document_title: Pocahontas (1995 film)

question_text: who plays the voice of john smith in pocahontas

text: Pocahontas (1995 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: In 1607, the Susan Constant sails to the New World from London, carrying English settlers from the Virginia Company. On board are Captain John Smith and the voyage's leader Governor Ratcliffe, who seeks gold to bring him wealth and status. Along the way, the Susan Constant is caught in a North Atlantic storm, and Smith saves a young, inexperienced crewmate named Thomas from drowning. As they approach the New World, the settlers (including Smith) talk of adventure, finding gold, fighting 'Injuns', and perhaps settling in the new land.

text: In the Powhatan tribe in Tsenacommacah, North America, Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan, fears being possibly wed to Kocoum, a brave warrior whom she sees as too serious for her own free-spirited personality. Powhatan gives Pocahontas her mother's necklace as a present. Pocahontas, along with her friends, the raccoon Meeko and hummingbird Flit, visit Grandmother Willow, a spiritual talking willow tree, and speaks of a dream involving a spinning arrow, and her confusion regarding what her path in life should be. Grandmother Willow then alerts Pocahontas to the arriving English.

text: Ratcliffe has Jamestown built in a wooded clearing and immediately has the crewmen dig for gold. Smith departs to explore the wilderness and encounters Pocahontas. They quickly bond, fascinated by each other's worlds and end up falling in love, despite Powhatan's orders to keep away from the English after Kocoum and other warriors engage them in a fight. Meanwhile, Meeko meets Percy, Ratcliffe's dog, and becomes the bane of his existence. Pocahontas introduces Smith to Grandmother Willow and avoids two other crewmen, but Pocahontas's best friend Nakoma discovers her relationship with Smith and warns Kocoum. Ratcliffe also learns of Smith's encounters and angrily warns Smith against sparing any natives he comes across on pain of death.

text: Later, Smith and Pocahontas meet with Grandmother Willow and plan to bring peace between the colonists and the tribe. Smith and Pocahontas share a kiss, while Kocoum and Thomas (sent by Ratcliffe to spy on Smith) witness from afar. Enraged, Kocoum attacks and attempts to kill Smith, but Thomas intervenes with his musket and kills Kocoum, who destroys Pocahontas' necklace in the process. Smith commands Thomas to leave just before the tribesmen come and capture Smith while Kocoum's body is taken away. Enraged at Kocoum's death, Powhatan declares war on the English, beginning with Smith's execution at sunrise. Pocahontas tries to convince him otherwise, but Powhatan refuses to listen, as he is furious with Pocahontas for not listening to his orders to remain in the village.

text: Thomas reaches Jamestown safely at night and warns the crewmen of Smith's capture; after hearing this Ratcliffe rallies his men to battle, using this as an excuse to annihilate the tribe and find their non-existent gold. That same night, Powhatan also orders his men to prepare for battle, and they put on war paint and prepare their weapons. A desperate Pocahontas visits Grandmother Willow, where Meeko hands her Smith's compass. Pocahontas realizes Smith's compass was the spinning arrow from her real life encounter, which leads her to her destiny.

text: Just then morning comes, and Powhatan and his tribe forcibly bring Smith to a cliff overlooking a clearing for execution. Meanwhile, Ratcliffe leads the armed colonists to the cliff to fight Powhatan's warriors. Just as Powhatan is about to kill Smith, Pocahontas stops him and finally convinces him to end the fighting between the two groups. Everyone accepts gracefully, except Ratcliffe, who tries to shoot Powhatan dead in anger, but inadvertently shoots Smith instead when he shields Powhatan. Ratcliffe is then arrested by his crewmen, who turn on him for hurting their comrade. In the end, Smith is forced to return home to receive medical treatment, while Ratcliffe is also sent back to England to face punishment for his crimes. Smith asks Pocahontas to come with him, but she chooses to stay with her tribe. Meeko and Percy, now friends, give Pocahontas her mother's necklace completely fixed. Smith leaves without Pocahontas but with Powhatan's blessing to return in the future.

text: Cast[edit]

text: Irene Bedard as Pocahontas, the daughter of Chief Powhatan. She is an adventurous woman who violates her father's strict prohibition of meeting white men and falls in love with Captain John Smith. Glen Keane served as the supervising animator for Pocahontas.

text: Judy Kuhn as singing voice of Pocahontas

text:
Mel Gibson as John Smith, the love interest of Pocahontas. He is the only settler in Jamestown willing to befriend the natives due to his love for Pocahontas and acceptance of other cultures.
David Ogden Stiers as Governor Ratcliffe, the greedy and ruthlessly ambitious governor who leads an expedition to Virginia to find gold and other riches (which he wants to keep for himself).

Stiers also provided the voice of Wiggins, Ratcliffe's manservant.

John Kassir as Meeko, Pocahontas' pet raccoon who is friendly to John Smith and loves eating.
Russell Means as Chief Powhatan, Pocahontas' father and chief of the Powhatan.

text: Jim Cummings as singing voice of Chief Powhatan

text:
Christian Bale as Thomas, a loyal friend of John Smith.
Linda Hunt as Grandmother Willow, a speaking willow tree that acts as Pocahontas's guide.
Danny Mann as Percy, Governor Ratcliffe's pet pug.
Billy Connolly and Joe Baker as Ben and Lon, two of the settlers.
Frank Welker as Flit, Pocahontas' pet hummingbird who prefers Kocoum over John Smith but eventually befriends the latter.
Michelle St. John as Nakoma, Pocahontas' friend who secretly adores Kocoum.
James Apaumut Fall as Kocoum, a handsome, strong and brave but stern and aggressive Powhatan warrior who was asked to marry Pocahontas. He attempts to kill John Smith after seeing him and Pocahontas kiss, but is killed by Thomas.
Gordon Tootoosis as Kekata, the shaman of the Powhatan.

text: Jim Cummings as singing voice of Kekata

text: Three actors in the film have been involved in other Pocahontas-related projects. Gordon Tootoosis acted as Chief Powhatan in Pocahontas: The Legend (1995).[3] Christian Bale and Irene Bedard would portray John Rolfe and Pocahontas's mother, respectively, in Terrence Malick's The New World (2005).[4]

text: Production[edit]

text: Development[edit]

text: Following the release of The Rescuers Down Under (1990), director Mike Gabriel was eager to collaborate with veteran Disney story artist Joe Grant on a follow-up project that was vastly different from the animated adventure film. During Thanksgiving weekend, 1990, Gabriel considered adapting Western legends such as Annie Oakley, Buffalo Bill, and Pecos Bill to into animated films before conceiving of Pocahontas.[5] Pitching his idea at the Gong Show meeting, Gabriel wrote the title Walt Disney's Pocahontas on an image of Tiger Lily from Peter Pan (1953), to the back of which he taped a brief pitch that read "an Indian princess who is torn between her father's wishes to destroy the English settlers and her wishes to help them — a girl caught between her father and her people, and her love for the enemy."[6] Coincidentally, Feature Animation president Peter Schneider had been developing an animated version of William Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, and observed several similarities between his idea and Gabriel's Pocahontas pitch; Schneider recalled, "We were particularly interested in exploring the theme of 'If we don't learn to live with one another, we will destroy ourselves."[5][7] Gabriel's pitch was quickly accepted, becoming the quickest story turnaround in Disney studio history.[8]

