Goliad massacre - wikipedia Goliad massacre Coordinates : 28 ° 38 ′ 51 '' N 97 ° 22 ′ 59 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 28.6476 ° N 97.3830 ° W ﻿ / 28.6476 ; - 97.3830 Goliad Massacre Part of the Goliad Campaign of the Texas Revolution Fort Defiance national historic site where soldiers of the defeated Texian Army surrendered to the Mexican Army were murdered shortly after Location Goliad, Tejas, Centralist Republic of Mexico ( territory claimed by Republic of Texas ), present - day Goliad, Texas, US Coordinates 28 ° 38 ′ 51 '' N 97 ° 22 ′ 59 '' W ﻿ / ﻿ 28.6476 ° N 97.3830 ° W ﻿ / 28.6476 ; - 97.3830 Date March 27, 1836 Attack type Mass murder by firing squad and wounded being clubbed and knifed to death Deaths 425 - 445 Texian Army prisoners of war under the command of Colonel James Fannin who was also killed Perpetrators Mexican Army under orders of General and President of the Centralist Republic of Mexico, Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna were not treated as soldiers but given no quarter as rebels Goliad Campaign San Patricio Agua Dulce Refugio Coleto Goliad massacre Texas Revolution Gonzales Goliad Concepción Lipantitlán Grass Fight Béxar San Patricio Agua Dulce The Alamo Refugio Coleto San Jacinto This map marks the location of the massacre in Goliad, Texas. Part of a series on the History of Mexico Pre-Columbian Spanish rule Conquest Colonial period War of Independence First Empire First Republic Centralist Republic Texas Revolution Pastry War Mexican -- American War Second Federal Republic La Reforma Reform War French intervention 1864 -- 1928 Second Empire Restored Republic The Porfiriato Revolution La decena trágica Plan of Guadalupe Tampico Affair Occupation of Veracruz Cristero War Modern Maximato ( 1928 -- 1934 ) Petroleum nationalization Mexican miracle Students of 1968 La Década Perdida 1982 economic crisis Chiapas conflict Mexican peso crisis PRI downfall Mexican Drug War Timeline Mexico portal Part of a series on the History of Texas Timeline Pre-Columbian Texas Early Spanish explorations 1520 -- French Texas 1684 -- 1689 Spanish Texas 1690 -- 1821 Mexican Texas 1821 -- 1836 Republic of Texas 1836 -- 1845 Statehood 1845 -- 1860 Civil War Era 1861 -- 1865 Reconstruction 1865 -- 1899 State of Texas Texas portal The Goliad massacre was an event that occurred on March 27, 1836, during the Texas Revolution, followed the Battle of Goliad in which 425 - 445 prisoners of war from the Texian Army of the Republic of Texas were killed by the Mexican Army in the town of Goliad, Texas. Among those killed was commander Colonel James Fannin. The killing was carried out under orders from General and President of Mexico Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna. Despite the protests for clemency by General José de Urrea, the massacre was reluctantly carried out by Lt. Colonel José Nicolás de la Portilla. Contents 1 Background 2 Massacre 3 Aftermath 4 See also 5 Notes 6 References Background After Santa Anna learned a force of Texas rebels was heading toward Matamoros, he sent General Urrea to make his way north to Matamoros and then to march north along the coast of Texas to stop them. Urrea arrived in Matamoros and worked to secure cooperation from the local inhabitants on January 31, 1836. Meanwhile, Sam Houston had persuaded all but 70 to 100 men and their leaders, Frank W. Johnson and James Grant, to give up on the expedition and to defend locations in Texas, principally Goliad. On February 12, 1836, Colonel James Fannin took most of the men to defend Presidio La Bahía at Goliad, which he renamed `` Fort Defiance ''. On February 16, 1836, Urrea crossed the Rio Grande with 188 cavalry and 205 infantry. He recruited about 200 Tejano volunteers from the area, including some previously sympathetic to the Texians, to join him. At 3 : 00 a.m. on February 27, 1836, Urrea 's advance patrol surprised Johnson and about 45 men, initiating the Battle of San Patricio, where Urrea 's force killed 16 and took 24 prisoners. Johnson and four others escaped in the darkness and rejoined Fannin 's command at Goliad where they retold a story, which they first told at a ranch where they had taken refuge after the escape, that all the prisoners had been executed. Urrea had sent 18 of the prisoners to Matamoros where they were sentenced to death but were later released. This news persuaded Fannin to abandon any further attempt to send relief to the Alamo or to try to secure badly needed supplies waiting at Matagorda but to prepare Presidio La Bahía at Goliad for defense against the advancing Mexican Army. On March 2, at the Battle of Agua Dulce, Grant was killed, as were about 20 other men under his command. On March 6, the Mexican force under Santa Anna stormed the Alamo and killed the garrison. On March 14, Colonel William Ward and 200 men, who had been sent to help Captain Amon B. King evacuate colonists at Refugio, were surrounded by Urrea 's force. Although Ward and his men fled that night during a blinding rainstorm, the Mexicans overtook part of Ward 's force, killing 18 and capturing 31. King and a group were executed on March 16 at Refugio, but some 15 to 18 prisoners were