Remember Goliad!

Remember Goliad!. Remember the Alamo!. , A tragic defeat ignited support for Texas independence, In 1836, a ferocious battle that shaped Texas history was waged on the open prairie where you stand today. On March 19, about 350 volunteer soldiers for Texas independence fought fiercely against a larger force of Mexican soldiers that surrounded them. Faced with inevitable defeat, the Texian commander, Colonel James Walker Fannin, agreed to lay down arms, believing his men would be treated as prisoners of war. But the Mexican commander was under strict orders from Mexican President General Santa Anna to execute enemy combatants as "pirates." After being taken to Goliad, Col. Fannin and his men were shot on Palm Sunday, March 27. Only a handful of men managed to escape. , The executions, and the earlier fall of the Alamo on March 6, galvanized support for independence. With the battle cry of "Remember the Alamo, Remember Goliad," Texians fought with renewed determination, winning a final victory over Santa Anna at the Battle of San Jacinto on April 21, 1836. , Captions , Upper Left: James Walker Fannin , Born in 1804 in Georgia, Fannin attended the West Point Military Academy but never graduated. He led missions alongside Jim Bowie and was put in command of several battalions of Texas volunteers. Some historians may question the wisdom of his military decisions, but never his personal bravery. , Upper Middle: Santa Anna and the Tornel Decree , Mexican President General Antonio López de Santa Anna was infuriated by settlers in Texas from the United States and Europe who resisted his authority. In December 1835, he issued a decree declaring that all foreigners attacking Mexican forces would be deemed pirates and subject to execution. , Upper Right: Mexican General José Urréa , Mexican General José Urréa lost many men fighting Fannin's forces before the surrender. He later wrote, "Fannin was a gentleman, a man of courage... and if it had been in my hand to save him together with his companions, I would have gladly done so." , Center: Bloody Arm Flag , Designed by Goliad garrison commander, Captain Phillip Dimmitt. , Lower Left: Fannin Memorial Monument , Nearly two months after Texians won their independence in the Battle of San Jacinto, a grisly discovery was made. On June 3, 1836, Brigadier General Thomas Rusk found the remains of the more than 300 unarmed men executed by the Mexican army on March 27. A memorial to the slain was erected in 1936, it is located 9 miles west of where you are standing. , Images: William Speight; Texas Historical Commission; Illustrations: Howell Golson