text: After Beauty and the Beast (1991) was unprecedentedly nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture at the 64th Academy Awards, then-studio chairman Jeffrey Katzenberg opted to produce another sweepingly romantic animated film in the hopes of achieving a similar feat. While Aladdin (1992) and The Lion King (1994) were considered to be too far into development, Katzenberg deemed Pocahontas a promising candidate, and thus pushed for the heroine to be older, the romance between her and Smith to be more mature, and the animals to be mute.[9] Head of Story Tom Sito went on the record stating he wanted to include "broader" jokes, but the "higher-ups wanted it more winsome, more gentle. Some of the folks were so concerned about political correctness, they didn't want to be cuckoo-wacky about it."[10] Likewise, Eric Goldberg – following his contributions to Aladdin as the supervising animator of the Genie and with all animation units for The Lion King already occupied – was asked to co-direct Pocahontas alongside Gabriel, to which he agreed.[11][12] Goldberg had originally expected the film to be more comedic and cartoonish like Aladdin, but Schneider informed him that the film would be produced in a vein more similar to that of Beauty and the Beast;[13] the then-ongoing 1992 Los Angeles riots further convinced Goldberg to commit to the film due to its racial themes.[14] Executive interference would eventually grow so much that Goldberg himself decided to work for Chuck Jones Productions under the pseudonym "Claude Raynes" during production.[13] Executive paranoia peaked when Joe Grant drew Percy wearing an Indian feather, by which the animators took the concept one step further by placing a Spanish ruff on Meeko. One executive exclaimed, "Animals don't have the intelligence to switch their clothes! They don't even have opposing thumbs." The animators would retain their concept for the film.[15]

text: Under Katzenberg, Frank Wells, and Michael Eisner, the Disney studios began a correlation of hiring Broadway personnel to manage the Disney animation staff on their feature films that brought such producers as Amy Pell to Aladdin and Sarah McArthur and Thomas Schumacher to The Lion King.[16] For Pocahontas, Broadway stage manager, director, and producer James Pentecost was brought onboard where he made his feature film debut as producer.[17] In June 1992, the filmmakers embarked on a research trip to the Jamestown Settlement where Pentecost first met Shirley "Little Dove" Custalow-McGowan and Debbie "White Dove" Custalow, both descendants of the Powhatan Indians. The trip also included a visit to the Pamunkey Indian Reservation, and conducted interviews with historians at Old Dominion University.[18] Following the research trip, Custalow-McGowan served as a consultant traveling to the Disney studios three times, and while Custalow-McGowan offered her services for free, Disney paid her a $500 daily consulting fee plus expenses.[19] Ultimately, when it came to light that historical accuracy was not being pursued to the extent she had hoped, McGowan has voiced her feelings of shame she felt in conjunction with her work on the film, saying, "[she] wish[ed her] name wasn't on it".[20] Additional Native American consultants were brought in to authenticate the clothing and war dance choreography.[21]

text: That same month, Katzenberg held a meeting with the Feature Animation staff in which he predicted that Pocahontas would be a commercial hit, while deeming The Lion King experimental and less likely to succeed.[22] As a result, most of the animators of Walt Disney Feature Animation decided to work on Pocahontas instead, believing it would be the more prestigious and successful of the two.[23]

text: Writing[edit]

text: In January 1993, Carl Binder joined the project,[24] having previous expertise as a television writer on shows such as Punky Brewster, War of the Worlds, Friday the 13th: The Series, and Top Cops.[25] Four months later, Susannah Grant (no relation to Joe Grant) and Philip LaZebnik joined the writing team. Grant herself was selected by Disney as a screenwriter on Pocahontas after winning the Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting awarded by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences the year before while still attending film school.[26] Onboard as a screenwriter, she was only one of the many who was contributing the specific vision the upper management at Disney had in mind, and collaborated with Native American consultants. While working on the movie, Grant wrote to a specific story outline, and no scene was rewritten less than thirty-five times until she felt it was perfect.[27]

text: Story supervisor Tom Sito, who became the project's unofficial historical consultant, did extensive research into the early colonial era and the story of John Smith and Pocahontas, and was confronted over the historical inaccuracies from historians.[28] Already knowing that in reality Pocahontas married John Rolfe, Mike Gabriel explained it was felt that "the story of Pocahontas and Rolfe was too complicated and violent for a youthful audience" so instead, they would focus on Pocahontas's meeting with John Smith.[29] The filmmakers discovered that Pocahontas was around twelve years old and Smith was "not a very likeable character", and producer James Pentecost confessed that dramatic license was needed to be taken.[30] Likewise, when searching for an appropriate age for Pocahontas to begin her relationship with Smith, Glen Keane explained, "We had the choice of being historically accurate or socially responsible, so we chose the socially responsible side" by increasing Pocahontas's age from a girl into a young woman.[31]

text: One of Gabriel's early ideas was for Pocahontas's mother to be embodied in a certain star in the sky that by the end of the film, she would help Pocahontas find her path to Smith.[32] However, The Lion King had concurrently carried a similar idea of the ancestors giving wisdom and guidance to the protagonist so the idea was discarded.[14] Michael Eisner pushed for Pocahontas to have a mother, lamenting that "We're always getting fried for having no mothers." The writers countered that Powhatan was polygamous and formed dynastic alliances among other neighboring tribes by impregnating a local women and giving away the child, so it was believed that Pocahontas herself probably did not see her mother that much.[33] "Well", Eisner conceded, "I guess that means we're toasted."[10] Ultimately, her mother's spirit would become the swirling wind that occurs throughout the film.[32] For the villain, they chose John Ratcliffe, whose portrayal was based on actual English captains, including John Martin, Christopher Newport and Edward Maria Wingfield. In reality, it was Wingfield who despised John Smith, but the filmmakers preferred the sinister sound of "Ratcliffe".[34] The writers would continue to adapt actual events into the film such as Pocahontas warning Smith that the Indians were after him so he could escape in the middle of the night, Powhatan ordering the captured Smith to make bead necklaces to humiliate him, and Pocahontas being captured by Ratcliffe (instead of Samuel Argall), though none of them worked with the story.[10]

text: Sito mentioned that Joe Grant contributed heavily towards the film,[35] as he was the creator of Redfeather, Meeko, and Flit.[36] Redfeather was a wise-cracking turkey planning to be voiced by John Candy, and Percy, who was to be voiced by Richard E. Grant, was revised to become mute.[37] Following the death of John Candy in March 1994, co-screenwriter Susannah Grant decided the turkey was inappropriate for the script she co-wrote for Pocahontas,[38] and a more realistic approach would have the animals pantomime instead of talking.[10] Joe Grant stated Redfeather "had comic potential–he thought he was handsome, a lady's man. When we decided he couldn't talk, and, having no hands, he couldn't mime..." Grant would later draw a concept sketch of a hair-braiding raccoon, in which Glen Keane animated and claimed the directors "loved the idea and got rid of the turkey character."[39] Likewise, according to Sito, Meeko was created because they were "naturally enigmatic, because they have little hands and a little mask over their face like a thief."[40] Gabriel described the inspiration for Flit the hummingbird where "I have hummingbirds all over my backyard, [and] I thought, 'That's a great animal to animate.'"[41] According to the directors, Governor Ratcliffe's pampered pet, Percy, was based on history as the royalty of the time often carried small pugs wherever they went.[41]

text: For the spiritual ancestor, a male character named Old Man River was originally envisioned, and Gregory Peck was cast in the role. However, Peck realized the character ought to be a maternal figure and reluctantly turned down the role.[42] Conceived as a tree of life whose seasonal changes would frame the story,[43] Grandmother Willow grew out of a concept sketch of a sawed-off tree with a branch pointing to its right drawn by Grant,[44] which would serve as a narrator that would "remember back to Pocahontas 300 years earlier".[43] Grant would continue to protest to have the tree be more a character within the story, and her character flowered into the idea of a grandmotherly spiritual adviser to Pocahontas.[43] Because of Katzenberg's opposition to having Grandmother Willow in the story, Grant assisted fellow veteran story artist Burny Mattinson with coming up tree puns such as "My bark is worse than my bite", "The roots of all problems", and "They're barking up the wrong tree." Mattinson reluctantly added them to his pitch for the next morning, and during the story meeting, he exclaimed, "Everybody loved it! All of a sudden: 'Oh, I want her in!' 'Let's build her part bigger!'"[45]

