What Happened to the Travelers?

Santa Anna and Almonte returned to celebrations at the port of Vera Cruz. Apparently the rumors of Santa Anna’s outlaw status were untrue. 

But Santa Anna was disgraced by his defeat at San Jacinto. He retired to his hacienda inland from Vera Cruz. In 1838, he staged a political comeback after losing a leg to a French cannonball while defending the port city. He became President of Mexico on several more occasions, including during the U.S.-Mexican War. He led the country to defeat. Santa Anna left power for the final time in 1855, living mostly in exile for the next 19 years. In 1874, he was allowed to return to Mexico. He died two years later, impoverished and blind, in Mexico City.

Almonte, meanwhile, later returned to Washington as Mexico’s ambassador to the United States. In the 1850s, like many Mexican elites, he became disgusted with the country’s political system and actively supported a monarchy. He served as regent of Mexico after French troops overran the country in 1863, governing the country until the new emperor, Maximilian, arrived. When Maximilian lost power, and ultimately his life, a few years later, Almonte fled to France. He died in Paris in 1869.

Bee later served as Texas Secretary of War and Secretary of State. In 1839, he went to Mexico in a failed attempt to secure recognition and a peace treaty. The next year, he became Texas’s ambassador to the United States. He fell ill in 1841, and died in his native South Carolina.

Hockley later served as Secretary of War for the Republic of Texas, and like Bee attempted failed negotiations with Mexico. He died in Texas in 1856.

Patton later served as quartermaster of the Texas Republic, and represented Bexar County (San Antonio) in the Texas Congress. He died in a raid on his ranch near San Antonio in 1842.