The first season of this podcast described the Battle of Medina as having taken place “somewhere in the area between modern-day Lytle, Somerset, and Von Ormy.” That was way off. But this podcast wasn’t the first to express confusion over the location of the battlefield. Today, three different markers dot the Bexar-Atascosa County line claiming to mark the spot where the largest, bloodiest battle in Texas history occurred.
What was the Battle of Medina and why was it fought? How do you lose a battlefield of this size and importance, particularly in a state like Texas that is so obsessed with its history? Might we be able to use modern technology to find this “Forgotten Battlefield” that has eluded searchers now for almost a century? Listen to the introductory episode of Finding Medina to find out.
Selected Bibliography
1813 Texas Declaration of Independence.
Anonymous. “Memoria de las cosas más notables…”
Bernsen, James A. The Lost War for Texas: Mexican Rebels, American Burrites, and the Texas Revolution of 1811 (2024).
De la Teja, Jesús F. San Antonio de Béxar: A Community on New Spain's Northern Frontier (1996).
Folsom, Bradley. Arredondo: Last Spanish Ruler of Texas and Northeastern New Spain (2017).
Martínez De Vara, Art. Tejano Patriot (2020).
Menchaca, Antonio. Memoirs (1937).
Navarro, José Antonio. “The Memoirs of José Antonio Navarro, Originally Appearing in the San Antonio Ledger in 1853.”
Schwarz, Ted, and Robert H. Thonhoff. Forgotten Battlefield of the First Texas Revolution: The Battle of Medina, August 18, 1813. (1985).
Texas State Historical Association. The Handbook of Texas Online.
Tijerina, Andrés. Tejanos and Texas under the Mexican Flag, 1821-1836 (1994).
www.BrandonSeale.com
