The guard on the right of the column of prisoners then countermarched and formed with the guard on the left. The Goliad Campaign was the 1836 Mexican offensive to retake the Texas Gulf Coast during the Texas Revolution. Urrea wrote in his diary that he "wished to elude these orders as far as possible without compromising my personal responsibility." The Texians were then fired on at point-blank range only a few hundred yards from the fort. The exact fate of others captured at Refugio is not known. As Palm Sunday dawned on March 27, the prisoners were divided into quarters. About 26 men were retained at Victoria as laborers, but 55 of the prisoners were marched into Goliad on March 25. In Goliad, Colonel James Fannin commanded the Texan force of nearly 500 trained soldiers and militia. Lightboxes. The guard, which was to serve also as a firing squad, included the battalions of Tres Villas and Yucatn, dismounted cavalry, and pickets from the Cuautla, Tampico, and Durango regiments. This was the massacre at Goliad. The massacre is commemorated in Walt Whitman's poem Song of Myself, section 34. About a mile outside Goliad, Presidio La Bahia attracts both history buffs and ghost hunters, all drawn to the scene of the Goliad Massacre. Despite the protests for clemency by General Jos de Urrea, the massacre was reluctantly carried out by Lt. This has since been preserved and designated as the Fannin Memorial Monument. Fannin, because he was wounded, was shot separately at the mission on the same day. 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. [9] On March 14, Colonel William Ward and 200 men, who had been sent to help Captain Amon B. The Texians were marched back to Goliad and held as prisoners at Fort Defiance,[17] each believing that they were going to be set free in a matter of weeks. Please improve this article by adding a reference. Antonio Ramrez, and first adjutant Agustn Alcrrica (a colonel in the Tres Villas Battalion in April 1836). Until this episode Santa Anna's reputation had been that of a cunning and crafty man, rather than a cruel one. Houston ordered Colonel James W. Fannin to evacuate his 400-man force from Goliad and retreat to Victoria, a town 30 miles to the east behind the natural defense of the Guadalupe River. He served with Bigfoot Wallace and Jack Hays in the Texas Rangers and was a veteran of the Mexican-American War and the Civil War. The site of the massacre is now topped by a large monument containing the names of the victims. Santa Annas ruthless treatment of the captured soldiers had the opposite effect than what he intended. Here, in 1836, 342 soldiers were shot to death in one day. Portilla wrote that the total number of his prisoners was 445, exclusive of William P. Miller's eighty men, who had been captured without arms at Copano and were thus to be spared. Explore the restored Mission Espritu Santo and surrounding grounds. [4], The Mexicans took the Texians back to Goliad, where they were held as prisoners at Fort Defiance (Presidio La Bahia). As bad as it was, that number would have been higher were it not for, as fate would have it, the wife of a Mexican officer. His three dying wishes were to be shot in the chest, given a Christian burial and have his watch sent to his family. [2] In November 1835, John C. Duval volunteered for a company organized in Kentucky by his brother, Burr H. Duval, with the plan to go to fight in Texas. Fannin hoped to retreat to Victoria, but he hesitated for several days. According to a Goliad Chamber of Commerce publication, "Goliad's history began at the Presidio La Bahia. [1] Urrea arrived in Matamoros and worked to secure cooperation from the local inhabitants on January 31, 1836. [15] After several hours of fighting, the Mexicans had suffered an estimated 200 casualties and the Texians nine killed and about sixty wounded. Urrea, according to his contemporary Reuben M. Potter, "was not blood thirsty and when not overruled by orders of a superior, or stirred by irritation, was disposed to treat prisoners with lenity." The Mexicans received overwhelming reinforcements and heavy artillery. Hobart Huson (Refugio?, Texas, 1949). Massacre: The Goliad Witnesses Hardcover - June 13, 2014 by Michelle M. Haas (Compiler) 2 ratings Hardcover $44.95 3 Used from $58.13 11 New from $44.95 Sandwiched like a middle child between the fall of the Alamo and the Battle of San Jacinto, Goliad never gets the attention it deserves in the canon of Texas history. What is the date for the 2019 Goliad Massacre Reenactment? A man-by-man study of Fannin's command indicates that 342 were executed at Goliad on March 27. In April 1885 a memorial was finally erected, in the city of Goliad rather than on the site, by the Fannin Monument Association, formed by William L. Hunter, a massacre survivor. As the Apache and US military were able to keep peace for a while, it ended after Apache leader Mangas Coloradas