We linked up with Tom at the HEB in Seguin in order to fill the larder on our way to make a giant clockwise loop through Texas history from the first European settlement to the jet age. Pulling into Goliad State Park dressed in flip flops and shorts we lounged around the campers talking excitedly about our upcoming adventures. Our main focus was the Texas fight for Independence which here at Goliad found its catalyst for victory. The youthful and inexperienced Colonel James Fannin along with about 300 men surrendered to General Jose Urrea’s Mexican army of 700-1,000 and were later executed after being marched back to the Presidio at the order of General Santa Anna.
The Coleto Creek Battle Field is about 10 miles east of the Presidio La Bahia. A tardy retreat placed the Texians in an indefensible position on the open prairie and the retreat was cut off and they were eventually surrounded by Urrea’s forces forcing the surrender. About one week later on Palm Sunday 27 March 1836 the prisoners were led out of the fort and summarily shot. “Remember the Alamo and remember Goliad!” became the battle cry of the Texans.
As the years flowed along, the Fannin Battle site faded from memory until 1894 when a local farmer placed a large cotton gin screw to mark the site of Fannin’s surrender. Now as a state historical site the park sits quietly off the main road as a testament to the power of mercy vs the hardened heart of a cruel, cowardly dictator.
On the second day at the campground in Goliad State park we went over our to-do list that included: the Presidio La Bahia, Mission Espiritu Santo de Zuniga, Mission Nuestra Senora del Rosario, and historic downtown Goliad. This small Texas town has a lot to offer.
The first visit to the beautifully restored Presidio La Bahia was a five course historical feast that included: the peaceful Our Lady of Lareto Chapel (Still a functioning church), the Presidio La Bahia, the Fannin memorial where the remains of over 400 heroes are buried, the memorial statue of Francita Alverez: “The Angel of Goliad”, and the birthplace of General Ignacio Zaragoza, the Mexican hero of the second battle of Puebla on 5 May 1862, which is the basis for El Cinco de Mayo. All of this can be reached by a short hike, bike ride, or canoe trip from the campground at Goliad State Park.
Colonel Fannin was executed here in the courtyard of Our Lady of Loreto Chapel.
Still a functioning church, proper attire and reverence is requested by visitors. It is so peaceful inside the sanctuary it is hard to imagine the amount of blood spilled during fighting over the fort outside.
Visiting the Presidio La Bahia it is obvious why the location was chosen overlooking the surrounding countryside. From here it could provide protection to both of the nearby missions, Mission Espiritu Santo de Zuniga and Mission Nuestra Senora del Rosario. Mission Espiritu Santo de Zuniga is clearly visible from the southwestern defensive turret just across the San Antonio River. The Presidio and Mission had been moved three times since 1721 progressively further inland until reaching its current location in 1747. They were built by the Spanish as a countermeasure to the French interlopers from La Salle’s failed Fort St. Louis settlement near Matagorda Bay. The French settled Fort St. Louis on the banks of Garcitas Creek in 1685 making it the first European settlement in Texas in an attempt by Louis XIV to make inroads to the Spanish silver mines in northern Mexico and threaten Spanish shipping lanes in the Gulf of Mexico.
The Angel of Goliad stands beckoning to visitors in front of the Fannin Monument which marks the burial site of the bones of the martyrs. Francita Alavez was strong willed, devout, and compassionate. Using her husband’s position as a Captain in the Mexican army she saved many lives at the Presidio and went on to minister to the captives in a Matamoros prison. It is forever a testimony to keeping our humanity amid savagery.
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Lot of history and interesting things to see down there. Glad you all go to to on the loop. I’m not sure how David writes all this stuff on this blog. He must have a good memory
The historical sites we saw were quite interesting and when you’re at these places after having read about them you really get a better sense and perspective of things. The events that took place at these sites are now in the distant past and long forgotten by most people but were so important in the course of Texas and ultimately US history.