The Battle of San Patricio was fought on February 27, 1836, between Texian rebels and the Mexican army, during the Texas Revolution. The battle occurred as a result of the outgrowth of the Texian Matamoros Expedition. The battle marked the start of the Goliad Campaign, the Mexican offensive to retake the Texas Gulf Coast. It took place in and around San Patricio.
By the end of 1835, all Mexican troops had been driven from Texas. Frank W. Johnson, the commander of the volunteer army in Texas, and James Grant gathered volunteers for a planned invasion of the Mexican port town of Matamoros. In February 1836, Johnson and about 40 men led a herd of horses to San Patricio in preparation for the expedition. Johnson assigned some of his troops to a ranch 4 miles (6.4km) outside town to guard the horses, while the rest of his men garrisoned in three different locations in town.
Unbeknownst to the Texians, on February 18 Mexican General José de Urrea had led a large contingent of troops from Matamoros into Texas. Their goal was to neutralize the Texian soldiers gathered along the coast. Urrea's men easily followed the trail left by Johnson's herd of horses. Mexican soldiers surprised the sleeping Texians in San Patricio in the early hours of February 27. After a fifteen-minute battle, all but six Texians had been killed or imprisoned. One Mexican soldier was killed and four injured.
Background
Under President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government banned slavery and immigration as it shifted away from a federalist model to a more centralized government. Santa Anna's new policies, including the ban on slavery in 1829, the ban on immigration in 1830, and the revocation of the Constitution of 1824 in early 1835 incited immigrants, slave-owners,[1] and federalists throughout the nation to revolt.[2] The Mexican Army quickly put down revolts in the Mexican interior, including a brutal suppression of militias in Oaxaca and Zacatecas.[2][3] Unrest continued in the northeastern Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. The area that bordered the United States, known as Texas, was populated primarily by English-speaking settlers, known as Texians. The Texian immigrants refused to comply with Mexico's new bans on slavery, and described Santa Anna's attempts to free their slaves as "piratical attacks" to take their "property". In October, the Texians took up arms in what became known as the Texas Revolution.[4] The following month, Texians declared themselves part of a Mexican state independent from Coahuila and created a provisional state government which permitted slavery, forbade any attempt to ban slavery, and included some principles of the Constitution of 1824, which had authorized immigration.[5] By the end of the year, all Mexican troops had been killed or expelled from Texas.[6]
Leading federalists in Mexico advocated a plan to attack Mexican troops in Matamoros, a major Mexican port.[7] Members of the General Council, the interim Texas governing body, were enamored with the idea of a Matamoros Expedition. They hoped it would inspire other federalist states to revolt and keep the bored Texian troops from deserting the army. Most importantly, it would move the war zone outside Texas.[8] The Council officially approved the plan on December 25, and on December 30 Frank W. Johnson, the commander of the volunteer army, and his aide James Grant took the bulk of the army and almost all of the supplies to Goliad to prepare for the expedition.[9]
Determined to quash the rebellion, Santa Anna began assembling a large force to restore order; by the end of 1835, his army numbered 6,019 soldiers.[10] In late December, at his behest, Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag".[11] In the early 19th century, captured pirates were executed immediately. The resolution thus gave the Mexican Army permission to take no prisoners in the war against the Texians.[11] Santa Anna personally led the bulk of his troops inland to San Antonio de Béxar and ordered General José de Urrea to lead 550 troops along the Atascocita Road toward Goliad. Urrea's efforts to quell the rebellion along the Texas Gulf Coast have become known as the Goliad Campaign.[12]
Prelude
The Texas provisional government had named Sam Houston the commander of a new regular army in Texas, but without authority over the volunteers who reported to Johnson.[13] The provisional Governor Henry Smith opposed the Matamoros Expedition and ordered Houston to find a way to disband it.[14] In a rousing speech to the volunteers, Houston dissuaded the bulk of the men from continuing their mission. Many left the army, while others joined the troops stationed under Houston's second-in-command, James Fannin, at Presidio La Bahia in Goliad. By the end of January 1836, only 70men remained with Johnson and Grant.[15] Most of these volunteers were Americans or Europeans who had arrived in Texas after the Texas Revolution had commenced.[16]
Urrea reached Matamoros on January 31. A committed federalist, he soon convinced other federalists in the area that the Texians' ultimate goal was secession, and their attempt to spark a federalist revolt in Matamoros was just a method of diverting attention from themselves.[17] Urrea's force crossed into Texas on February 18.[18] Meanwhile, Mexican double agents continued to assure Johnson and Grant that they would be able to take Matamoros easily.[19] Despite hearing rumors that the Mexican army was approaching, Grant and Johnson chose to take their men south of the Nueces River, into territory belonging to the state of Tamaulipas, to search for horses to buy, steal, or otherwise gather. About February 21, Johnson and part of the group began driving about 100 horses back into Texas. The rest of the men remained with Grant, ostensibly to look for more horses. In actuality, he was attempting to rendezvous with his allies near Matamoros to determine whether federalists were still willing to rise up against the Mexican army.[20]
