Goliad, a town in southeastern Texas, was the site of a massacre of Texas prisoners in March 1836. The incident took place during Texas’s struggle for independence from Mexico. The massacre followed the battles of Refugio and Coleto, where the Mexican Army had taken about 400 prisoners. After the battle, Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna ordered the prisoners, held at Goliad, to be shot to death. “Remember Goliad” became a rallying cry for Texas independence.
Background.
In the 1820’s, the government of Mexico invited American settlers to establish colonies in its province of Texas. By the mid-1830’s, relations had grown tense between the colonists and the Mexican government.
In 1834, Santa Anna, a Mexican general and politician, overthrew Mexico’s government. The following year, American colonists in Texas revolted against Mexican rule. In December 1835, Texas troops took control of San Antonio. On December 30, the Mexican Congress—at Santa Anna’s direction—issued a decree directing that all foreigners captured in combat against the government be treated as pirates and shot.
Santa Anna soon led the Mexican Army to San Antonio. A defending Texas force retreated to the Alamo, a Spanish Roman Catholic mission just east of the town. In February 1836, Mexican soldiers laid siege to the Alamo. The Alamo fell on March 6, and Santa Anna’s forces killed all the defenders.
Refugio and Coleto.
Colonel James W. Fannin was one of the highest ranking Texas commanders. On February 12, he had led his army to Goliad, where they strengthened an old fort. After the fall of the Alamo, Texas General Sam Houston ordered Fannin to abandon Goliad.
Fannin hesitated to retreat because he was waiting for some of his troops and wagons to return from Refugio, a Texas village near the coast. During the week of March 11, he had sent about 150 men to help families at Refugio escape to Goliad. The troops were still there when the forces of Mexican General José de Urrea reached Refugio on March 14. Urrea led a wing of Santa Anna’s army. He had about 1,500 troops under his command. The Texans fought bravely against Urrea’s larger force, but eventually most were killed or captured.
On the morning of March 19, Fannin began a slow retreat northeast from Goliad toward the town of Victoria. He had about 300 men with him. During the afternoon, he stopped in an open prairie near Coleto Creek to allow the army’s oxen teams to graze. Part of Urrea’s army caught up with the Texans around 1:30 p.m. The Texans, out in the open, quickly dug trenches. They fought off numerous Mexican attacks until fighting ceased after nightfall.
Mexican reinforcements arrived overnight. However, Fannin’s advance scouts and another small group of Texas soldiers were unable to reach Fannin’s men, who were surrounded. The Texans had no water and were running low on ammunition.
The battle resumed early the next morning. Fannin quickly realized his force had no hope of victory or escape. Some of the Texas officers drew up terms of surrender. The terms sought assurances from Urrea that the wounded would be cared for and the captives would be treated with leniency as prisoners of war. Urrea explained he had no authority to disobey the decree of Dec. 30, 1835. But he promised the Texans that he would plead with Santa Anna for mercy on their behalf.
Massacre.
In the days after the Battle of Coleto, Fannin and about 300 Texas prisoners were marched to Goliad. Soon after, they were joined by about 80 prisoners who had escaped from the Battle of Refugio but later surrendered. Santa Anna rejected Urrea’s plea to spare the Texans’ lives. The Mexican commander sent an execution order to Colonel José Nicolás de la Portilla, bypassing Urrea. On March 27, 1836, soldiers under Portilla carried out the massacre. Portilla spared about 20 prisoners to work as doctors, orderlies, interpreters, or skilled laborers. In addition, about 28 others escaped during the confusion of the mass killings.
Aftermath.
“Remember the Alamo” and “Remember Goliad” soon became rallying cries for the Texans. On April 21, Sam Houston’s army defeated Santa Anna’s forces at the Battle of San Jacinto. The victory ensured Texas independence.
Today, the site of the Battle of Coleto is preserved by the Fannin Battleground State Historic Site. Other historic sites near Goliad preserve buildings from Spanish colonial times and the early days of the Texas Republic.