marched to Goliad to serve as blacksmiths or mechanics. General José de Urrea ( pictured ), the commander of the victorious Mexican Army at Goliad vigorously appealed to Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna to give clemency to the Texian Army prisoners of war but was overruled and ordered to massacre the unarmed Texians After capturing one of Fannin 's messengers with dispatches that told of his plan to wait at Goliad then retreat after King and Ward returned, Urrea ordered the execution of 30 prisoners he decided were mercenaries, but freed over 20 others he determined to be Mexicans or colonists so he would not be hindered by taking prisoners along on his advance on Fannin 's force. On March 19, Urrea had quickly advanced and surrounded 300 men of the Texian Army on the open prairie, near La Bahia ( Goliad ). The two - day Battle of Coleto ensued, with the Texians holding their own on the first day. However, the Mexicans received overwhelming reinforcements and heavy artillery. In this critical predicament, Fannin and the majority of the men voted to surrender the Texian forces on March 20. Led to believe that they would be paroled and released into the United States, they were returned to the fort at Goliad, now their prison. Albert Clinton Horton and his company had been acting as the advance and rear guards for Fannin 's company. Surprised by an overwhelming Mexican force, most were chased off and escaped, but 18 were captured and marched back to Goliad. The 75 soldiers of William Parsons Miller and the Nashville Battalion were captured on March 20 and marched in on March 23. They were kept separate from the other prisoners, as they had been unarmed and surrendered without a fight. On March 22, William Ward and the Georgia Battalion ( 80 men plus Ward ) surrendered after escaping from the Battle of Refugio. About 26 men were retained at Victoria as laborers, but 55 of the prisoners were marched into Goliad, on March 25. Massacre The Mexicans took the Texians back to Goliad, where they were held as prisoners at Fort Defiance ( Presidio La Bahia ). The Texians thought they would likely be set free in a few weeks. Urrea departed Goliad, leaving Colonel José Nicolás de la Portilla in command. Urrea wrote to Santa Anna to ask for clemency for the Texians. Under a decree passed by the Mexican Congress on December 30 of the previous year, armed foreigners taken in combat were to be treated as pirates and executed. Urrea wrote in his diary that he ``... wished to elude these orders as far as possible without compromising my personal responsibility. '' Santa Anna responded to this entreaty by repeatedly ordering Urrea to comply with the law and execute the prisoners. He also had a similar order sent directly to the `` Officer Commanding the Post of Goliad ''. This order was received by Portilla on March 26, who decided it was his duty to comply despite receiving a countermanding order from Urrea later that same day. Colonel James Fannin the commander of the captured Texian Army at Goliad asked for humane treatment for himself and his Texian soldiers but his request was abruptly denied. Fannin would be tortured and then shot in the head and most of his men were brutally murdered The next day, Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836, Portilla had between 425 and 445 Texians marched out of Fort Defiance in three columns on the Bexar Road, San Patricio Road, and the Victoria Road, between two rows of Mexican soldiers ; they were shot point blank, wounded survivors were clubbed and knifed to death. Forty Texians were unable to walk. Thirty - nine were killed inside the fort under the direction of Captain Carolino Huerta of the Tres Villas battalion, with Colonel Garay saving one, Jack Shackelford. Fannin was the last to be executed, after seeing his men killed. Aged 32, he was taken by Mexican soldiers to the courtyard in front of the chapel, blindfolded, and seated in a chair ( due to his leg wound from the battle ). He made three requests : that his personal possessions be sent to his family, to be shot in the heart and not the face, and to be given a Christian burial. The soldiers took his belongings, shot him in the face, and burned his body along with those of the other Texians who died that day. The entire Texian force was killed, except for 28 men who feigned death and escaped. Among these was Herman Ehrenberg, who later wrote an account of the massacre. Another person who survived was William Lockhart Hunter. Due to the intervention of Francita Alavez ( the `` Angel of Goliad '' ) and the courageous effort of Garay, 20 more men were spared to act as doctors, interpreters, or workers, including Shackelford. Also spared were the 75 soldiers of Miller and the Nashville Battalion. They were later marched to Matamoros. Spared men were given white arm bands, and while wearing them could walk about freely. They were advised not to take off the arm band, since Mexican troops were hunting for those few who had escaped from Coleto, Victoria, and the massacre itself. Aftermath This monument marks the location where the Texians from the Goliad Massacre were finally buried. The massive number of Texian