When Texas Bought Time

Episode Description 

Texas history often celebrates bold action—but some of its most important victories were built on restraint. 

In mid-February of 1836, Texas stood in a dangerous in-between moment. Antonio López de Santa Anna was advancing. The Alamo was occupied but not yet under full siege. And Sam Houston was shaping an army that had exactly one fight in it. 

In this episode of The Texan Edge, we explore how waiting—deliberate, strategic waiting—became one of the most important tools Texas used to survive. What looked like hesitation at the time was actually leadership, patience with purpose, and a refusal to make permanent decisions in a temporary storm.  

Show Notes 

• A tense February: Texas in mid-February 1836, caught between preparation and invasion
• The moving threat: Santa Anna’s army advancing north
• An unfinished fight: The Alamo occupied, but the decisive moments still ahead
• Houston’s strategy: Delays, repositioning, and retreat as tools—not failures
• Public frustration: Criticism from newspapers and calls for immediate battle
• Buying time: How patience allowed families to flee, volunteers to arrive, and the enemy to overextend
• The Runaway Scrape: Civilians moving east while the army held space and waited
• “Dumb like a fox”: Why Houston knew his army could only win once—and had to choose the moment
• The modern lesson: Knowing when waiting is leadership, not weakness

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📅 Back tomorrow: Another chapter from Texas history—and the lessons it still carries
 
 

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Chapters

• 0:00 Setting The Texas Stage
• 0:23 The Strategy Of Waiting
• 1:36 Houston’s Calculated Restraint
• 2:31 Turning History Into Daily Wisdom
• 3:40 Join The Texan Edge Community

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:02

Well, hi there. I'm Tweet Scott and this is the Texan Edge. Texas history loves decisive moments. The charge, the stand, the last line in the sand. But today I want to talk about something far less dramatic and just as important. Waiting. In mid-February of 1836, Texas was in a dangerous in-between moment. Santa and his army was on the move. The Alamo was occupied, but not yet under full siege. Sam Houston was still trying to organize what barely qualified as an army. Nothing was settled, and nothing was secure. And that uncertainty wasn't accidental. It was strategy. Houston understood something that doesn't always sit well with people who want action right now. Texas didn't need a heroic push. In fact, it needed time. Time to gather volunteers. Time to move families out of harm's way. And time to let Santa Ana stretch his supply lines thin and make mistakes. So instead of charging forward, Houston delayed. He repositioned. In fact, even retreated when necessary. And that frustrated a lot of people at the time. Newspapers criticized him. Some accused him of cowardice, and others just wanted immediate battle. But history shows us something clearer. Texas wasn't hesitating. Texas was simply buying time. That waiting allowed the runaway scrape to move east. It allowed volunteers to arrive from the United States. It also allowed Santa Ana to overextend himself and divide his forces. And by the time the shooting finally mattered, the field looked a whole lot different than it would have weeks earlier. I've said it for decades. Sam Houston was dumb. Dumb like a fox. Sam knew what his army was and what it could do. That army only had one battle in it. He could not afford to lose, not even one time. He had to get the most out of what he had when he absolutely needed it. Waiting isn't passive. It's not weakness, and it's definitely not quitting. It's restraint in the service of survival. And then here's where it hits home. You may be standing in a season right now where everything in you wants to force the issue. Push the button. Make the call. Burn that bridge. Move fast just to feel like you're moving. But Texas history offers a steady counterpoint to that. Sometimes the smartest move isn't action, it's patience with purpose. Waiting doesn't mean that you've lost your nerve. It can mean that you're letting conditions line up. It can mean you're protecting people who depend on you. And it can mean that you're refusing to make a permanent decision in a temporary storm. CM Houston absorbed criticism so Texas could survive long enough to win. That's not indecision. That's just flat out leadership. So today, ask yourself this Am I stalled or am I strategically buying time? If you're gathering strength, protecting what matters, and staying alert instead of reactive, well, you're not behind. You're doing exactly what Texas did when the stakes were the highest. Thanks for walking through history with me today on this Texan Edge. And if you like to keep the conversation going, you'll find our porch over at Substack.com forward slash Texan Edge. We'd be glad to have you there with us. And I'll plan on meeting you right back here tomorrow.