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Battle of Goliad 1835

Battle of Goliad: Milam meets Texan troops
Image: Archibald Forbes, Arthur Griffiths and others., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded location from Wikidata; battle sites are often approximate.

Key facts

Date10 October 1835Wikidata
Year1835Wikidata P585 (point in time)
Era19th century (1800–1913)derived from year
LocationUnited StatesNatural Earth (modern borders)
ContinentNorth AmericaNatural Earth
War / conflictTexas RevolutionWikidata P361
ParticipantsAlaskaWikidata P710
Coordinates28.6467, -97.3817Wikidata P625

About the battle

The Battle of Goliad was the second skirmish of the Texas Revolution. In the early-morning hours of October 9, 1835, Texas settlers attacked the Mexican Army soldiers garrisoned at Presidio La Bahía, a fort near the Mexican Texas settlement of Goliad. La Bahía lay halfway between the only other large garrison of Mexican soldiers (at Presidio San Antonio de Béxar) and the then-important Texas port of Copano.

In September, Texians began plotting to kidnap Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos, who was en route to Goliad to attempt to quell the unrest in Texas. The plan was initially dismissed by the central committee coordinating the rebellion. However, within days of the Texian victory at the Battle of Gonzales, Captain George Collinsworth and members of the Texian militia in Matagorda began marching towards Goliad. The Texians soon learned that Cos and his men had already departed for San Antonio de Béxar but continued their march.

The garrison at La Bahía was understaffed and could not mount an effective defense of the fort's perimeter. Using axes borrowed from townspeople, Texians were able to chop through a door and enter the complex before the bulk of the soldiers were aware of their presence.

Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Battle of Goliad (revision 1378642813), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section; shortened by selecting paragraphs and trimming at a sentence boundary; formatting and citations removed. No text added.

Location

28.6467, -97.3817 · United States

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Nearby battles

Other battles of the Texas Revolution

All 12 battles of the Texas Revolution →

Browse more: battles in United States · North America · 19th century battles

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