User:DLS Texas/List of Texan survivors of the Goliad Massacre

List of Texan survivors of the Goliad Campaign new article content ...

Below is a list of the men that escaped execution while members of the Texian Army in south Texas, after the arrival of elements of the army of Mexico under José Urrea, during the Goliad Campaign.

Background
When the Battle of Coleto ended at approximately 7:30 a.m. on March 20, 1836, almost 700 native and immigrant Texians had at some time participated as defenders at the Presidio La Bahia in Goliad, Texas. The conflict, a part of the Texas Revolution, was part of the second phase in Mexican President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna's three phase attempt to retake the province of Texas after an insurgent army of Texian settlers and adventurers from the United States had driven out all Mexican troops the previous year.

Execution policy
In preparation for marching on Texas, Santa Anna had gained approval from the Mexican Congress to issue a resolution that all "foreigners landing on the coast of the Republic or invading its territory by land, armed, and with the intent of attacking our country, will be deemed pirates" and executed.

Mexican army arrives in central Texas
As part of Santa Anna's first phase, he led an army to San Antonio de Bexar, on February 23, 1836 and initiated a siege of the Alamo. As the Mexican army had approached San Antonio, Texians and their families entered into the Alamo for safety. During the siege, multiple couriers were sent to the acting Texas government, the Texian army in La Bahia (Goliad) led by James Fannin, and other Texas communities, asking for relief forces, provisions, and powder. The siege culminated in an early-morning assault by Mexican troops which left almost all of the Texian defenders dead.

San Patricio
Texian Army commanders, James Grant, Frank W. Johnson and Robert C. Morris, had formed plans to assault the Mexican town of Matamoros. Searching for horses for their expedition, they ventured south towards Refugio and La Bahia. On February 27, 1836, Urrea's advance patrol discovered Frank Johnson with about seventy Texians camped near the abandoned settlement at San Patricio. At 3:30 a.m., Mexican troops surprised the Texans, killing about twenty and taking thirty-two as prisoners. The battle had lasted a few hours, ending with the escape of Johnson and four others. The men later escaped to rejoin James Fannin's command at Goliad.

Agua Dulce
Grant and Morris's men were also surprised on March 2 by Urrea's command while camping at Agua Dulce Creek. The Mexican forces killed Grant and Morris and twelve other Texians. The survivors were captured and marched to the prison at Matamoros.

San Antonio
The Mexican army arrived in San Antonio on February 23 and initiated a siege of the Alamo garrison. On March 6, a battle of the Alamo commenced with heavy casualties on both sides. A few Texan non-combatants were released. After the arrival of Alamo survivors in Gonzales on March 13, they met with Sam Houston, the commander of all Texian forces, waiting there with about 400 men organized by James C. Neill and Colonel Edward Burleson. Sue Dickinson and Joe related the details of the battle and the apparent death or execution of all defenders under the order of no quarter and the assumed strength of Santa Anna's army. Upon receiving this information, Houston advised all civilians to evacuate along with himself and the army. and then ordered the army to fall back. This was the start of the Runaway Scrape, in which many of the Texian colonists, the army and the acting government, fled eastward in advance of the approaching Mexican army.

Goliad
Further south, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna had sent General José Urrea marching into Texas from Matamoros, making his way north by following the coast of Texas. On March 19, he had quickly advanced and surrounded 300 retreating men in the Texian Army on the open prairie, near La Bahia (Goliad). A two day Battle of Coleto ensued with the Texians holding their own on the first day. However, the Mexicans would receive overwhelming reinforcements and heavy artillery. Due to their critical predicament, Texan Colonel James Fannin and his staff had voted to surrender the Texian forces on the 20th. They were returned to their former fort in Goliad, which now became their prison. Albert Clinton Horton and company had been acting as the advance and rear guards for Fannins company. Surprised by an overwhelming Mexican force, they were chased off and escaped, however 18 of the group were captured and marched back to Goliad.

Refugio
Amon B. King and a group of men had encountered the Mexican army in Refugio. King and a few others were captured and had been executed on March 16, but about 15-18 men that were with him, were taken as prisoners and marched to Goliad, to serve as blacksmiths or mechanics.

Copano
Arriving in Texas, 80 soldiers of William Parsons Miller and the Nashville Battalion had been captured on the 20th and marched in to Goliad on the 23rd. Being detained separately from the other prisoners, since they had surrendered without weaponry.

Lavaca Bay
On March 22, William Ward and the Georgia Battalion (80 men plus Ward), surrendered near Lavaca Bay after escaping from the Battle of Refugio. About 26 men were retained at Victoria as laborers, but 55 prisoners were marched into Goliad, on March 25th.

Lives taken - mass execution
On March 26, 1836, 19:00, Portilla had received orders from Santa Anna in triplicate to execute the prisoners. On March 27, 1836, at about 08:00 a.m. on Palm Sunday, Colonel Jose Nicolas de la Portilla had the Texians that were still able enough to walk, march out of La Bahia in three separate columns to the San Antonio Road, Victoria Road and the San Patricio Road. Once the columns reached their selected destinations, the Mexican soldiers formed into two ranks on one side of the prisoners. The Texians were then shot down at point-blank range all within a few hundred yards of the fort.

Avoided massacre

 * Fannin's advance guards - left before the massacre

Francis L. DeSauque and John Chenoweth and company were sent out from Goliad to forage and scout in anticipation of the Fannin's march on San Antonio. They were unaware that Mexican forces were in the area. Instructed to hold the Cibolo, they encountered Juan Seguin and his relief forces while near the Cibolo on February 28. They informed Seguin that Fannin was in route to relieve the Alamo defenders and should only be about two days away. After receiving a missive from Fannin, that the relief mission had failed, DeSauque returned to Goliad, where he was killed. Chenoweth went to Gonzales, then joined Houston and on to San Jacinto.


 * Horton's Company - escaped before the massacre

Fannin's forward guards-rode ahead of Fannin's attempted rendezvous with the Texas army at Victoria and escaped on March 19-20. This group included:

Captain Albert C. Horton, Lt. James W. Moore, Thomas Jefferson Adams, Norman Austin, Dr. John Walker Baylor (Shackelford's Co), Jacob Betts, Garrett E. Boom, George J. Bridgeman (Bullock's Co), George Whitfield Brooks, J.W. Buckner, Thomas Cantwell, Joseph Clements, Lewis DeMoss, William DeMoss, Nicholas M. Eastland, Joseph Fenner, William C. Francis, Jefferson George, Francis Jones, John Jones, Augustus S. Kincheloe, Charles Morgan, John L. Osborn, Thomas Osborn, Michael Riley, George N. Robinson, Levi Pendleton Scott, Christopher Terrell, Thomas S. Thompson, George W. Wheelwright, Ralph Wright. Other members of this group, like the rear guards did not fare as well and were shot or captured and marched to Goliad.


 * Miller's Battalion - spared from the massacre

William Parsons Miller and the Nashville Battalion landed in Copano, Texas on March 20 and was captured by José de Urrea's Mexican troops and marched to Goliad as prisoners. The 80 member Nashville Battalion was held until after the massacre and then marched to Matamoros. They were later freed by the terms of the Treaty of Velasco.

Survivors
Here is a list of the men that escaped execution while members of the Texian Army, after the arrival of elements of the army of José Urrea, during the Goliad Campaign.