prisoner - of - war casualties throughout the Goliad Campaign led to Goliad being called a `` massacre '' by Texas - American forces and fueled the frenzy of the Runaway Scrape. After the executions, the Texians ' bodies were piled and burned. Their charred remains were left in the open, unburied, and exposed to vultures and coyotes. Nearly one month later, word reached La Bahia ( Goliad ) that Santa Anna had been defeated and surrendered while trying to flee at the Battle of San Jacinto. General Thomas J. Rusk found the remains of the massacre victims in June 1836 and gave orders for a formal military funeral. The remains were interred at the location southeast of the Presidio la Bahia where the Fannin Monument now stands. The whereabouts of the gravesite was forgotten until years later when human bone fragments were discovered by a group of boys. The massacre is commemorated in Walt Whitman 's poem Song of Myself, section 34, which features in his collected poems titled Leaves of Grass. In 1938 the monument to Fannin and his men was erected at the gravesite. Historical Marker at Fannin Monument -- La Bahia, Texas The site of the mass grave is now topped by a large monument inscribed with the names of the victims. The Goliad Massacre claimed the lives of nearly 350 soldiers. See also List of events named massacres List of massacres in the United States War crime Notes ^ Jump up to : Roell, Craig H. ( 2013 ), Matamoros and the Texas Revolution, Denton, TX : Texas State Historical Association, p. 70, ISBN 978 - 0 - 87611 - 260 - 1. Jump up ^ Roell ( 2013 ), p. 64. Jump up ^ Roell ( 2013 ), pp. 4, 76, 82. ^ Jump up to : Roell ( 2013 ), p. 71. ^ Jump up to : Long ( 1990 ), p. 201. Jump up ^ Nofi ( 1994 ), p. 95. Jump up ^ Nofi, Albert A. ( 1994 ), The Alamo and the Texas War of Independence, September 30, 1835 to April 21, 1836 : Heroes, Myths, and History, New York : Da Capo Press, p. 94, ISBN 978 - 0 - 938289 - 10 - 4 Jump up ^ O'Connor ( 1966 ), pp. 147 -- 148 gives the number of men killed with Grant as 11. Jump up ^ Nofi ( 1994 ), pp. 107 -- 123. Jump up ^ Long ( 1990 ), pp. 273 -- 274. Jump up ^ Long ( 1990 ), p. 274. Jump up ^ Long ( 1990 ), p. 278. ^ Jump up to : Hardin ( 1994 ), pg. 173 Jump up ^ Matthew Ellenberger, `` HORTON, ALBERT CLINTON, '' Handbook of Texas Online ( http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fho62 ), accessed June 09, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Jump up ^ Castaneda ( 1970 ), p. 19. Jump up ^ Long, 1990, p. 280 states that Ward and 120 men from his Georgia Battalion were captured by Urrea 's force. ^ Jump up to : Long ( 1990 ), p. 280. Jump up ^ Harbert Davenport and Craig H. Roell, `` GOLIAD MASSACRE, '' Handbook of Texas Online ( http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/qeg02 ), accessed February 02, 2012. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. Jump up ^ Long ( 1990 ), p. 284. ^ Jump up to : Long ( 1990 ), p. 285. Jump up ^ Hardin ( 1994 ), pg. 174 Jump up ^ Long, 1990, pp. 284, 287 -- l290, 401. Jump up ^ Hardin ( 1994 ), p. 237. Jump up ^ Craig H. Roell, `` MILLER, WILLIAM PARSONS, '' Handbook of Texas Online ( http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fmi30 ), accessed April 03, 2011. Published by the Texas State Historical Association. ^ Jump up to : Long ( 1990 ), p. 286. Jump up ^ Long, ( 1990 ), pp. 309 -- 318. Jump up ^ `` Massacre at Goliad ''. www.tamu.edu. Retrieved 2016 - 03 - 29. Jump up ^ Whitman, W. ( 1860 ). Leaves of Grass. Boston : Thayer & Eldridge. References Castaneda, H.W. ( 1970 ). The Mexican Side of the Texas Revolution. Texas : Graphic Ideas. ASIN B003M0PG1S. Hardin, Stephen L. ( 1994 ). Texian Iliad -- A Military History of the Texas Revolution. Austin, TX : University of Texas Press. ISBN 0 - 292 - 73086 - 1. OCLC 29704011. Long, Jeff ( 1990 ). Duel of Eagles : The Mexican and U.S. Fight for the Alamo. New York : William Morrow and Company, Inc. ISBN 978 - 0 - 688 - 07252 - 0. Nofi, Albert A. ( 1994 ). The Alamo and the Texas War of Independence, September 30, 1835 to April 21, 1836 : Heroes, Myths, and History. New York : Da Capo Press. ISBN 978 - 0 - 938289 - 10 - 4. Roell, Craig H. ( 2013 ). Matamoros and the Texas Revolution. Denton, TX : Texas State Historical Association. ISBN 978 - 0 - 87611 - 260 - 1. Davenport, Harbert ; Roell, Craig H. `` GOLIAD MASSACRE ''. Handbook of Texas Online. Retrieved 27 November 2010. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Goliad_massacre&oldid=823531407 '' Categories : Goliad County, Texas Battles involving the Republic of Texas Battles of the Texas Revolution Conflicts in 1836 1836 in the Republic of Texas 1836 in Mexico Massacres in the United States March 1836 events Hidden categories : Coordinates on Wikidata Pages using deprecated image syntax All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from March 2013 Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Español Français Português Tiếng Việt Edit links This page was last edited on 1 February 2018, at 20 : 38. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was the commander that surrendered at goliad and ended up getting massacred
Answer: Colonel James Fannin