Charley--

What I was trying to say is that I don't think the variation is something that I would read into as significant evidence about the who sang the song. Perhaps it tells us something, but I think there are more likely explanations that are simpler and more characteristic of the genre as we know it.

One was singing about someone who is "dead and gone" and who "gained the day" in these jumble of songs. To my mind, the names of who died and who won a battle would easily get varied, both through oral transmission and momentary "mistakes" -- brain-farts! Not the most satisfying explanation, I'll admit, but I think it is more grounded in unglamorous reality!

The "early" versions of Santiana *do* have Gen. Taylor winning. So that understanding was there. It wasn't as if the entire song were conceived as one about Santa Anna's victory. I conclude that the periodic shift to singing it with Santa Anna winning was a mix-up or perhaps wishful thinking *after the fact*. Because "hurrah Santa Anna" is the chorus, later singers with no knowledge of history might be inclined to assume he was the hero. Well, I suppose he was an anti-hero, even if he didn't gain the day!

While I admit it is surely a possibility that pro-Mexico sentiment inspired the use of "Santa Anna wins" lyric, I don't think any elaborate explanation for that would look as likely if it weren't for the way that writers have built it up.