text: Casting[edit]

text: In September 1992, Disney began casting actors for Pocahontas telling talent agents that they were particularly interested in Native American actors for the project.[46] For the role of Pocahontas, Broadway actress-singer Judy Kuhn was hired to provide the singing voice for the eponymous character before Irene Bedard was cast. Kuhn explained, "They said, 'You are going to do the dialogue unless we find a Native American actress whose singing voice matched yours.' I was cast before Irene, so it actually went backwards."[47] Bedard herself was filming Lakota Woman: Siege at Wounded Knee (1994) where she was informed by the casting director that they were looking for someone to voice the title role. According to Bedard, she took a train to Buffalo, New York where she was walked in wearing a sundress and a straw hat, and read for the part. Back on the set of Lakota Woman, she learned that she was cast in the role.[48] Michelle St. John had also auditioned for the role of Pocahontas, and was given the role of Nakoma after Bedard was cast.[14]

text: Mel Gibson was cast as English settler John Smith following a desire to make "something for my kids."[49] In a notable contrast to previous voice actors for Disney animated features, Gibson provided the singing voice for his character,[50] which the actor has described as the most difficult part of his role.[49] Christian Bale auditioned for the role of Thomas. As he explained in an interview with Disney Adventures, "the directors played with Thomas being Irish and Scottish and younger than I am, so I had to raise my voice and do different accents. But the more we did it, the more he became like me--older and English."[41] Richard White, the voice of Gaston in Beauty and the Beast, was supposed to voice Ratcliffe, but the crew was worried he might sound too much like Gaston, so he was replaced by his co-star David Ogden Stiers.[51] Russell Means was cast as Chief Powhatan, though he initially expressed displeasure with the script in that Native Americans addressed each other using proper names rather than the traditional "my father" or "my friend".[52] Indigenous Canadian First Nation actor Gordon Tootoosis was also cast as the tribal shaman Nekata.[53] Throughout most of the production, the cast members performed their dialogue in separate recording sessions.[54][55]

text: Design and animation[edit]

text: Renowned for animating female characters such as Ariel, supervising animator Glen Keane was immediately tapped to draw the titular Indian princess.[56] Following the demands of Jeffrey Katzenberg to make the title character "the most idealized and finest woman ever made", Keane first began to sought his inspirations for his depictions for Pocahontas from Shirley 'Little Dove' Custalow-McGowan and Devi White Dove, women he had met during the research trip to Virginia.[57] Keane recalled meeting the women:

text: So I turned around and there's this beautiful Indian woman walking up; a Native American. She said 'Are you Glen Keane? The animator that's going to do Pocahontas?' I said 'Well, yeah.' And then from behind another tree another woman came up and she said, 'Well, my name is Shirley Little Dove, and this is my sister Devi White Dove, and we are descended from Pocahontas.' And as they stood there, I mean I took a picture of both of them, and between their faces was Pocahontas' face in my mind – I could see her.[58]

text: Other inspirations were Charmaine Craig, Filipino model Dyna Taylor, Christy Turlington, Natalie Belcon, Naomi Campbell, Jamie Pillow, white supermodel Kate Moss, and Irene Bedard, who provided the character's speaking voice.[59][60][61][62] Keane also looked to a 1620 depiction of Pocahontas from a history book, though Keane would state she was "not exactly a candidate for People's 'Most Beautiful' issue [so] I made a few adjustments to add an Asian feeling to her face."[49] Because of the complexity of the color schemes, shapes, and expressions in the animation, a total of 55 animators worked on the design of Pocahontas' character alone,[63] which included Mark Henn[64] and Pres Romanillos.[65]

text: Following the closure of Sullivan-Bluth Studios in 1993, John Pomeroy, who notoriously resigned alongside Don Bluth during work on The Fox and the Hound (1981) in 1979,[66] worked on the film. Describing Smith's development throughout production, Pomeroy stated, "The first concepts looked like a real well-groomed adventurer. Kind of predictable. Then we started making him a little sloppier. We tried looks where he was sloppily dressed, or where he had a couple of days' growth of beard...At first, Smith carried a lot of guns and daggers, but eventually these were cut out. Each time the design got simpler, it got better."[41] Additionally, Pomeroy cited inspiration for John Smith from Errol Flynn and physical attributes of Gibson.[67]

text: Initially assigned as a supervising animator on The Lion King, Nik Ranieri did character designs and test animation for Timon, but moved over to Pocahontas growing frustrated with an indecisive vision from the directors. There, he was assigned to animate Redfeather until Jeffrey Katzenberg ordered for the animals to be mute. Finding feathers difficult for Redfeather to gesture with, he was again assigned to animate Meeko using a Little Golden Books animal book illustrated by Alice and Martin Provensen as reference.[68] Duncan Marjoribanks utilized geometric shapes to create Ratcliffe. In early drafts of the character, he had the body similar to a pear, but to make him appear more arrogant, the animator increased the force of gravity on his chest so that he seemed more pompous and physically threatening.[69] Chris Buck served as the supervising animator for Percy, Wiggins, and Grandmother Willow. For Grandmother Willow, the face was traditionally animated by Buck, while the cowl and the trunk of the tree was digitally animated under the supervision of Steve Goldberg. Assisted with the effect animators, a 3D software program was employed for the bark to be individually manipulated and for the face to match with the computer-generated texture.[5] The following supervising animators included Anthony DeRosa for Nakoma, Michael Cedeno for Kocoum, Ken Duncan for Thomas, T. Daniel Hofstedt for the settlers Lon and Ben, and Dave Pruiksma for Flit.[70] While Mulan (1998) was within its pre-production stages, 18 minutes were animated by 170 animators and artists at the Disney-MGM Studios.[71]

text: For the film's art director, Gabriel selected Michael Giamio who shared his painting style of shape-based and secondary art details.[72] For Giaimo, he relied on a color-saturated, elegant designs in a less-than-realistic format inspired by "prehistory Caribbean themes and creatures derived from African/Mexican folk art."[72] Giamio also drew the look and style of the film from the filmmaker's numerous visits to Jamestown, Virginia as well as by extensive research into the colonial period such as the tall, vertical shapes of the Virginian pine forests set against the vast horizontal landscapes being incorporated into the layout aspect of the film in its use of strong vertical and horizontal imagery,[17] as well as sought out inspiration from the works produced by earlier Disney art designers such as Richard Kelsey's story sketches from his unproduced film Hiawatha,[73] Eyvind Earle, who worked on Sleeping Beauty (1959),[74] and Mary Blair.[75]

text: Music[edit]

text: Howard Ashman and Alan Menken were planning to write songs for this film once they were finished working on Aladdin, but Ashman died in 1991. Following the death of his longtime collaborator, Menken wrote the remaining songs for Aladdin with Tim Rice at his home in London, which the New York-based composer found to be difficult.[76] When work on Aladdin was finished, Menken was planning to write songs for the film with Rice. However, Kevin Bannerman, the film's director of development, stated Rice "was always gallivanting around the world and it was difficult to get him and Alan together...And so here was Stephen [Schwartz], who had written scores that we all loved and we were huge fans of, and he lived in the New York area." Disney immediately contacted Stephen Schwartz, who, after working on Working, Rags, and Children of Eden, had quit theater and was taking psychology courses at New York University; he was brought on board to write the lyrics.[77][78] This would mark the first time Menken had collaborated without Ashman for a Disney animated film.[79] Menken commented that their work included moments of tension because Schwartz was also capable of writing music and Menken had had experience with lyrics. Both wanted to use the keyboard, but they arrived at a working strategy.[80]

