The Battle of Medina, probably fought in this general vicinity in 1813, was Texas' bloodiest military engagement and grew out of wider political upheaval as Spain faced revolts across Latin America while the U.S. was at war with England. In 1812, Bernardo Gutiérrez and Lt. A.W. Magee entered Texas from Louisiana with their Republican Army of the North, captured Nacogdoches and Trinidad, and moved on to Presidio La Bahía, where they endured a four-month siege by Spanish governors and their Royalist forces. After the Royalists withdrew toward San Antonio in February 1813, the Republican Army followed in March and was ambushed in the Battle of Rosillo, but the Republicans continued on, took San Antonio, and executed the Spanish governors. Gutiérrez then established a new Republic of Texas under a green flag, but it was troubled by internal political problems. Spain responded by sending troops under Gen. Joaquín de Arredondo to retake Texas, among them Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, who later became Mexico's leader during the Texas Revolution. On Aug. 15, 1813, about 1,400 Republican troops, including American volunteers, Tejanos, Mexicans, and Native Americans, marched from San Antonio, and after being led across the plains south of the Medina River, the exhausted army met Spanish forces on Aug. 18 and was decisively defeated. Fewer than 100 escaped and most were executed, while the Spanish left the decimated Texans on the field and went on to San Antonio to punish citizens who had supported independence. Eight years later, Mexican leaders ordered the remains of the fallen soldiers buried beneath an oak tree on the battlefield, and although archaeology has not yet fixed the exact site, the battle remains an important part of Texas history.