Date: March 27, 1836. 1887; facsimile rpt., Austin: Steck, 1935). Believing that he had found an effective deterrent to expected American help for Texas, Santa Anna sought and obtained from the Mexican Congress the decree of December 30, 1835, which directed that all foreigners taken in arms against the government should be treated as pirates and shot. [1] The execution of the Texan soldiers, however horrific, was not without precedent. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. Texan sources specify the number of prisoners as 407, exclusive of Miller's men. Some 350 to 400 Texians had been marched to their deaths after capture by the Mexican army during a bungled escape by Colonel James Fannin. The finely bred, West Point-trained officer lingered for days as a 1,400-man army led by Santa Annas chief lieutenant, General Jose de Urrea, closed in on Goliad. He linked up with several more units of Mexican infantry, bringing the total number of Mexican troops in the area to 1,500. Santa Anna responded to this entreaty by repeatedly ordering Urrea to comply with the law and execute the prisoners. The Goliad Massacre, set in the town of Goliad on March 27, 1836, was an execution of Republic of Texas soldier-prisoners and their commander, James Fannin, by the Mexican Army. At a prearranged moment, or upon a given signal, the guards fired upon the prisoners at a range too close to miss. This made the Texans angry and led to th Battle of San Jacinto. The massacre occurred only three weeks after the Battle of the Alamo and roughly four weeks before the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. The bullets whistled round me as I swam slowly and wearily to the other side, but none wounded me. The town is the county seat of Goliad County, one of the oldest counties of Texas and is located about 100 miles southeast of San Antonio, 80 miles northeast of Corpus Christi on U.S. 183-77A. Thirty-three Americans were captured in the course of the fighting at Nuestra Seora del Refugio Mission, half of them with Capt. At selected spots on each of the three roads, from half to three-fourths of a mile from the presidio, the three groups were halted. [5] Johnson's news persuaded Fannin to abandon any further attempt to send relief to the Alamo or to try to secure badly needed supplies waiting at Matagorda; he prepared the Presidio La Baha at Goliad for defense against the advancing Mexican Army. Urrea wrote in his diary that he "wished to elude these orders as far as possible without compromising my personal responsibility." [2] J. Frank Dobie, John C. Duval: First Texas Man of Letters, Southwest Review Vol. The Goliad Massacre hardened attitudes toward Santa Anna throughout the United States and inflamed and unified the Texas resistance. https://www.tshaonline.org, https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/goliad-massacre, By: [13] Albert Clinton Horton and his company had been acting as the advance and rear guards for Fannin's company. Following a one-sided battle on the prairie near Coleto Creek, 250 mostly American prisoners were marched back to the presidio at Goliad where they were joined by more than 200 others. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Captain King and all but one man were executed in short order. "Remember the Alamo; remember Goliad!" That was the cry of those fighting for Texas' independence after General Santa Anna ordered the execution of more than 400 men who had surrendered at Goliad. His literary contributions, including Early Times in Texas, were said to have inspired the famous short story writer (and one-time GLO employee) O. Henry. In view of Santa Anna's positive orders, Urrea could not, of course, accede to these terms, but refusing them would mean another bloody battle. [14] The Texians had traveled only six miles (10km) from their fort when, on March 19, the Mexican army engaged the Texians on an open prairie. The battle and execution, popularly (and controversially) referred to as the "Goliad Massacre," have been recreated each March by costumed members of the Crossroads of Texas Living History. The Goliad massacre was an event of the Texas Revolution that occurred on March 27, 1836, following the Battle of Refugio and the Battle of Coleto; 425-445 prisoners of war from the Texian Army of the Republic of Texas were executed by the Mexican Army in the town of Goliad, Texas .The men surrendered under the belief they would be set free Goliad Massacre, All copyrighted materials included within the Handbook of Texas Online are in accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. King and his men had infuriated their enemies by burning local ranchos and shooting eight Mexicans seated around a campfire, and these enemies were clamoring for vengeance. The Texians thought they would likely be set free in a few weeks. Some of the prisoners taken at Refugio but not executed with King's men are known to have been at Goliad, where they were again spared because they were serving the Mexican army as blacksmiths, wheelwrights, or other artisans. We are a community-supported, non-profit organization and we humbly ask for your support because the careful and accurate recording of our history has never been more important. When the Texans finally resumed their march in the afternoon, they quickly encountered the Mexican forces. According to Mexican law, foreign fighters taken on Mexican soil were to be executed for piracy. 