Claim: After Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna's declaration to treat the rebellious Texians as pirates instead of soldiers and to have them executed in accordance with the law, Dillard Cooper, an American farmer and Texas Revolutionary soldier, survived the massacre of 425 men at Goliad (known as the Goliad Massacre; 425–445 prisoners of war from the Texian Army of the Republic of Texas were killed by the Mexican Army), and soon linked up with three other surviving members of Red Rovers.
Evidence: Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna had ordered General José de Urrea to treat the rebellious Texians as pirates instead of soldiers and to have them executed in accordance with the law rather than kept as prisoners of war. On March 27, Cooper survived the massacre of 425 men at Goliad, running away as the bodies of his companions fell. Dillard Cooper (1814-1896) was an American farmer and Texas Revolutionary soldier who survived the Goliad massacre. Cooper soon linked up with three other surviving members of Red Rovers, Zachariah S. Brooks, Wilson Simpson, and Isaac D. Hamilton. The Goliad massacre was an event of the Texas Revolution that occurred on March 27, 1836, following the Battle of Coleto; 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.