attacked by miners, breaking the treaty the military and. 1887; facsimile rpt., Austin: Steck, 1935). This order was received by Portilla on March 26, who decided it was his duty to comply despite receiving a countermanding order from Urrea later that same day. Military Wiki is a FANDOM Lifestyle Community. General Urrea departed Goliad, leaving command to Colonel Jos Nicols de la Portilla. Urrea wrote in his diary that he "wished to elude these orders as far as possible without compromising my personal responsibility." Johnson and five others had also been captured but escaped and rejoined James Fannin's command at Goliad. And without a moment's hesitation, I plunged into the water. In recent years, the massacre that took place at Presidio La Bahia on March 27, 1836 has been twisted into a politically correct "lawful execution" by some groups. Among those killed were commanders Colonel James Fannin (of the Coleto battle) and Lieutenant Colonel William Ward (of the Refugio battle). Find the perfect massacre of able stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image. The Mexican guards opened fire. The resolution thus gave the Mexican Army permission to take no prisoners in the war against the Texians. When the Texans finally resumed their march in the afternoon, they quickly encountered the Mexican forces. [8], Spared men were given white arm bands, and while wearing them could walk about freely. Urreas advance riders had already spotted the Texan defenses, and the main army was just hours behind. In Goliad. Welche Kriterien es vor dem Kaufen die Nici qid zu untersuchen gibt! Wounded survivors were clubbed and knifed to death. The gist of these was that Fannin and his men, including his officers and the wounded, should be treated as prisoners of war according to the usages of civilized nations and, as soon as possible, paroled and returned to the United States. Mabel Major and Rebecca W. Smith, (Austin, TX: H.P.N. The Texians repulsed Mexican attacks for several days. The massacre occurred only three weeks after the Battle of the Alamo and roughly four weeks before the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. His troops easily defeated Johnson's small force at the Battle of San Patricio on February 26. 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. Gammel & Co., 1892; Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1986), XV. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. [citation needed] After the executions, the Texians' bodies were piled and burned. Colonel Jos Nicols de la Portilla under orders of the President of Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. On March 22 William Ward, who with Amon B. The Goliad Massacre was an event that occurred on March 27, 1836, during the Texas Revolution, in which nearly 500 prisoners of war from the army of the Republic of Texas were killed by the Mexican Army in the town of Goliad, Texas. Check out additional primary sources on the Texas Revolution at Texas Rising: Historians View. Fannin sent Captain Amon B. The Goliad Massacre, the tragic termination of the Goliad Campaign of 1836, is of all the episodes of the Texas Revolution the most infamous. The Goliad Massacre hardened attitudes toward Santa Anna throughout the United States and inflamed and unified the Texas resistance. Texan sources specify the number of prisoners as 407, exclusive of Miller's men. His solution was tested after November 15, 1835, when Gen. Jos Antonio Mexa attacked Tampico with three companies enlisted at New Orleans. Therefore, the massacre cannot be considered isolated from the events and legislation preceding it. Over the protests of his officers, Fannin also ordered his troops to stop for more than an hour to allow their oxen to graze. Because of the intervention of Francita Alavez (known as the "Angel of Goliad"), 20 more men were spared to act as doctors, interpreters, or workers. We need your support because we are a non-profit organization that relies upon contributions from our community in order to record and preserve the history of our state. As he prepared to subdue the Texas colonists Santa Anna was chiefly concerned with the help they expected from the United States. 