465 people were taken prisoner and of those people 342 were killed. James Fannin commanded troops stationed at Fort Defiance in Goliad. In Goliad, Colonel James Fannin commanded the Texan force of nearly 500 trained soldiers and militia. On March 15, as their ammunition ran short, Texians retreated from Refugio. After his brush with death at Goliad, John C. Duval lived a long, distinguished life. They were later marched to Matamoros. That afternoon, Urrea's cavalry encircled the Texians. The Goliad Massacre, also referred to as The Goliad Execution, was the brutal shooting of Texas soldiers by Mexican forces. Mexican Leader Jose de Section 107 related to Copyright and Fair Use for Non-Profit educational institutions, which permits the Texas State Historical Association (TSHA), to utilize copyrighted materials to further scholarship, education, and inform the public. Clarence R. Wharton, Remember Goliad (Houston: McCurdy-Young, 1931). Henry Stuart Foote, Texas and the Texans (2 vols., Philadelphia: Cowperthwait, 1841; rpt., Austin: Steck, 1935). King's men and at Victoria he saved twenty-six of Lt. Col. William Ward's troops by claiming to need them to transport cannons across the San Antonio River[21]), Colonel Garay, Father Maloney (also referred as Molloy), Urrea's wife and an unnamed girl. Among these was Herman Ehrenberg, who later wrote an account of the massacre;[22] William Lockhart Hunter, also of the New Orleans Greys, who survived despite being bayoneted and clubbed with a musket;[23] and four members of Shackelford's Red Rovers: Dillard Cooper,[24] Zachariah S. Brooks, Wilson Simpson, and Isaac D. Hamilton,[25] who escaped after days on the run. His three dying wishes were to be shot in the chest, given a Christian burial and have his watch sent to his family. Believing they were on missions to gather wood, drive cattle or even sail to safety in New Orleans, the rebels joked and swapped stories. One survivor of the massacre, a young German named H. Von Ehrenberg, wrote an account of the murders on December 3, 1853. We must defend our rights, ourselves and our country by Wounded survivors were clubbed and knifed to death. Johnson and five others had also been captured but escaped and rejoined James Fannin's command at Goliad. [citation needed], On March 2, at the Battle of Agua Dulce, James Grant was killed, as were 11 other men under his command. Victoria Advocate, January 3, 1932, 88th Anniversary Number, September 28, 1934. Austin had declared that "War is our only recourse. Another written account can be found in Early Times in Texas (serial form, 186871; book, 1892) by John Crittenden Duval. Civil Society Lone Star Life Texas History Today in Texas History: Massacre at Goliad On March 27, 1836, over 350 Texian soldiers were murdered by Mexican firing squads near Goliad after having surrendered days earlier. Henderson K. Yoakum, History of Texas from Its First Settlement in 1685 to Its Annexation to the United States in 1846 (2 vols., New York: Redfield, 1855). Thirty nine were killed inside the fort, under the direction of Captain Carolino Huerta of the Tres Villas battalion, with Colonel Garay saving one. Goliad Tourism Goliad Hotels Goliad Bed and Breakfast Goliad Vacation Packages Flights to Goliad Goliad Restaurants Things to Do in Goliad Goliad Travel Forum Goliad Photos Goliad Map Goliad Travel Guide All Goliad Hotels; Goliad Hotel Deals; Santa Anna responds: the Alamo and the Goliad Massacre. Duval and the few other men who escaped the massacre were heavily pursued by Mexican troops for the following days. Brad Johnson March 27, 2020 Ward and the Georgia Battalion attempted to escape to Victoria, where they expected to link up with the balance of Fannin's command. [14] The 75 soldiers of William Parsons Miller and the Nashville Battalion were captured on March 20 and marched to Goliad on March 23. An angry White mob rampaged through Tulsa's Greenwood District in Oklahoma . About a week after the Goliad killings, Santa Anna ordered the execution of Miller and his men and the others who had been spared at Goliad, but he rescinded the order the next day. [31] In 1939, the Fannin Memorial Monument by Raoul Josset was erected at the gravesite. "There is a rank due to the United States, among nations, which will be withheld, if not absolutely lost, by the reputation of weakness. [5] Urrea had sent 18 of the 24 prisoners to Matamoros, where they were sentenced to death, but later released. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. Not until the morning of March 19 did Fannin finally begin his retreat from Goliad. Jack Shackelford, commander of the Red Rovers under James W. Fannin at Goliad, was a survivor and chronicler of the battle of Coleto and the Goliad Massacre. In some accounts of the Goliad Massacre, a Mexican woman, Francisca (Francita, Panchita or Pancheta) Alavez, sometimes referred to by other names (Alvarez or Alavesco), rescued about 20 Texian soldiers and became known as "The Angel of Goliad. Description: Three hundred forty-two Texas prisoners, consisting of James Fannin's command captured at the Battle of Coleto and those of Amon King and William Ward captured at the Battle of Refugio . Colonel Fannin was the last to be executed, after seeing his men executed. All Rights Reserved. When the Mexican and Texan commissioners seeking surrender terms failed to agree, Urrea shortened the conference by dealing directly with Fannin and proposing written terms, under which the Texans should give up their arms and become prisoners of war "at the disposal of the Supreme Mexican Government." The area that bordered the United States, known as Texas, was populated primarily by English-speaking settlers, known as Texians. In this critical predicament, Fannin and the majority of the men voted to surrender the Texian forces on March 20. He said the Texan prisoners and American volunteers numbered about 400, while the Mexican captors totaled 700, in addition to cavalry and smaller groups of Mexican soldiers he saw gathered on the prairie. Though some managed to escape en route, most remained there until the Mexican government later released them. [6] In late December, at his behest, the Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag". Oct. 28, 1886 A Survivor of the Goliad Massacre; Participant in the Vasquez Campaign in 1842; Senator in the Eighth Congress of the Republic Erected by the State of Texas. This article does not contain any citations or references. Urreas advance riders had already spotted the Texan defenses, and the main army was just hours behind. High Schools in Dallas, TX Map of Dallas, TX . Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. The immediate advance of the enemy may be confidently expected, Houston warned Fannin.
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