Henry McArdle's The Battle of San Jacinto Notebook

Years after Texas fought for and won its independence from Mexico, artist Henry McArdle (1836–1908) created an epic painting of the revolution's famous victory. The Battle of San Jacinto (completed 1898) hangs at the Texas Capitol as a monument to Texas's revolutionary heroes.

McArdle intended his painting to be a truthful, dramatic, poetic depiction of the battle. As such, he did extensive research before painting The Battle of San Jacinto. He studied diagrams of the battles, read first-hand accounts, wrote letters to veterans and their families, collected images of soldiers, and researched military uniforms and weaponry. His son compiled the research into a notebook and sold it to the State of Texas in 1929.

The entire notebook has been digitized and can be viewed on the Texas State Library and Archives Commission website.