Texians besieged San Antonio for two months — then one veteran rallied the troops with a single shout, stormed the city house-by-house, and died three days before Mexico surrendered.
From October to December 1835, Texian volunteer forces laid siege to San Antonio de Béxar, held by Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos — a two-month standoff that tested both sides' resolve in bitter cold.
The most memorable moment came on November 26 when Texian scouts attacked a Mexican pack train expecting to capture silver and gold. Instead, they found only grass for horses — the absurd anticlimax gave the skirmish its permanent name: the Grass Fight.
By early December, morale was sinking and troops were preparing to abandon the siege entirely — until Ben Milam stepped forward and shouted the rallying cry: 'Who will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?'
Milam led a two-column assault on December 5, fighting building-by-building through the city in brutal urban combat. He was killed by a sniper on December 7, just days before victory, and is buried in what is now downtown San Antonio.
General Cos surrendered on December 10, agreeing to withdraw to Mexico. His soldiers pledged not to fight against the Constitution of 1824 — a promise Santa Anna considered meaningless and would spectacularly violate within months.
The victory netted Texians 400 small arms and 20 cannons and briefly cleared Texas of organized Mexican military presence — giving the revolution breathing room that would later be shattered at the Alamo.