After filling out an official report on the battle, Johnson, Toler, and Love left the army and went to San Felipe. After his brush with death at Goliad, John C. Duval lived a long, distinguished life. The Mexican soldiers at La Bahia returned to the funeral pyres and gathered up any visible remains of the Texians and re-burned any evidence of the bodies. In the fall of 1835 the Texans had made the first Declaration of Independence. O'Connor (1966), pp. [5] Not long after Fannins company had begun their march to Victoria, they were pursued by an army of Mexican troops led by General Jos de Urrea. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. Hobart Huson, El Copano: Ancient Port of Bexar and La Bahia (Refugio, Texas: Refugio Timely Remarks, 1935). [3] The company, known as the Mustangs, came under the command of Colonel James W. Fannin once they arrived in Texas. [18] Three known survivors escaped to Houston's army and participated in the Battle of San Jacinto. 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. The exact fate of others captured at Refugio is not known. Top 100 High Schools in the Nation, U.S. News & World Report; . As soon as they were ordered to halt a half-mile from the fort, however, the Texans realized their fates. 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. Facing extremely long odds, the men chose to stay and fight. The killing [11] The Texians were less than one mile (1.6km) from the safety of the tree line of Coleto Creek. They are going to shoot us! and at the same instant [John] heard the clicking of musket locks all along the Mexican line.[7], Dodging the first round of fire and avoiding a close encounter with the end of a bayonet, John C. Duval was subsequently able to reach the San Antonio River without being struck by the barrage of bullets that followed. The blood of my lieutenant was on my clothes, and around me lay my friends convulsed in their last agony. 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. All Rights Reserved. [13] Albert Clinton Horton and his company had been acting as the advance and rear guards for Fannin's company. Goliad Map. Colonel Jos Nicols de la Portilla, under orders from General and President of Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. [31] In 1939, the Fannin Memorial Monument by Raoul Josset was erected at the gravesite. Here, in 1836, 342 soldiers were shot to death in one day. Save up to 30% when you upgrade to an image pack. [1] Urrea arrived in Matamoros and worked to secure cooperation from the local inhabitants on January 31, 1836. Clarence R. Wharton, Remember Goliad (Houston: McCurdy-Young, 1931). Santa Anna's Mexican army killed virtually all of the roughly 200 Texans (or Texians) defending the Alamo, including their leaders, Colonels William B. Travis and James Bowie, and the legendary. Refresh the page, check Medium 's. The inscription on the watch reads that Jack retrieved Fannin's watch among the items taken from the Mexicans and returned it to Fannin's family. Two physicians, Joseph H. Barnard and John Shackelford, were taken to San Antonio to treat Mexican wounded from the battle of the Alamo; they later escaped. Under a decree passed by the Mexican Congress on December 30 of the previous year, armed foreigners taken in combat were to be treated as pirates and executed. Thirty-three Americans were captured in the course of the fighting at Nuestra Seora del Refugio Mission, half of them with Capt. King on a mission to Refugio on March 11, to remove several noncombatant families out of the path of Urrea's army. This order was received on March 26 by Col. Jos Nicols de la Portilla, whom Urrea had left at Goliad. For a lucky few at Goliad, some soldiers were able to escape the carnage. He asked for his personal possessions to be sent to his family, to be shot in his heart and not his face, and that he be given a Christian burial. [17] He also had a similar order sent directly to the "Officer Commanding the Post of Goliad". At the Goliad Massacre, Santa Anna ordered the execution of Col. James Fannin and almost 350 of . However, the Mexicans would receive overwhelming reinforcements and heavy artillery. [13][19] Forty Texians were unable to walk. Fannin, because he was wounded, was shot separately at the mission on the same day. Col. James W. Fannin and his army of men had surrendered to the Mexican army and agreed to be. 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. On March 14, Ward defended his position at the Refugio Mission, while King's men fought from a stand of trees. They may have been added to the prisoners at Goliad and killed with Fannin on March 27. Harbert Davenport and Craig H. Roell, Austin had declared that "War is our only recourse. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. 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. General Urrea negotiated surrender "at the disposal of the Supreme Mexican Government", falsely stating that no prisoner taken on those terms had lost his life. Encircled by the enemy and low on ammunition and water, the desperate Texans worked through the night to dig ditches and haul overturned carts, dead horses and even fallen comrades to buttress the walls of their earthworks. Take time to visit the museum and wander the grounds where so much blood was spilled. Several days later, informants revealed Grant's location, and on the morning of March 2, 150 Mexican troops ambushed Grant's men at the Battle of Agua Dulce. 