The Montgomery advertiser., 1904-12-11
CHAPTER III.

CHAHTEh III.
 It is not definitely known at what point on the coast of Texas Captain Ticknor and his company landed: prob
 ably in Copano Bay. not far from the mouth of the San Antonio River. where Captain William c. Wards company from Macon. Ga... had disembarked
 some weeks before. After the conf pany had been mustered into the Texan service, 1t was ordered to proceed to GolIad, a town situated on the west bank of the San Antonio River, forty
 miles in the interior. This was one of
 the old Spanish presidios. established
 as far back as 1717. as a mission sta ton for the propagation of Christi anity and civilization among the .In- dians.
 There was here, as usual a stone
 church. around which was built a fort of solid masonry, with four bas- tions commanding the river and the town. By 1896 Goliad had grown to
 be a town of considerable importance,
 being on the main road leading from
 Eastern Texas westwardly to San An-
 tonio. At this time 1S36) it was oc-
 cupied by Texan troops under the com-
 mand of James W. Fannin. Jr., who Is
 said to have been a former resident
 of Alabama. In this old stone church n hundred years before Franciscan
 friars used to chant their soft miser-
 eres. intone Latin prayers at maths, prime, and vespers, swing censers of incense and hold aloft the crucifix to be adored by their simple minded red converts who kneIt round and strove to penetrate the mysteries of tho white mans new medicine the forms. ceremon- ies, and doctrines of the holy Roman church. Now the walls of the sacred enclosure resounded only with the roll of drums. the clanking of swords, and tho measured heavy tread of armed soldiers. The Indian converts. over come by the vices and virtues of civili- zed life. had long since either died off or wandered again into barbar- ism.
 On the march from the port to Goliad Captain Ticknor found at the Mission del Refugio twenty-five m!ies from the coast Captain Wards Georgia com- pany encamped and together the two companies proceeded to Goliad. Hero the first Texas regiment was formed. consisting of two battalions, one of which called the Lafayette Battalion was made up of companies from North Alabama. Tennessee. and Kentucky. together with a few Texas troops, the other named the Georgia Battalion was composed of three Georgia companies. one company from Mobile, called the Mobile Greys, and Captain Ticknor's company from Montgomery. James w. Fannin was made Colonel of tho regi- ment. William c. Ward. lately Captain of the company from Macon, was elec- ted Lieutenant Colonel, and Dr. Warren Mitchell of Columbus, Georgia, Major. Early in March Captain Aaron B. King of the Lafayette Battalion was des- patched by Colonel Fannin to occupy the Mission del Refugio for the pro- lection of the families of colonists there resident. Captain King found himself greatly annoyed in his new position by a party of Mexican cavalry and on the 18th sent an express to Goliad asking for reinforcement. On the same day Col. Fannin received or- ders from General Sam Houston com- mander-in-c chief of the army of Texas to abandon Goliad at once and fall back to Victoria on the Guadalupe riv- CT; but before obeying this order he despatched hastily the Georgia Battal- ion under the command of Lieut.. Col. Ward back to the Mission del RefugiO for the relief of Captain King.
 This was an ill-advised measure; for 1t divided and weakened his force, de- layed his retreat from Goliad, and led. as will presently appear. to a fa- tai ending. If Fannin had recalled King from the Mission or left him to his fate instead of attempting to re- inforce him, and had with his full regiment of between five and six hun dred men, hastened his retreat from Goliad. he could successfully have fought his way to safety as there was then no large body of Mexican troops east of the San Antonio river. Col Ward with thA Georgia Battalion. in cluding Ticknor's company. set out O'clnNk tha morning of the 18th. and arrived at the Mission about two o'clock on the af- ternoon of the same day.
 The following account of the adven-