text: Due to corporate interest in the film surrounding its theme of promoting understanding between different groups, and its inclusion of violence and threats of greater conflict, Schwartz became heavily involved in the storytelling. Bannerman estimated that he spent a week with one of the screenwriters and helped work out the overall themes of tolerance and cooperation.[81] In June 1992, Schwartz researched Jamestown, Virginia where he absorbed the atmosphere and bought tapes of Native American music and English sea shanties, as well as other music from the early seventeenth century that helped inspire numbers in the film.[82] Schwartz modeled his lyrical writing for people of other ethnicities on that of Oscar Hammerstein II and Sheldon Harnick.[83] "Colors of the Wind" was the first song to be written for the film. Gabriel, Goldberg, and Pentecost insisted that the song help define the film's "heart and soul".[14] Schwartz began "Colors" with a few draft ideas for lyrics taking inspiration from Chief Seattle's letter to the United States Congress.[84] Then, Menken wrote the melody with Schwartz listening at the piano and making suggestions. Schwartz would add lyrics before a session together where they were refined.[85] "Just Around the Riverbend", also composed by Menken and Schwartz, was devised by Schwartz's wife Carole, with the idea that Pocahontas would have a recurring dream that suggested something coming her way, paving the way for her "I Want" song.[86] The song almost did not make it into the completed film when Disney executives doubted whether her song would have the kind of impact they wanted at that point. However, Schwartz stated he and Menken "believed in it very strongly. Indeed, at one point we wrote a different song for that spot, but Alan and I were never as happy with the second song and ultimately everybody at Disney came to feel that way, too."[87]

text: The filmmakers had planned for a song for when Pocahontas and Smith met in the glade, just before Kocoum attacks his rival and one of the settlers stalking Smith kills Kocoum. There were an estimated three to four songs at this point, including "In the Middle of the River",[88] "First to Dance", which was deemed too silly to as it took place before Kocoum's death, and "Powerful Magic", which was another attempt at a happy song.[89] A love song, titled "If I Never Knew You", had been finished by the animators, but following a test screening where younger audiences were not interested in it and the teenagers felt giddy as it played, Menken suggested that the song be removed from the film. It was, although its melody remained in the orchestral underscoring.[90] The film's soundtrack was successful, reaching number-one on the Billboard 200 during the week of July 22, 1995.[91] It received a triple platinum certification.[92]

text: Release[edit]

text: Marketing[edit]

text: To replicate the promotional buzz of The Lion King, the four-minute musical number, "Colors of the Wind", was released in November 1994, accompanying a theatrical re-release of The Lion King.[93] On February 3, 1995, Disney began its promotional marketing campaign starting in San Diego, California launching a nationwide 18-week tour of fashion malls located within twenty-five cities where a mall exhibit named Pocahontas Animation Discovery Adventure was created to help promote the release.[94][95] There, a Disney animator would guide shoppers on a presentation tour, which featured a walk-through maze with interactive lily pads, flying birds, and huge video wall, a studio workshop where visitors can become the voice of their favorite animated character, and an area where visitors can electronically manipulate images. Additionally, they would demonstrate animation techniques and discuss the design and creation of the Pocahontas character.[96] Further promotional tie-ins included Burger King distributing 55 million toy replicas of the film's characters with kids' meals, Payless Shoes selling a line of moccasins, and Mattel peddling a Barbie-like Pocahontas doll.[94]

text: A behind-the-scenes documentary television special titled The Making of Pocahontas: A Legend Comes to Life was aired on June 20, 1995, on the Disney Channel where the animators, voice cast, crew, and studio heads were interviewed on the production of the film. The special was hosted by actress Irene Bedard.[97]

text: The film had the largest premiere in history, on June 10, 1995, in New York's Central Park, followed by a live performance by Vanessa Williams.[98] Disney officials estimated the crowd at 100,000.[98] The premiere's attendees included then-New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Caroline Kennedy, Mariah Carey and Michael Eisner.[98]

text: Home media[edit]

text: At first announced to be released on March 6, 1996,[99] Pocahontas was first released on VHS and laserdisc in the United States on February 28, 1996, under the "Masterpiece Collection" lineup. Some prototype copies of the VHS release used the 1989 Walt Disney Classics logo, while copies produced from February 28, 1996, onwards used the standard Masterpiece Collection logo. A deluxe VHS edition included the film and a documentary on the making of the film alongside a special edition of The Art of Pocahontas book and Disney-certified lithograph prints.[100] Released on November 13, 1996, the CAV laserdisc Deluxe Edition contained the film, a historical documentary on Pocahontas, and The Making of Pocahontas, along with added storyboards, character design artwork, concept art, rough animation, publicity and promotional trailers, the deleted "If I Never Knew You" musical sequence, and an audio commentary on a total of four double sided discs. The release was also accompanied with a Special Edition of the Art of Pocahontas book.[101] Disney initially shipped 17 million VHS copies to retail stores,[102] with nine million copies sold within its first weekend exceeding the VHS sales of Cinderella (1950) released in the previous fall but falling short of the retail sales of The Lion King.[103] By the summer of 1998, sales and rentals of the VHS release had accumulated to $200 million.[104]

text: In January 2000, Walt Disney Home Video launched the Gold Classic Collection, with Pocahontas re-issued on VHS and DVD on June 6, 2000.[105] The DVD contained the film in its 1.66:1 aspect ratio enhanced with 5.1 surround sound, and was accompanied with special features including two music videos, a trivia game, the theatrical trailer, and a "Fun with Nature" activity booklet.[106] In 2005, a 10th Anniversary 2-disc Special Edition DVD set was released, which featured a new extended cut of the film (adding two performances of "If I Never Knew You") and numerous bonus features.[107]

text: Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment released Pocahontas, alongside its sequel Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World, on Blu-ray Disc as a 2-Movie Collection on August 21, 2012.[108] In a number of countries, however, both Pocahontas and its sequel were released individually to the format. The Blu-ray was first released in Australia in February 2012 and followed by a May 30 European release and an August 21 American release. The American release is packaged for 2-disc DVD[109] (one film per disc) and 3-disc Blu-ray combo pack, featuring both films on one Blu-ray in addition to the two individual DVDs.[110]

text: Pocahontas was re-released yet again in 2016 as a Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital HD combo pack, available exclusively through the Disney Movie Club. It featured brand-new cover art, and, for the first time, a digital copy download of the film alongside the physical release.[111]

text: Reception[edit]

text: Box office[edit]