Johnson's men arrived on February 24 in San Patricio, an Irish settlement about 100 miles (160km) north of Matamoros.[21][22] Many of the San Patricio residents were centralists, loyal to the Mexican government.[21] Johnson sent twelve men to guard the horses at the ranch of Julian de la Garza, approximately 4 miles (6.4km) outside the town, while the rest garrisoned in San Patricio.[22] The weather was frigid, and the men's clothes were threadbare. Confident that Grant would alert him if Mexican troops were in the area, Johnson chose not to appoint sentries, instead allowing all of the men to take shelter.[23]
The Mexican troops easily followed the trail left by Johnson's herd. On February 25, Urrea led 100 dragoons and 100 infantry to corner the Texians. By 10p.m., scouts reported that Texian troops were established in San Patricio. The Mexican soldiers continued marching through the cold night; six of the troops died of exposure.[24]
Battle
Urrea instructed three officers to go to San Patricio dressed as civilians and warn the centralists that the Mexican army was approaching. In an effort to reduce casualties and property damage, centralists were asked to declare their loyalties by leaving lanterns burning in their windows.[25] Locals also gave the officers precise information on which buildings housed Texian soldiers.[25] Urrea sent 30men under Captain Rafael Pretalia to de la Garza's ranch to surprise the Texians camped there. At 3:30a.m. on February 26, the remaining Mexican soldiers entered San Patricio.[26]
One group of Texians surrendered immediately when they awoke to find themselves surrounded by Mexican troops. When another party of Texians was asked to surrender, they instead opened fire, killing a Mexican officer and wounding two other soldiers. Determined to prevent more casualties, Mexican dragoons prepared to set the house on fire to force the Texians out. At this point, several Texians called that they were surrendering. As they left the house, they were shot or lanced.[26]
By chance, Johnson and three of his men, Lieutenant Daniel Toler and Sergeants Love and Miller, were still awake and discussing tactics. Mexican troops had been told that the house where Johnson was quartered was one of their targets, yet a lamp burned in the window, signaling that this was the home of a loyalist. Out of an abundance of caution, a group of troops knocked on the door. Before the Texians could open the door, they heard the gunfire from the town square. Toler looked out a window and saw uniformed troops on the porch. Without opening the door, he told the soldiers, in Spanish, that there were no troops there, but he would open the door momentarily. The fighting moved into the street, and soldiers who had been guarding the back door of the house rushed around to the front. Johnson, Toler, Love, and Miller dashed out the back door and escaped.[27]
At the de la Garza ranch, the Texians had been taking turns standing sentry. In the cold, all of the sentries had fallen asleep. Pretalia's soldiers opened fire on the sleeping men, injuring two Texians. In the subsequent fight, four Texians died, eight men (three Americans and five Tejanos, Mexican-Ethnicity Texans) were taken prisoner, and several escaped.[28]
Six Texians escaped, including Johnson, Toler, Miller, Love, and John F. Beck.[22] They made their way on foot to Refugio, where they sent a messenger to Fannin at Goliad, 75 miles (121km) north, to let him know that Urrea's army was close.[29][30] The survivors reached Goliad on February 29. After filling out an official report on the battle, Johnson, Toler, and Love left the army and went to San Felipe. The remaining survivors joined Fannin's troops and were later killed in the Goliad Massacre.[29]
Eleven Texians were killed outright, five suffered mortal wounds, and 21 others were taken prisoner. Six local men were also arrested for aiding the rebellion. Some historians report that most were executed immediately in the town square.[30] According to reports by Johnson and another Texian, Urrea questioned several of the prisoners, and there were reports that the men were tortured. Within 72 hours all of the prisoners were dead.[31] One Mexican soldier was killed and four were wounded.[31]
Urrea's official records state that the battle was fought at Fort Lipantitlán, on the other side of the Nueces River. Texian accounts are consistent that the fighting occurred in town and at the de la Garza ranch.[28] While Urrea waited for reinforcements before beginning his march towards Goliad, his advance party searched for Grant and the remaining Texians.[32] After learning of Grant's whereabouts from local spies, on March 2 Mexican dragoons ambushed the Texians at Agua Dulce Creek.[33]
The Texas Revolution was a rebellion of colonists from the United States and Tejanos in putting up armed resistance to the centralist government of Mexico. Although the uprising was part of a larger one, the Mexican Federalist War, that included other provinces opposed to the regime of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government believed the United States had instigated the Texas insurrection with the goal of annexation. The Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag". Only the province of Texas succeeded in breaking with Mexico, establishing the Republic of Texas. It was eventually annexed by the United States.
