San Jacinto Monument
In 1936, a pivotal battle to separate Texas from Mexico was fought on the San Jacinto river. It was fought on April 21, 1836, and is considered the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texian Army engaged and defeated General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna’s Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen minutes. About 630 of the Mexican soldiers were killed and 730 captured, while only nine Texans died.
In commemoration of this battle, a monument was built, now open to the public. It is in the Guinness World Records as the world’s tallest memorial monument. The monument weighs 70,300,000 pounds. It is 125 feet square at the base, tapering to 30 feet square at the top. It is faced with blocks of cordova shell stone weighing 500 pounds apiece. This shell stone is over 100 million years old and was quarried from Burnet County north of Austin. The shaft walls are 4 feet thick at the base of the monument and 2 feet thick at the top.
The monument contains an inscription, part of which reads:
The Monument is only a few miles from where we are parked, and accessible via a free ferry. We took the free tour, which has some very interesting historical artifacts. We plan to go back to view the rest of the Museum, and ride the elevator to the top.
That's our ferry. Small, but efficient!
Part of the Houston Ship Canal, there is lots of boat traffic here
The Reflecting Pool. The battleship "Texas" can be seen in the background
That is one tall monument!
Laninga's Travel Blog 