPENDENCE GONZALES, TEXAS 1910." CONFEDERATE MONUMENT Less than thirty years later, the men of Gonzales were called upon again. This action, the Civil War, claimed many lives of the citizens of Gonzales. The monument which now stands on Confederate Square honors those men. The statue of the Confederate soldier was sculpted by Frank Teich and erected by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, Number 545 in 1910. Following the close of the war the town began to grow. The strong economy was driven by huge cattle and cotton interests resulting in the community's most prolific building period. Because the town was totally burned during "The Runaway Scrape" in 1836, the oldest house still in existence is the Horace Eggleston House built about 1845. Photograph by Leslie Jannsen, Gonzales Camera Club Photographs on this page by Leslie Jannsen, Gonzales Camera Club

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