text: Timed with Pocahontas' 400th birthday,[5] Pocahontas had a limited release in North America on June 16, 1995, playing in only six selected theaters.[112] The film grossed nearly $2.7 million during the weekend of June 16–18, standing at the eighth place in the box office ranking.[113] The wide release followed on June 24, 1995, in 2,596 screens. Studio estimates initially anticipated Pocahontas earning $30.5 million, ranking first and beating out the previous box office champion Batman Forever (1995).[114] The figure was later revised to $28.8 million with Pocahontas falling second behind Batman Forever.[115] However, the final estimates placed Pocahontas narrowly ranking first grossing $29.5 million in its first weekend with Batman Forever falling into second place taking $29.2 million.[116] By January 1996, the film grossed $141.5 million in the United States,[117] being the fourth-highest-grossing film in North America behind Apollo 13 (1995), Toy Story (1995), and Batman Forever, respectively.[118] Foreign wise, the film was expected to gross $225 million outside the United States,[119] though foreign box office grosses eventually amounted to $204.5 million.[2] Cumulatively, Pocahontas grossed $346,079,773 worldwide.[2] Seen as a commercial box office disappointment in comparison to The Lion King,[120] then-Disney CEO Michael Eisner contested in an annual shareholders' meeting in January 1996 that "Pocahontas is well on its way to being one of our most successful films of all time. It equalled [sic] Beauty and the Beast's box office numbers domestically, and now it has taken Europe by storm and is playing well in every country in which it is being shown. Sales of Pocahontas merchandise have been phenomenal."[121]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Pocahontas received generally mixed reviews from film critics.[115] Roger Ebert, writing for the Chicago Sun-Times, gave the film 3 out of 4 stars writing the film was "the best-looking of the modern Disney animated features, and one of the more thoughtful" though in his print review, he was more critical of the story and portrayal of the villain ultimately summarizing that "on a list including Mermaid, Beauty, Aladdin and Lion King, I'd rank it fifth. It has a lot of good intentions, but a severe scoundrel shortage."[122] On the television program Siskel & Ebert, Ebert repeated the same sentiment, while his partner Gene Siskel was more praising of the film. Both critics gave the film a "Thumbs Up".[123] In his print review for the Chicago Tribune, Siskel awarded the film 3½ stars out of 4 commenting that the film is a "surprisingly serious, thoughtful and beautifully drawn Disney animated feature about the American birthright of exploitation and racism". He praised it for "sending powerful images to children about threats to the natural order", restoring "a certain majesty to the Indian culture", and for having "the courage that leads to the life-goes-on ending."[124]

text: The film's writing and lack of humor received mixed reviews. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly stated "With dismay, I realize that virtually everything in the movie — every character, every story twist, every song — is as generic as the two hygienic lovers. As a fairy-tale confection, a kind of West Side Story in Jamestown, Pocahontas is pleasant to look at, and it will probably satisfy very small kiddies, but it's the first of the new-era Disney cartoons that feels less than animated."[125] Peter Travers of Rolling Stone bemoaned that there were "no funny, fast-talking animals — Meeko the raccoon and Flit the hummingbird remain silent pals to Pocahontas and make you miss the verbal fun that Nathan Lane's wisecracking meerkat brought to The Lion King."[126] Desson Howe, reviewing for The Washington Post, likewise criticized the writing as recycling "elements from Snow White to The Lion King, with a father-child clash, a heroine's saintly pureness that transforms an entire people, a forbidden love, consultations with an oracle/shaman (in this case a tree spirit, voiced by Linda Hunt) and the usual sideshow of funny, fuzzy animals.[127] While calling the screenplay was the "film's weakest element", Janet Maslin of The New York Times summarized that "Gloriously colorful, cleverly conceived and set in motion with the usual Disney vigor, Pocahontas is one more landmark feat of animation. It does everything a children's film should do except send little viewers home humming its theme song."[128]

text: According to Chief Roy Crazy Horse of the Powhatan Renape Nation, the film "distorts history beyond recognition" and "perpetuates a dishonest and self-serving myth at the expense of the Powhatan Nation". Roy claims that Disney refused the tribe's offers to help create a more culturally and historically accurate film.[129] An editorial by Angela Aleiss in the Los Angeles Times pointed out America's fascination with the Indian princess who was rarely shown as having anything more important in her life than her male relationships.[130] Professor and Director of Indigenous Nations Studies Cornel Pewewardy argues that the film presents damaging stereotypes of the Native American population. Pewewardy feels that the representation of Native characters, like Grandmother Willow, Meeko, and Flit, as animals, has a marginalizing effect.[131] Anthropologist Kiyomi Kutsuzawa also observed that in the film, Kocoum and John Smith fight for Pocahontas's affection. Kutsuzawa viewed Smith's victory over Kocoum in this arena as symbolic of Western Europe's domination of the Americas and the white man's domination over men of color.[132] The lyrics of the song "Savages", in which the English and the Native Americans each accuse the other culture of being evil and subhuman, has been called insensitive by Peweardy.[131]

text: Conversely, Native American activist Russell Means, who portrays Chief Powhatan in the film, praised the film's racial overtones, saying that "Pocahontas is the first time Eurocentric male society has admitted its historical deceit. It makes the stunning admission that the British came over here to kill Indians and rape and pillage the land."[52] Means also said that the film marked "the first time, other than on Northern Exposure, that a human face has been put on an Indian female," dubbing Pocahontas "the finest feature film on American Indians Hollywood has turned out."[133] Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic concurred, writing that the film "had a progressive attitude when it came to interpreting history, depicting the English settlers as plunderers searching for non-existent gold who were intent upon murdering the 'savages' they encountered in the process."[133]

text: The review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes reports that 56% of critics gave the film a positive review based on 52 reviews, with an average score of 6/10. The site's consensus states "Pocahontas means well, and has moments of startling beauty, but it's largely a bland, uninspired effort, with uneven plotting and an unfortunate lack of fun."[134] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 from top reviews from mainstream critics, calculated a score of 58 based on 23 reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews."[135]

text: Accolades[edit]

text:
Ceremony
Recipient
Category
Result
Ref(s)

Academy Awards
"Colors of the Wind"
(Alan Menken, Composer; Stephen Schwartz, Lyricist)
Best Original Song
Won
[136]

Alan Menken (Composer), Stephen Schwartz (Lyricist)
Best Musical or Comedy Score
Won

Annie Awards

Best Animated Feature
Won
[137]

Nik Ranieri (Supervising Animator for "Meeko")
Individual Achievement for Animation
Won

Chris Buck (Supervising Animator for "Grandmother Willow")
Nominated

David Pruiksma (Supervising Animator for "Flit")
Nominated

Alan Menken (Composer)
Stephen Schwartz (Lyricist)
Best Individual Achievement for Music in the Field of Animation
Won

Michael Giamo (Art Director)
Best Individual Achievement for Production Design in Animation
Won

Rasoul Azadani (Layout Artistic Supervisor)
Nominated

Artios Awards
Brian Chavanne
Ruth Lambert
Outstanding Achievement in Animated Voice-Over Casting
Won
[138]

Environmental Media Awards

Best Feature Film
Won
[139]

Golden Globe Awards
"Colors of the Wind"
Best Original Song
Won
[140]

Alan Menken (Composer)
Best Original Score
Nominated

Golden Reel Awards

Best Sound Editing – Music Animation
Won
[141]

Grammy Awards
"Colors of the Wind"
Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media
Won
[142]

text: Historical accuracy[edit]

text: Pocahontas' real name was Matoaka. "Pocahontas" was only a nickname, and it can variously be translated to "little wanton", "playful one", "little brat" or "the naughty one".[143] In the film, Pocahontas is a young adult; in reality, she was around 10 or 11 at the time John Smith arrived with the Virginia Company in 1607.[143] In the film, Smith is portrayed as an amiable man; in reality, he was described as having a harsh exterior by his fellow colonists.[143] Historically, there is no evidence of a romantic relationship emerging between Pocahontas and John Smith.[144] English colonists led by Samuel Argall captured Pocahontas three years after John Smith departed for England; she converted to Christianity in Henricus and later married John Rolfe (who appears in the sequel), who was known for introducing tobacco as a cash crop.[144] There is much controversy over whether or not Pocahontas actually rescued John Smith from being slain by her father's tribe. Many have argued that Smith fabricated the story of Pocahontas saving his life in order to gain popularity.[145] The controversy surrounding whether or not Pocahontas saved John Smith exists largely because Smith wrote two very different accounts of his captivity. The first one, published in 1608, included a generally flattering description of Powhatan and his tribe. This first account contained no mention of almost being slain by Powhatan. It was not until Smith released his second account around 1622 that he described any cruel treatment by Powhatan, and his supposed rescue by Pocahontas. Because Smith's two accounts consist of very different facts, and because the second was released only after Pocahontas had gained prominence in England, many hypothesize that Smith embellished the story of his captivity with respect to Pocahontas.[146] Albeit captain of The Discovery, John Ratcliffe was not the first governor of the Jamestown Settlement.[147]

