The Runaway Scrape was the name given to the flight and subsequent hostilities that occurred, as Texian, Tejano, and American settlers and militia encountered the pursuing Mexican army in early 1836.
Settlers had fled their homes in Texas, after receiving reports of the Mexican Army, under General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, gathering on the Rio Grande in preparation to invade and retake Texas. A large scale exodus occurred after a string of Texian battle losses in the rebellion against the Centralist Mexican government.
The primary catalysts of the mass exodus were the knowledge of the defeat of the Texian forces at the Alamo with the declaration of Deguello to all Separatists of Texas by Mexican General Santa Anna and the imminent need of the Texian commander, Sam Houston, to raise and train an army large enough to confront them in battle.
Read more about Runaway Scrape: Background, Santa Anna's Progression Toward Texas, The Runaway and Scrapes
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