San Patricio is a city in Nueces and San Patricio counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 384 at the 2020 census.
The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day La Porte and Pasadena, Texas, was the final and decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Samuel Houston, the Texan Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican army in a fight that lasted just 18 minutes. A detailed, first-hand account of the battle was written by General Houston from the headquarters of the Texan Army in San Jacinto on April 25, 1836. Numerous secondary analyses and interpretations have followed.
The Goliad Campaign was the 1836 Mexican offensive to retake the Texas Gulf Coast during the Texas Revolution. Mexican troops under the command of General José de Urrea defeated rebellious immigrants to the Mexican province of Texas, known as Texians, in a series of clashes in February and March.
James Walker Fannin Jr. was an American military officer, planter and slave trader who served in the Texian Army during the Texas Revolution. After being outnumbered and surrendering to the Mexican Army at the Battle of Coleto Creek, Fannin and his fellow prisoners of war were massacred soon afterward at Goliad, Texas, under Antonio López de Santa Anna's orders. He was memorialized in several place names, including a military training camp and a major city street in Houston.
The Battle of Refugio was fought from March 12–15, 1836, near Refugio, Texas. Mexican General José Urrea and 1,500 Centralista soldiers fought against Amon B. King and his 28 American volunteers and Lieutenant Colonel William Ward and his approximately 120 Americans. The battle, a part of the Goliad Campaign of the Texas Revolution, resulted in a Mexican victory and splintered Texan resistance.
The Battle of Agua Dulce Creek was a skirmish during the Texas Revolution between Mexican troops and rebellious colonists of the Mexican province of Texas, known as Texians. As part of the Goliad Campaign to retake the Texas Gulf Coast, Mexican troops ambushed a group of Texians on March 2, 1836. The skirmish began approximately 26 miles (42 km) south of San Patricio, in territory belonging to the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
The Runaway Scrape events took place mainly between September 1835 and April 1836 and were the evacuations by Texas residents fleeing the Mexican Army of Operations during the Texas Revolution, from the Battle of the Alamo through the decisive Battle of San Jacinto. The ad interim government of the new Republic of Texas and much of the civilian population fled eastward ahead of the Mexican forces. The conflict arose after Antonio López de Santa Anna abrogated the 1824 Constitution of Mexico and established martial law in Coahuila y Tejas. The Texians resisted and declared their independence. It was Sam Houston's responsibility, as the appointed commander-in-chief of the Provisional Army of Texas, to recruit and train a military force to defend the population against troops led by Santa Anna.
The Consultation, also known as the Texian Government, served as the provisional government of Mexican Texas from October 1835 to March 1836 during the Texas Revolution. Tensions rose in Texas during early 1835 as throughout Mexico federalists began to oppose the increasingly centralist policies of the government. In the summer, Texians elected delegates to a political convention to be held in Gonzales in mid-October. Weeks before the convention and war began, the Texian Militia took up arms against Mexican soldiers at the Battle of Gonzales. The convention was postponed until November 1 after many of the delegates joined the newly organized volunteer Texian Army to initiate a siege of the Mexican garrison at San Antonio de Bexar. On November 3, a quorum was reached in San Antonio. Within days, the delegates passed a resolution to define why Texians were fighting. They expressed allegiance to the deposed Constitution of 1824 and maintained their right to form the General Council. In the next weeks, the council authorized the creation of a new regular army to be commanded by Sam Houston. As Houston worked to establish an army independent from the existing volunteer army, the council repeatedly interfered in military matters.
