Under President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government began to shift away from a federalist model to a more centralized government. His increasingly dictatorial policies, including the revocation of the Constitution of 1824 in early 1835, incited federalists throughout the nation to revolt.[1] The Mexican Army quickly put down revolts throughout the country's interior, including a brutal suppression of militias in Oaxaca and Zacatecas.[1][2] Unrest continued in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. The area that bordered the United States, known as Texas, was populated primarily by English-speaking settlers, known as Texians. In October, the Texians took up arms in what became known as the Texas Revolution.[3] The following month, Texians declared themselves part of a Mexican state independent from Coahuila and created a provisional state government based on the principles of the Constitution of 1824.[4] By the end of the year, all Mexican troops had been expelled from Texas.[5]
Leading federalists in Mexico advocated a plan to attack centralist troops in Matamoros, a major Mexican port.[6] Members of the General Council, the interim Texas governing body, were enamored with the idea of a Matamoros Expedition. They hoped it would inspire other federalist states to revolt and keep the bored Texian troops from deserting the army. Most importantly, it would move the war zone outside Texas.[7] The Council officially approved the plan on December 25, and on December 30 Frank W. Johnson, the commander of the volunteer army, and his aide James Grant took the bulk of the army and almost all of the supplies to Goliad to prepare for the expedition.[8] Historian Stuart Reid posits that Grant was a British secret agent and that his efforts were an unofficial scheme to advance British interests in the region. Britain did not welcome the idea of an independent Texas, and the invasion of Matamoros was a way to tie Texas more tightly to Mexico.[9]
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