text: Ebert criticized the film's deviations from history, writing "Having led one of the most interesting lives imaginable, Pocahontas serves here more as a simplified symbol".[122] Animator Tom Sito defended the film's relationship to history, saying “Contrary to the popular verdict that we ignored history on the film, we tried hard to be historically correct and to accurately portray the culture of the Virginia Algonquins."[133] Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic wrote that "The movie might have fudged some facts", but that this allowed it to tell "a compelling romantic story".[133]

text: Legacy[edit]

text: Pocahontas became the first Native American Disney Princess[148] and the first woman of color to be the lead character in a Disney film.[133] A video game entitled Disney's Pocahontas based on the film was released on the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive on January 1, 1996.[149] Pocahontas was followed by a direct-to-video sequel entitled Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World (1998). Bedard and Kuhn reprised their roles as Pochantas' speaking and singing voices, respectively, while John Smith was played by Mel Gibson's brother Donal Gibson.[150] Pocahontas, alongside other Disney Princesses, is set to cameo in the film Ralph Breaks the Internet: Wreck-It Ralph 2 (2018), with Bedard returning to the role.[151]

text: Critics have also discussed the influence of Pocahontas on other films. Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic argues that the strong and brave title character of Pocahontas influenced the portrayal of subsequent heroines of Disney animated films, specifically Mulan, Rapunzel, Merida, and Elsa.[133] According to HuffPost, James Cameron's Avatar (2009) is a "rip-off" of Pocahontas.[152] Avatar's producer Jon Landau has said that that Avatar is akin to Pocahontas with the Na'vi aliens taking the place of Native Americans.[153] Cameron has said that he first conceived of Avatar in the 1960s, long before Pocahontas was released; however, he has also said that Avatar does reference the story of Pocahontas, the historical figure. Kirsten Acuna of Business Insider wrote that, while Avatar may be based on Cameron's own ideas, it nevertheless takes inspiration from animated films like Pocahontas and FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992).[154]


document_title: Siege of Béxar

question_text: who was the mexican commander who surrendered to the texans at the capturing of san antonio

root

text: Siege of Béxar

text: Background[edit]

text: In 1835, federalists in several interior Mexican states revolted against the increasingly centralist reign of Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna.[1] The Texians staged a minor revolt against customs duties in June,[2] and wary colonists soon began forming militias, ostensibly to protect themselves.[3] As protests spread across Texas, Mexican officials increasingly blamed the settlers from the United States for the discontent. As historian Alwyn Barr noted, many of the new settlers had "lived entirely within growing Anglo colonies ... and had made few adjustments to the Spanish traditions of Mexico.[4]

tag: p

text: Domingo Ugartechea, the military commander at San Antonio de Béxar (now San Antonio, Texas, USA) sent a force of 100 soldiers under Francisco de Castañeda to reclaim a small cannon that had been given to the citizens of Gonzales.[5] The request angered the Texians, who immediately sent couriers to other Anglo communities to ask for assistance. For several days the Texians stalled and reinforcements began to arrive.[6] On October 2, the Texians attacked the Mexican force; under orders to avoid bloodshed, Castaneda and his men withdrew. This Battle of Gonzales is considered the official opening of the Texas Revolution.[7] Encouraged, a small group of Texians then went to Goliad, where, at the Battle of Goliad, they succeeded in driving off the small Mexican force garrisoned at Presidio La Bahia.[8]

text: Fearing that strong measures were needed to quell the unrest, Santa Anna ordered General Martín Perfecto de Cos to lead a large force into Texas.[2] When Cos arrived in San Antonio on October 9[9] there were 647 soldiers ready for duty. When Goliad fell to the Texians, Cos lost his line of communication to the coast. Convinced that the Texians would soon attack San Antonio, he chose to take a defensive position rather than launch an attack against the Texian army.[10]

text: Two days after the Texian victory at Gonzales, respected Texian leader Stephen F. Austin reported to the San Felipe Committee of Public Safety that "War is declared—public opinion has proclaimed it against a Military despotism—The campaign has commenced".[11] His letter concluded: "One spirit and one purpose animates the people of this party of the country, and that is to take Bexar, and drive the military out of Texas. ... A combined effort of all Texas would soon free our soil of Military despots."[12] Colonists continued to assemble in Gonzales, and on October 11 they unanimously elected Austin, the first empresario granted permission to settle Anglos in the state, as their commander-in-chief.[13][14] Although Austin had no official military training, he was widely respected in Texas for his sound judgement, and he had led several excursions against raiding Indian tribes.[15]

text: Austin's first order was that the men should be prepared to march at 9 am the following morning.[14] For the rest of the day, the men practiced firing and retreating in lines.[16] Austin issued a string of orders, including barring men from indiscriminately firing their weapons and instructing them to keep their weapons in good repair at all times.[17] He also felt it necessary to, in his words "remind each citizen soldier that patriotism and firmness will but little avail, without discipline and strict obedience. The first duty of a soldier is obedience."[14] A later order instructed that "All riotous conduct and noisy clamorous talk is specially prohibited".[17] Austin also organized elections for regimental officers. John H. Moore, who had led the Texians in the Battle of Gonzales, was elected colonel. Edward Burleson, a former militia officer in Missouri and Tennessee, was named Lieutenant Colonel, and Brazoria merchant Alexander Somervell was elected Major.[18]

text: On October 12, the Texian army numbered approximately 300 men, drawn primarily from Austin's colonies and the DeWitt Colony.[16] About half of the men had entered Texas in the 1820s; the others were newer arrivals who had lived in the area less than 5 years. Several had official militia experience while they lived in the United States, and others had joined companies within Texas to counter Indian raids. Almost all of the men were proficient with firearms, as hunting was a primary source of food.[19] The men crossed the Guadalupe River that morning and paused to await further reinforcements from Nacogdoches.[20]

text: On October 13, Austin led the Texian Army toward San Antonio de Bexar, location of the last large garrison of Mexican troops in Texas.[21] Some of the Texians had no weapons; those that did had little gunpowder or shot.[15] As the army marched, Ben Milam formed a makeshift mounted company to scout ahead. On October 15 one of the scouting parties briefly skirmished with a ten-man Mexican cavalry patrol; no injuries were reported and the Mexican soldiers soon retreated to Bexar.[22]

text: The Texians arrived at Cibolo Creek, several miles east of Bexar, on October 16. Austin requested a meeting with Cos, but Cos declined to meet with a man he said was commanding an illegal force.[17][23] A Texian council of war decided to remain in place and wait for reinforcements. The following day they reversed their decision, and Austin moved his army to Salado Creek, 5 miles (8.0 km) from Bexar.[23] Over the next several days, reinforcements and supplies arrived from various English-speaking colonies. One of the new companies, commanded by James C. Neill, brought 2 new six-pounder cannons with them. The reinforcements brought the Texian official strength to 453 men, although only about 384 of them were available for duty.[24] On October 24, Austin wrote the Committee of Public Safety in San Felipe that he had "'commenced the investment of San Antonio", and that with additional reinforcements he believed the town could be taken in a matter of days.[25]