The siege of Béxar was an early campaign of the Texas Revolution in which a volunteer Texian army defeated Mexican forces at San Antonio de Béxar. Texians had become disillusioned with the Mexican government as President and General Antonio López de Santa Anna's tenure became increasingly dictatorial. In early October 1835, Texas settlers gathered in Gonzales to stop Mexican troops from reclaiming a small cannon. The resulting skirmish, known as the Battle of Gonzales, launched the Texas Revolution. Men continued to assemble in Gonzales and soon established the Texian Army. Despite a lack of military training, well-respected local leader General Stephen F. Austin was elected commander.
The Presidio Nuestra Señora de Loreto de la Bahía, known more commonly as Presidio La Bahía, or simply La Bahía is a fort constructed by the Spanish Army that became the nucleus of the modern-day city of Goliad, Texas, United States. The current location dates to 1747.
The Battle of Lipantitlán, also known as the Battle of Nueces Crossing, was fought along the Nueces River on November 4, 1835 between the Mexican Army and Texian insurgents, as part of the Texas Revolution. After the Texian victory at the Battle of Goliad, only two Mexican garrisons remained in Texas, Fort Lipantitlán near San Patricio and the Alamo Mission at San Antonio de Béxar. Fearing that Lipantitlán could be used as a base for the Mexican army to retake Goliad and angry that two of his men were imprisoned there, Texian commander Philip Dimmitt ordered his adjutant, Captain Ira Westover, to capture the fort.
Philip Dimmitt (1801–1841) was an officer in the Texian Army during the Texas Revolution. Born in Kentucky, Dimmitt moved to Texas in 1823 and soon operated a series of trading posts. After learning that Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos was en route to Texas in 1835 to quell the unrest, Dimmitt proposed that the general be kidnapped on his arrival at Copano. The plan was shelved when fighting broke out at Gonzales, but by early October, 1835, it had been resuscitated by a group of volunteers at Matamoros. Not knowing that Cos had already departed for San Antonio de Bexar, this group decided to corner Cos at Presidio La Bahia in Goliad. Dimmitt joined them en route, and participated in the battle of Goliad.
Francis White "Frank" Johnson was a leader of the Texian Army from December 1835 through February 1836, during the Texas Revolution. Johnson arrived in Texas in 1826 and worked as a surveyor for several empresarios, including Stephen F. Austin. One of his first activities was to plot the new town of Harrisburg. Johnson unsuccessfully tried to prevent the Fredonian Rebellion and served as a delegate to the Convention of 1832.
The Matamoros Expedition was a planned 1836 invasion of the Mexican port town of Matamoros by rebellious Texians. As the Mexican government transitioned from federalism to a centralized government in 1835, many federalists offered armed opposition. In Mexican Texas, settlers launched a full rebellion, known as the Texas Revolution, in October. By the end of the year, the Texians had expelled all Mexican soldiers from their territory. Confident that there would be no more fighting within their lands, Texans began looking for ways to extend the fight.
Plácido Benavides (1810–1837) was an early Mexican-born settler in De Leon's Colony, Victoria County, Texas. Benavides earned himself the sobriquet of the Paul Revere of Texas for his 1836 journey from San Patricio to Goliad to Victoria, warning residents of the approaching Mexican army. He was twice elected alcalde of Victoria, Texas. He married into the powerful De León family, and with his wife Agustina became the father of three daughters. Benavides fought against the dictatorship of Antonio López de Santa Anna, but did not feel Texas should be separated from Mexico.
James Grant (1793–1836) was a 19th-century Texas politician, physician and military participant in the Texas Revolution.
Francita Alavez was known as the "Angel of Goliad," for saving the lives of Texas prisoners of war in the Goliad Massacre and at Copano and Victoria, Texas, by interceding on their behalf and persuading the help of Mexican officials. Her husband, Captain Telesforo Alavez led the Mexicans in the Copano and Victoria region under General José de Urrea.
References
Davis, William C. (2006). Lone Star Rising. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN978-1-58544-532-5. originally published 2004 by New York: Free Press
Lack, Paul D. (1992). The Texas Revolutionary Experience: A Political and Social History 1835–1836. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN978-0-89096-497-2.
Reid, Stuart (2007). The Secret War for Texas. Elma Dill Russell Spencer Series in the West and Southwest. College Station, TX: Texas A&M University Press. ISBN978-1-58544-565-3.
Scott, Robert (2000). After the Alamo. Plano, TX: Republic of Texas Press. ISBN978-1-55622-691-5.
Stuart, Jay (2008). Slaughter at Goliad: The Mexican Massacre of 400 Texas Volunteers. Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press. ISBN978-1-59114-843-2.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
