During the Siege of Béxar, Burleson served as the second-in-command to Gen. Austin, and in November 1835 he was elected Major General of Texas Volunteers and took command of the volunteer army besieging San Antonio de Béxar and received the surrender of Mexican general Martín Perfecto de Cos.

In March, he was appointed a Colonel of Texas Regulars and led the First Volunteer Infantry Regiment during the Runaway Scrape and at the Battle of San Jacinto.

With the capture of Antonio López de Santa Anna at San Jacinto, the Mexican general rode double into Sam Houston's camp on the horse of Joel Walter Robison, a soldier in most of the revolutionary battles and later a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Fayette County.

On account of his military credentials, Burleson was elected to the Texas Senate in September 1838, as a local representative for Bastrop, Gonzales, and Fayette Counties.

Edward Burleson married Sarah Griffen Owen on April 25, 1816, in Madison County, Alabama.

In the ensuing years, Burleson would become heavily involved with local affairs affecting Bastrop, Gonzales, and Fayette Counties, as he was elected to the Texas Senate in September 1838.