During the War for Texas Independence, Mexican General Antonio Gaona marched his division up this road. Gaona had received his training in the Royal Spanish Army in his native Cuba. During the Mexican Revolution against Spain, however, he transferred his loyalties to those in revolt. Following Mexico’s independence in 1821, he remained in the army of his adopted country and, in 1830, was made a general. Gaona served the Republic of Mexico throughout the Texas Campaign of 1836. Shortly after the fall of the Alamo on March 6, he arrived in San Antonio de Bexar. On March 24 Mexican dictator Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna directed Gaona to lead the Morelos Battalion and The Guanajuato Auxiliaries eastward to Nacogdoches. Marching up this road, his 725-man division crossed the San Marcos River at the low-water ford here. While attempting to cross the flooded Colorado River at Bastrop, he received new orders to bring his division to San Felipe and rejoin Santa Anna’s main force. He lost his way, however, in the pine forest east of Bastrop. Consequently, he was unable to rendezvous for battle at San Jacinto. Following the Texas victory, Gaona withdrew his forces to Bexar and then southward to a point below the Rio Grande.