page_title: Battle of Goliad
section_title: Prelude
hierarchical_section_title: Battle of Goliad / Prelude
caption_attribution_description: Adapted from Wikipedia's TX county maps by Seth Ilys.
context_page_description: 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 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.
context_section_description: On October 6, members of the Texian militia in Matagorda convened at the home of Sylvanus Hatch. As their first order of business they elected George Collinsworth as their captain; Dr. William Carleton was then named first lieutenant and D.C. Collinsworth became the unit's second lieutenant. After appointing their leaders, the men decided to march on La Bahía. They intended to kidnap Cos and, if possible, steal the estimated $50,000 that was rumored to accompany him.  The Texians sent messengers to alert nearby settlements of their quest. By afternoon, 50 Texians were ready to march from Matagorda. During the march, for unknown reasons the men fired Carleton and appointed James W. Moore as the new first lieutenant.
  The following day the expedition stopped at Victoria, where they were soon joined by English-speaking settlers from other settlements and 30 Tejanos led by Plácido Benavides. Although no accurate muster rolls were kept, historian Stephen Hardin estimated that the Texian ranks swelled to 125 men. Forty-nine of them signed a "Compact of Volunteers under Collinsworth" on October 9. These men pledged that they were loyal to the Mexican federal government and would harm no one who remained loyal to the federalist cause.
  One of the new arrivals, merchant Philip Dimmitt, received a missive from the Goliad customs agent with news that Cos and his war chest had already departed La Bahía to travel to San Antonio de Béxar. Undeterred, the group marched out on October 9. Ira Ingram led the vanguard, which halted 1 mile (1.6 km) outside Goliad. The events that follow are not very clear. According to the memoirs of Mexican General Vicente Filisola, who was not in Texas in 1835, the Texians plotted to draw the presidio commander, Colonel Juan López Sandoval, and his officers from the fort. The Texians allegedly planned a dance in Goliad on October 9 and invited the Mexican officers. Although Sandoval, Captain Manuel Sabriego, and Lieutenant Jesus de la Garza briefly attended the dance, they suspected mischief and returned to the fort. No Texian source mentions such a plot. Several of the Texians, including Dimmitt, did enter the town that evening to try to find guides and support for the effort. Dimmitt's efforts were successful, and several of the Tejanos who lived near Goliad joined the Texian force. They reported that Sandoval commanded only 50 men—far fewer than the number necessary to defend the entire perimeter of the fort—and provided directions to the fort.
  The main body of Texian soldiers, under Collinsworth, became disoriented in the dark and wandered from the road. They were soon tangled in a mesquite thicket. While working their way back towards the road, the Texians met Ben Milam, a Texas colonist who had recently escaped from prison in Monterrey. Milam joined the militia as a private, and the group soon rejoined the vanguard.
caption: This map marks the location of Goliad in Texas. The battle took place near the town.
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