As the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of signing the Declaration of Independence, members of the Sons of the American Revolution in San Antonio are highlighting the often-overlooked role South Texas played in helping the United States win its independence.

Local Family Ties to the Revolutionary War

Raul Hinojosa, a descendant of Jose Manuel Hinojosa, whose family established ranches along the Rio Grande generations before Texas became part of the United States, shares his family’s history. Hinojosa displays a Spanish silver coin from the 1770s, a tangible link to his family’s past.

Those ranches played an important role in the Revolutionary War effort, Hinojosa said. Cattle raised in South Texas were driven to Louisiana to supply Spanish Governor Bernardo de Gálvez’s forces before salted beef eventually reached Gen. George Washington’s Continental Army.

Ron Finch, president of the San Antonio chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution, said many people don’t realize families in what is now Texas contributed to the fight for independence. The group has approximately 200 members and is already looking ahead to 2033, when the nation will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the Treaty of Paris, which officially ended the Revolutionary War.

Original reporting: San Antonio, TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.