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. 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. Angeli Wright awright@vicad.com A Bible opened up to Psalm 22 is nailed to the tree. Mabel Major and Rebecca W. Smith, (Austin, TX: H.P.N. 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. Urrea wrote to Santa Anna to ask for clemency for the Texians. 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. [5] Urrea had sent 18 of the 24 prisoners to Matamoros, where they were sentenced to death, but later released. [20] The soldiers took his belongings, shot him in the face, and burned his body along with those of the other Texians killed that day. Remember Goliad!. At Refugio on March 15, 1836, Urrea was again confronted with the duty of complying with the fatal decree of December 30. Whilst these horrible scenes were occurring on the prairies, Col. Fannin and his wounded companions were shot and bayoneted at Goliad, only Dr. Shackleford and a few hospital aids having their lives spared, in order that they might attend the wounded Mexicans. At a prearranged moment, or upon a given signal, the guards fired upon the prisoners at a range too close to miss. Although Ward and his men fled that night during a blinding rainstorm, the Mexicans overtook part of Ward's force, killing 18 and capturing 31. 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. [15][16], The Mexicans took the Texians back to Goliad, where they were held as prisoners at Fort Defiance (Presidio La Bahia). He assured Fannin that there was no known instance where a prisoner of war who had trusted to the clemency of the Mexican government had lost his life, that he would recommend to General Santa Anna acceptance of the terms proposed by Fannin's men, and that he was confident of obtaining Santa Anna's approval within a period of eight days. Colonel Fannin was the last to be executed, after seeing his men executed. Determined to punish the rebellious Texans, whom he viewed as pirates who deserved to be executed, Santa Anna mounted a campaign to demonstrate his power by exacting the same kind of retribution upon them that he had visited upon Zacatecas.In command of an army that would eventually grow to perhaps more than 7,000 troops, he began a march . An hour after Santa Annas execution orders arrived, Portilla received the contradictory message from Urrea to treat the prisoners with consideration, and especially their leader, Fannin. After an agonizing night weighing the two instructions, Portilla decided to uphold the wishes of the Mexican dictator. by Charlotte Churchill, With Milam and Fannin, Austin: Pemberton Press, 1968). In this critical predicament, Colonel James Fannin and his staff had voted to surrender the Texian forces on the 20th. Shannon always knew she would write novels, but the need to make a living and raise a family came first. [1], Forty Texians were unable to walk. It had a population of 1975 at the 2000 census. The common grave remained unmarked until about 1858, when a Goliad merchant, George von Dohlen, placed a pile of rocks on what was believed to be the site. Santa Anna responded to this entreaty by repeatedly ordering Urrea to comply with the law and execute the prisoners. [1] The Mexican army quickly put down revolts in the Mexican interior, including a brutal suppression of militias in Oaxaca and Zacatecas. [10] King and a group were executed on March 16 at Refugio. A Mexican consular official initially said only one of the dead. In October, the Texians took up arms in what became known as the Texas Revolution. "The Mexican Side of the Texas Revolution". We'll send you a couple of emails per month, filled with fascinating history facts that you can share with your friends. [13] That night, King led his men in an independent escape attempt. Two hours later Portilla received another order, this one from Urrea, "to treat the prisoners with consideration, and especially their leader, Fannin," and to employ them in rebuilding the town. The slaughter of Colonel James W. Fannins troops in the Goliad Massacre, perpetrated three weeks after the fall of the Alamo, resulted in the single largest loss of life for the Texians during the Texas Revolution. Historical tales have always been part of life for Pat Vargas Morales, whose local roots go back to at least 1889, the year her grandmother was born in Goliad. John J. Linn, Reminiscences of Fifty Years in Texas (New York: Sadlier, 1883; 2d ed., Austin: Steck, 1935; rpt., Austin: State House, 1986). General Thomas J. Rusk found the remains of the massacre victims in June 1836 and gave orders for a formal military funeral. Every penny counts! 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. Whether indecisive, stubborn or loyal to the rebels away on missions whom he did not want to abandon, Fannin remained in Goliad until the morning of March 19. Urrea, meanwhile, heard of their presence and marched a flying column of 300 Mexican troops to Refugio, hoping to overtake the Texians. [1], Albert Clinton Horton and his company had been acting as the advance and rear guards for Fannin's company. The Texans lost control of Goliad on March 20, 1836, in the Battle of Coleto Creek. 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