text: Meanwhile, Cos worked to fortify the town squares in San Antonio and the walls of the Alamo, a mission-turned-fort near the town. By October 26, Cos's men had mounted 11 cannon—5 in the town squares and 6 on the walls of the Alamo. An eighteen-pounder cannon, with a much longer range than the other Mexican artillery, was positioned inside the Alamo chapel.[26] Additional Mexican soldiers arrived in Bexar, and on October 24 the Mexican garrison stood at its highest number, 751 men.[27] Although the Mexican soldiers attempted to restrict access to and from the city, James Bowie was able to leave his home and join the Texians.[26] Bowie was well known throughout Texas for his fighting prowess; stories of his exploits in the Sandbar Fight and his search for the lost San Saba mine were widely reported.[28] Juan Seguin, a government official in San Antonio, arrived with 37 Tejanos on the morning of October 22, and later that day an additional 76 men joined the Texian Army from Victoria, Goliad, and the ranches south of Bexar.[29] According to Barr, the presence of the Tejanos helped to "blur the essence of ethnic conflict", providing evidence that the Texian response was not simply an overreaction by American immigrants.[29]

text: Siege[edit]

text: Investment[edit]

text: Even with the additional men, Austin realized that his army was not large enough to prevail in a full assault on Bexar. The Texians thus prepared for a siege, looking for a position that was, in the words of historian Stephen L. Hardin, "near Bexar, yet defensible against a sortie; in a position to block enemy communications arriving daily".[30] On October 22, Austin named Bowie and Captain James W. Fannin[Note 1] co-commanders of the 1st Battalion and sent them on a reconnaissance mission.[28][29] By the end of the day the Texians had seized the Espada mission from Mexican pickets.[31] On October 24, Austin informed the Committee of Public Safety that he had initiated a siege; in his opinion, the city could be taken in a few days if Texian reinforcements arrived quickly.[25]

text: Austin sent Bowie and Fannin to find another good defensive spot on October 27.[32] Rather than return immediately to Austin, as their orders specified, Bowie and Fannin instead sent a courier to take Austin directions to their chosen campsite, the former Mission Concepción.[32] The scouting party camped along the San Antonio River near the mission, which was approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) from San Antonio de Bexar and 6 miles (9.7 km) from the Texian camp at Espada.[33] An angry Austin, fearing that his army would be easily defeated now that it was split, issued a statement threatening officers who chose not to follow orders with court-martial. He ordered the army to be prepared to join Bowie and Fannin at first light.[32][34]

text: Hoping to neutralize the Texian force at Concepción before the remainder of the Texian Army arrived, Cos ordered Colonel Domingo Ugartechea to lead an early-morning assault on the forces at Concepcion on October 29.[33] The Texians had a good defensive position, surrounded by trees, which left the Mexican cavalry no room to maneuver.[35] The Mexican infantry soon found themselves outgunned, as their Brown Bess muskets had a maximum range of only 70 yards (64 m), compared to the 200-yard (180 m) effective range of the Texian long rifles.[36] The Texians were short of ammunition,[34] however, and although Mexican ammunition was plentiful it was poor quality. In several cases, Mexican musket balls bounced off Texian soldiers, causing little damage other than a bruise.[36] The Battle of Concepción lasted only 30 minutes; at that point the Mexican soldiers retreated towards Bexar.[37]

text: Less than 30 minutes after the battle ended, the rest of the Texian Army arrived.[37] Austin felt that the Mexican morale must be low after their defeat and wanted to proceed immediately to Bexar. Bowie and other officers refused, as they believed Bexar was too heavily fortified.[37] The Texians searched the area for any Mexican equipment which had been abandoned during the retreat. They found several boxes of cartridges. Complaining that the Mexican powder was "little better than pounded charcoal", the Texians emptied the cartridges but kept the bullets.[38] One Texian, Richard Andrews, died and one was wounded, while estimates of the Mexican dead range from 14 to 76.[38][39]

text: On November 1, Austin sent a note to Cos, suggesting that the Mexican army surrender. Cos returned the note unopened, with a message that he refused to correspond with rebels.[40] Austin sent men to reconnoiter the town's perimeter and discovered that the fortifications within the city were stronger than the Texians had believed. On November 2, Austin called a council of war, which voted to continue the siege and wait for reinforcements and more artillery before attacking.[41] Members of the Texian army were impatient to begin the fighting however. Austin complained to the provisional government on November 4 that "This force, it is known to all, is but undisciplined militia and in some respects of very discordant materials."[42] He followed this note with a strong plea that "In the name of Almighty God, send no more ardent spirits to this camp!"[42]

text: Consultation[edit]

text: The siege continued, and soon additional reinforcements arrived under Thomas J. Rusk, bringing the Texian army to 600. Cos also gathered reinforcements, bringing the Mexican army to 1,200 and discouraging the Texians even further from making any direct assaults on the city.

text: Sam Houston arrived in San Felipe expecting to gather for a meeting of the Consultation government, but since many of the members were fighting in the siege of Bexar, Houston instead went to the Texian army outside San Antonio. When Houston arrived in the camp, Austin offered him command of the army, but Houston declined and went ahead gathering the members of the Consultation. The members were released from the army for the meeting (except for Austin and William B. Travis) and returned to San Felipe. There the delegates agreed to fight to uphold the Constitution of 1824 rather than Texas' independence.

text: Houston was named general-in-chief of all Texas forces, except those fighting around San Antonio, and Stephen Austin was authorized to travel to the U.S. to gain support for their cause. Edward Burleson, who had been serving as Austin's second-in-command, was elected Major General and Commander-in-Chief of the Volunteer Army to replace Austin.

text: Grass Fight[edit]

text: The Texian people had little or no experience as professional soldiers, and by early November many had begun to miss their homes. As the weather turned colder and rations grew smaller, many soldiers became sick, and groups of men began to leave, most without permission.[43] On November 18, however, a group of volunteers from the United States, known as the New Orleans Greys, joined the Texian Army.[44][45] Unlike the majority of the Texian volunteers, the Greys looked like soldiers, with uniforms, well-maintained rifles, adequate ammunition, and some semblance of discipline.[45] The Greys, as well as several companies of Texians who had arrived recently, were eager to face the Mexican Army directly.[46] Encouraged by their enthusiasm, on November 21, Austin ordered an assault on Bexar the following morning. Several of his officers polled the soldiers that evening and discovered that fewer than 100 men were willing to launch an attack on Bexar; Austin then cancelled his orders.[47] Within days Austin resigned his command to become a commissioner to the United States; Texians elected Edward Burleson as their new commander.[48]

text: On the morning of November 26, Texian scout Erastus "Deaf" Smith rode into camp to report that a pack train of mules and horses, accompanied by 50–100 Mexican soldiers, was within 5 miles (8.0 km) of Bexar.[49][50] For several days, the Texians had heard rumors that the Mexican Army was expecting a shipment of silver and gold to pay the troops and purchase additional supplies.[51] The Texians had been fighting without pay, and most wanted to charge from camp and loot the expected riches.[50] Burleson ordered Bowie to investigate, but warned him not to attack unless necessary. After Bowie recruited the army's 12 best marksmen for the expedition, there was little doubt that he intended to find a reason to attack. Burleson managed to stop the entire army from following by sending Colonel William Jack with 100 infantry to support Bowie's men.[50][52]

text: About 1 mile (1.6 km) from Bexar, Bowie and his men spotted the Mexican soldiers crossing a dry ravine.[49] This was likely near the confluence of the Alazán, Apache, and San Pedro Creeks.[53] After a short battle, the Mexican soldiers withdrew towards Bexar, leaving their pack animals behind.[52] To the surprise of the Texians, the saddlebags contained not bullion, but freshly cut grass to feed the Mexican horses trapped in Bexar.[54] Four Texians were wounded in the fighting, and one soldier deserted during the battle.[54][55] Estimates of the number of Mexican casualties ranged from 3–60 killed and 7–14 wounded.[54][55] Their victory allowed the Texians to believe that, although outnumbered, they could prevail over the Mexican garrison.[54] The Texians believed that Cos must have been desperate to send troops outside of the safety of Bexar.[56] The type of weapons the mexicans had were cannons and musket balls.