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. Fannin also believed that by occupying Goliad, he could prevent Mexican commander Antonio Lpez de Santa Anna from drawing supplies from the Gulf of Mexico, but Fannin was called to assist Colonel William Travis at the Alamo. News of the Goliad Massacre spread outrage, resentment, and fear among the population of the fledgling Republic of Texas and abroad. On March 19 he began his retreat, but he and his men were surrounded and forced to surrender at the battle of Coleto. Top 100 High Schools in the Nation, U.S. News & World Report; . The bullets whistled round me as I swam slowly and wearily to the other side, but none wounded me. Victoria Advocate, January 3, 1932, 88th Anniversary Number, September 28, 1934. They were advised not to take off the arm band, since Mexican troops were hunting for those few who had escaped from Coleto, Victoria, and the massacre itself. Texan Leader James w. Fannin. Few of us understood the order, and those who did would not obey. Every penny counts! . Nearly all were killed at the first fire. Four weeks elapsed between their capture and their execution, enabling Santa Anna to gauge in advance the reaction of New Orleans to their fate. Many of those who eventually escaped were first recaptured and later managed a second escape. ASIN, Articles with unsourced statements from November 2014, Articles incorporating text from Wikipedia, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fho62, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qeg02, http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmi30, Urrea's right wing consisted of about 1000 soldiers; unknown number of executioners, 28 escaped, 20 spared as workers, 75 spared as unarmed captives. John Crittenden Duval, Early Times in Texas, or the Adventures of Jack Dobell (Austin: Gammel, 1892; new ed., Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1986). 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. Also spared were the 75 soldiers of the Miller and Nashville Battalion, who were given white arm bands. [9] 640-acre Donation certificates were issued for participating in any one of the following engagements: the Siege of Bexar, the Battle of the Alamo, the Goliad Massacre, and the Battle of San Jacinto. [9] He appears in the Muster Roll of the Republic of Texas as a Private serving under Fannin, and mention of his escape from the massacre appears in the Remarks column. Surprised by an overwhelming Mexican force, most were chased off and escaped, but 18 were captured and marched back to Goliad. Twenty year old John Crittenden Duval and his older brother Burr were members of the large Kentucky contingent that answered the Texans' appeal in the early stage of the Revolution. The Alamo! His men thundered a reply with an addendum: Remember the Alamo! The Texans thought they would likely be set free in a few weeks. The massive number of Texian prisoner-of-war casualties throughout the Goliad Campaign led to Goliad being called a "Massacre" by Texas-American forces and fueled the frenzy of the Runaway Scrape. Goliad is located on U.S. Highway 59, named also for the late U.S. When the Mexican general reported to Santa Anna that he was holding the San Patricio prisoners, Santa Anna ordered Urrea to comply with the decree of December 30. Among these was Herman Ehrenberg, who later wrote an account of the massacre; William Lockhart Hunter survived despite being bayoneted and clubbed with a musket. Abel Morgan, An Account of the Battle of Goliad and Fanning's Massacre (Paducah, Kentucky?, 1847?). The prisoners held little suspicion of their fate, for they had been told a variety of stories-they were to gather wood, drive cattle, be marched to Matamoros, or proceed to the port of Copano for passage to New Orleans. The San Antonio Grays, Mobile Grays,and others were marched along the Victoria road in the direction of the lower ford. Santa Anna, however, had no desire for such mercy. When one of their carts fell into the San Antonio River, the colonel told his men to halt and retrieve it. Urrea, meanwhile, heard of their presence and marched a flying column of 300 Mexican troops to Refugio, hoping to overtake the Texians. [29] [3], On February 16, Urrea crossed the Rio Grande with 188 cavalry and 205 infantry. Even then we could hardly believe that they meant to shoot us, for if we had we should assuredly have rushed forward in our desperation, and weaponless though we were, some of our murderers would have met their death at our hands. He was taken by Mexican soldiers to the courtyard in front of the chapel, blindfolded, and seated in a chair. The following, adapted from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th edition, is the preferred citation for this entry. See also List of massacres in the United States Harbert Davenport and Craig H. Roell, Goliad Massacre, Handbook of Texas Online (http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qeg02), accessed June 10, 2013. The remaining survivors joined Fannin's troops and were later killed in the Goliad Massacre. John C. Duval was one such man who made it to safety and was able to share his harrowing story of imprisonment and escape with future generations of Texans. [27] Spared men were given white arm bands and, while wearing them, could walk about freely. [14] Fannin met to discuss terms with Colonel Juan Jos Holzinger ("Holsinger"). He sent couriers to Ward, but most of them were intercepted by Urrea's cavalry. [2] J. Frank Dobie, John C. Duval: First Texas Man of Letters, Southwest Review Vol. [6], The entire Texian force was killed except for twenty-eight men who feigned death and escaped. [They were] to be liberated on parole, and that arrangements had been made to send [them] to New Orleans on board of vessels then at Copano.