text: Battle[edit]

text: Texian morale began to drop severely, and with winter approaching and supplies running low, Burleson considered withdrawing into winter quarters. In a council of war, Burleson's officers overruled his decision to withdraw, and the army stayed. One of the officers who adamantly opposed the withdrawal was Colonel Ben Milam. Undaunted, Milam stalked into the Texian camp and called out "Who will go with old Ben Milam into San Antonio?" 300 soldiers cheered their support for Milam.

text: Reports from a captured Mexican soldier and escaped Texian prisoners alerted Burleson that Mexican morale was just as low. Burleson ordered a two-column attack. One attack was to be carried out by Milam's troops, and the other was to be carried out by those of Colonel Francis W. Johnson. On December 5, Milam and Johnson launched a surprise attack and seized two houses in the Military Plaza (one of the houses seized belonged to the in-laws of Jim Bowie). The Texians were unable to advance any further that day, but they fortified the houses and remained there during the night, digging trenches and destroying nearby buildings.

text: On December 7, the attack continued, and Milam's force captured another foothold in the city. However, Milam was killed while leading the attack. Colonel Johnson subsequently took command of both his and Milam's men and continued the street fighting, gradually driving the Mexicans back into the city. Cos withdrew into the Alamo, where he was joined by Colonel Ugartechea and 600 reinforcements, but it was too late. Cos entrenched his position, and Texian artillery pounded the fortified mission.

text: Surrender[edit]

text: As the Texians advanced closer to the plazas, Cos realized that his best defensive position would be within the Alamo Mission just outside Bexar.[57] In his official report to Santa Anna, Cos wrote that ""In such critical circumstances there was no other measure than to advance and occupy the Alamo which, due to its small size and military position, was easier to hold. In doing so, I took with me the artillery, packs and the rest of the utensils I was able to transport.”[58] At 1 a.m. on December 9, the cavalry began to pull back towards the Alamo. Colonel Nicolas Condell, his small force of 50 men from the Morelos and Tamaulipas units, and two cannon remained as the rear guard at the plaza.[57][59] Years later, however, Sanchez Navarro maintained that Cos was not planning to abandon the town but wished to move the wounded to the relative safety of the Alamo.[58]

text: Inside the Alamo, Cos presented a plan for a counterattack; cavalry officers believed that they would be surrounded by Texians and refused their orders.[57] Possibly 175–soldiers from four of the cavalry companies left the mission and rode south.[58] According to Barr, Cos ran after the horseman to tell them to stop and was almost run down. For a brief period, those in the mission believed that Cos might have been killed.[57] Sanchez Navarro said the troops were not deserting but misunderstood their orders and were withdrawing all the way to the Rio Grande.[58]

text: By daylight, only 120 experienced infantry remained in the Mexican garrison.[57] Cos called Sanchez Navarro to the Alamo and gave him orders to "go save those brave men. ... Approach the enemy and obtain the best terms possible".[60] Sanchez Navarro first returned to his post at the plaza to inform the soldiers of the imminent surrender. Several officers argued with him, explaining that "the Morelos Battalion has never surrendered", but Sanchez Navarro held firm to his orders.[60] Bugle calls for a parley received no response from the Texians, and at 7 am Sanchez Navarro raised a flag of truce.[60]

text: Father de la Garza and William Cooke came forward to escort Sanchez Navarro and two other officers to Johnson, who summoned Burleson. When Burleson arrived two hours later, he found that the Mexican soldiers did not have written authorization from Cos. One of the Mexican officers was sent to bring back formal permission for the surrender.[60] Burleson agreed to an immediate cease-fire,[61] and negotiations began. Johnson, Morris, and James Swisher represented the Texians, while José Miguel de Arciniega and John Cameron interpreted. The men haggled for much of the day before reaching terms at 2 a.m. on December 10.[60]

text: According to the terms of the agreement, Mexican troops could remain in the Alamo for six days to prepare for the trip to the Mexican interior. During that time frame, Mexican and Texian troops were not to carry arms if they interacted. Regular soldiers who had established ties to the area could remain in Bexar; all recently arrived troops were expected to return to Mexico. Each Mexican soldier would receive a musket and ten rounds of ammunition, and the Texians would allow one four-pound cannon and ten rounds of powder and shot to accompany the troops.[58] All other weapons and all supplies would remain with the Texians,[60] who agreed to sell some of the provisions to the Mexicans for their journey.[62] As the final term of their parole, all of Cos's men were required to pledge that they would not fight against the Constitution of 1824.[60]

text: At 10 a.m. on December 11, the Texian army paraded. Johnson presented the terms of surrender and asked for the army's approval, stressing that the Texians had little ammunition left to continue the fight. Most of the Texians voted in favor of the surrender, although some termed it a "child's bargain", too weak to be useful.[62]

text: Aftermath[edit]

text: The Siege of Bexar was the longest Texian campaign of the Texas Revolution, and according to Barr, it was "the only major Texian success other than San Jacinto".[63] According to Barr, of the 780 Texians who had participated in some way in the battle, between 30 and 35 were wounded, with 5 or 6 killed.[62] Historian Stephen Hardin places the Texian casualties slightly lower, with 4 killed and 14 wounded.[64] The losses were spread evenly amongst Texas residents and newcomers from the United States.[62] Although some Texians estimated that as many as 300 Mexican soldiers were killed, historians agree that it likely that a total of 150 Mexican soldiers were killed or wounded during the five-day battle.[62][64] About two-thirds of the Mexican casualties came from the infantry units defending the plazas.[65] To celebrate their victory, Texian troops threw a fandango on the evening of December 10.[62] Governor Henry Smith and the governing council sent a letter to the army, calling the soldiers "invincible" and "the brave sons of Washington and freedom".[64] After the war, those who could prove they had participated in this campaign were granted 320 acres (130 ha) of land. Eventually, 504 claims were certified.[66] At least 79 of the Texians who participated later died at the Battle of the Alamo or the Goliad Massacre,[67] and 90 participated in the final battle of the Texas Revolution, at San Jacinto.[66] The Texians confiscated 400 small arms, 20 cannon, and supplies, uniforms, and equipment.[65] During the siege, Cos's men had strengthened the Alamo mission, and the Texians chose to concentrate their forces within the Alamo rather than continue to fortify the plazas.[66]

text: Cos left Bexar on December 14 with 800 men. The soldiers who were too weak to travel were left in the care of the Texian doctors.[65] With his departure, there was no longer an organized garrison of Mexican troops in Texas,[68] and many of the Texians believed that the war was over. Johnson described the battle as "the period put to our present war".[64] Burleson resigned his leadership of the army on December 15 and returned to his home. Many of the men did likewise, and Johnson assumed command of the soldiers who remained. Soon after, a new contingent of Texians and volunteers from the United States arrived with more heavy artillery.[65] According to Barr, the large number of American volunteers "contributed to the Mexican view that Texian opposition stemmed from outside influences. That belief may have contributed in turn to Santa Anna's order of 'no quarter' in his 1836 campaign."[69] Santa Anna was outraged that Cos had surrendered.[70] Already in preparations to move a larger army to Texas, Santa Anna moved quickly on hearing of his brother-in-law's defeat, and by late December 1835 had begun to move his Army of Operations northward. Although many of his officers disagreed with the decision to march towards the Texian interior rather than take a coastal approach, Santa Anna was determined to first take Bexar and avenge his family's honor.[71]