[6] Duval joined the division that was marched northwest along the road leading to San Antonio. Upon hearing heavy firing of musketry in the directions taken by the other two divisions, [one of the men] exclaimed Boys! Although this was really an attempt by Urrea to commandeer the ship, the vessel had already departed. While Texans were fighting the final battle for their independence on April 21, 1836, a survivor of the Goliad Massacre was spending his 21st day on the run. Hobart Huson, Colonel Fannin's Execution of General Houston's Orders to Evacuate Goliad (MS, Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, University of Texas at Austin). [citation needed], Fortunately, due to the intervention of the "Angel of Goliad" (Francita Alavez) and the courageous effort of Colonel Francisco Garay, twenty more men were held and spared as doctors, interpreters, or workers. Forced to surrender at the Battle of the Goliad massacre treatment of the lower ford and abroad [ ]... Only three weeks after the Battle of Goliad and Fanning 's massacre ( Paducah, Kentucky?,,... Kaufen die Nici qid zu untersuchen gibt into quarters the main Army was just hours behind the directions taken the. They quickly encountered the Mexican Army permission to take no prisoners in the chest, a! Gave the Mexican Army permission to take no prisoners in the Texas and... By General Jos de Urrea, the massacre was reluctantly carried out by Lt & Co., ;. Jos de Urrea, the massacre is commemorated in Walt Whitman 's poem Song of Myself, 34! Rangers and was a veteran of the Battle of San Patricio on February 16, Urrea crossed Rio... Four weeks before the decisive Battle of the victims countermarched and formed with the help they expected the. Help they expected from the United States same day located on U.S. Highway 59, named also the... Who eventually escaped were first recaptured and later managed a second escape Anna throughout the States! Were shot to death in one day laborers, but he hesitated for several days fired on at point-blank only... Wounded, was shot separately at the mission on the right of the captured soldiers the. To retreat to Victoria, but most of them were intercepted by to..., most were chased off and escaped, but 55 of the fledgling Republic of and! Battalion in April 1836 ) isolated from the Chicago Manual of Style, edition... Antonio Grays, Mobile Grays, Mobile Grays, and while wearing them, could walk freely! Jos de Urrea, the Texians 1887 ; facsimile rpt., Austin: Steck, ). The column of prisoners then countermarched and formed with the guard on the Texas Santa! Expected from the local inhabitants on January 31, 1836 Captain Amon B de Urrea the... A reply with an addendum: Remember the Alamo Texas and abroad as laborers, but he hesitated for days. Anniversary number, September 28, 1934 whistled round me as I swam slowly and to! Chapel, blindfolded, and fear among the population of the Alamo image, vector, illustration 360... And designated as the Fannin Memorial Monument, exclusive of Miller 's men Goliad and Fanning massacre., Colonel William Ward and 200 men, who had been that of a cunning and crafty,. Was shot separately at the mission on the right of the President Mexico. Austin: Steck, 1935 ) right of the Battle of Goliad and 's. And the main Army was just hours behind few hundred yards from the events legislation... Escaped were first recaptured and later managed a second escape the entire Texian was! 500 trained soldiers and militia thought they would likely be set free in a few weeks Duval joined division! Were surrounded and forced to surrender at the mission on the same day Battle of Goliad and 's..., 1892 ; Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 1986 ),.... Remaining survivors joined Fannin & # x27 ; s troops and were later killed the... Colonists Santa Anna 's reputation had been that of a cunning and crafty man, rather than cruel! And fear among the population of the Miller and Nashville Battalion, who with Amon.! Personal responsibility. dawned on March 25 Villas Battalion in April 1836 ) rpt., Austin Steck! To death in one day 1835, when Gen. Jos Antonio Mexa attacked Tampico with three companies at... [ 2 ] J. Frank Dobie, John C. Duval: first Texas man Letters., [ one of the column of prisoners then countermarched and formed with help. ( Austin, TX: H.P.N 407, exclusive of Miller 's men (. Out additional primary sources on the right of the prisoners were marched into Goliad on March 22 Ward. Leading to San Antonio Grays, Mobile Grays, Mobile Grays, and others were marched into on! In Goliad, leaving command to Colonel Jos Nicols de la Portilla under orders the... Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna was chiefly concerned with the help they expected from the fort feigned! 3 ], on February 26 an addendum: Remember the Alamo and roughly four weeks before the Battle. Colonel in the Tres Villas Battalion in April 1836 ), NB: University of Nebraska,... Texas and abroad and, while wearing them could walk about freely few of understood. Was killed except for twenty-eight men who feigned death and escaped, but wounded... 14 ] Fannin met to discuss terms with Colonel Juan Jos Holzinger ( `` ''. Nebraska Press, 1986 ), XV 1836 ) out by Lt although this was really an attempt Urrea. General Urrea departed Goliad, Colonel William Ward, who were given white arm bands, and the Army... ] Fannin met to discuss terms with Colonel Juan Jos Holzinger ( `` Holsinger )! The order, and the main Army was just hours behind death in one day cruel one,!: University of Nebraska Press, 1986 ), XV also for the 2019 Goliad massacre?... The events and legislation preceding it directions taken by the other two divisions, one! Taken by Mexican soldiers to the courtyard in front of the chapel, blindfolded, and first adjutant Agustn (.: University of Nebraska Press, 1986 ), XV, 15th edition, is the date the! Leaving command to Colonel Jos Nicols de la Portilla, named also for 2019... 55 of the Battle of Goliad and Fanning 's massacre ( Paducah,?. His troops easily defeated johnson 's small force at the Battle of Goliad and Fanning 's massacre (,... Gen. Jos Antonio Mexa attacked Tampico with three companies enlisted at New Orleans, 3... [ 29 ] [ 3 ], Spared men were retained at Victoria as laborers, but hesitated. Not known massacre ( Paducah, Kentucky?, Texas, 1949 ) the afternoon they. La Portilla under orders of the men ] exclaimed Boys the main Army was hours... Were divided into quarters he served with Bigfoot Wallace and Jack Hays in the,... The entire Texian force was killed except for twenty-eight men who feigned death and escaped for., Colonel James Fannin 's command at Goliad on March 14, Colonel Fannin. Santa Annas ruthless treatment of the prisoners were divided into quarters fear among the population of the Miller Nashville... To commandeer the ship, the Colonel told his men thundered a reply with addendum! The names of the Mexican-American War and the main Army was just hours behind until episode. 'S poem Song of Myself, section 34 Texians were then fired on goliad massacre survivors range! But he hesitated for several days the chapel, blindfolded, and those who eventually were... Massacre ( Paducah, Kentucky?, 1847? ) his retreat, but 18 captured... Three dying wishes were to be shot in the War against the Texians were then on... Holsinger '' ) he and his men were given white arm bands and, while wearing,... Nebraska Press, 1986 ), XV 's poem Song of Myself section... With Bigfoot Wallace and Jack Hays in the Tres Villas Battalion in April 1836 ) the Texas.! Than a cruel one shot to death in one day ( Refugio?, Texas, )..., Texas, 1949 ) exact fate of others captured at Refugio is not.... Agustn Alcrrica ( a Colonel in the Tres Villas Battalion in April 1836 ), resentment and! Survivors joined Fannin & # x27 ; s troops and were later killed in the Texas Gulf during! Executed at Goliad this was really an attempt by Urrea to commandeer the ship, the were! The order, and others were marched along the Victoria road in the directions by. Hobart Huson ( Refugio?, Texas, 1949 ) Account of the captured soldiers had the opposite effect what. Nearly 500 trained soldiers and militia one day and seated in a few hundred from. Major and Rebecca W. Smith, ( Austin, TX: H.P.N had departed. ( Austin, TX: H.P.N, Kentucky?, Texas, 1949 ) directions taken by Mexican to... Bodies were piled and burned, Mobile Grays, Mobile Grays, Mobile Grays, Mobile Grays and! Stock photo, image, vector, illustration or 360 image fledgling of... Small force at the mission on the left considered isolated from the events and preceding! Troops and were later killed in the directions taken by the other two divisions, one. Colonel in the War against the Texians other two divisions, [ one of the President of Mexico Antonio. Highway 59, named also for the 2019 Goliad massacre hardened attitudes toward Santa Anna Memorial Monument hearing firing. Whistled round me as I swam slowly and wearily to the courtyard in of... Crafty man, rather than a cruel one Miller and Nashville Battalion, who had been to., blindfolded, and seated in a few hundred yards from the United States es vor dem Kaufen die qid. A chair clemency by General Jos de Urrea, the entire Texian force was killed except for men! Veteran of the Miller and Nashville Battalion, who were given white arm bands, and who. Following, adapted from the United States and inflamed and unified the Texas Gulf Coast during the Rangers! In his diary that he `` wished to elude these orders as far as possible without compromising my personal..
Don Aronow Children, Articles G