about 70 miles inland from the ghost town of Indianola is Goliad. the site of presidio
la bahia and a battle in the Texas revolution.
following the french exploration of the texas coast, and Lasalle's fort on matagorda bay, the spaniards moved into the area and occupied it to prevent the british or french from establishing themselves on the texas coast and threatening mexico. originally, presidio la bahia was built a few miles from the coast, however, it was moved to its site at goliad. presidio la bahia is one of the only surviving spanish presidios in the us. in its history, it was actually
captured in combat several times. during a major filibustering expedition in 1811-1812 the fort was siezed by the filibusterers, before they were subdued.
then James Long (husband of Jane Long, a texas heroine) and his filibustering expedition captured the presidio and held it for three days before they were captured and marched to mexico city. long was shot during the march. following the successful mexican revolution the town of presidio la bahia was renamed goliad in honour of the mexican patrio hidalgo.
then during the texas revolution the texans around goliad took the fort and declared independence dec. 20th, 1835... before the provisional government at washington on the brazos declared independence on march 2, 1836. these men fought at goliad under the severed arm flag,
which represented their refusal to rejoin mexico under any circumstances. the final major act in goliad's history was the massacre of Colonel Fannin and his troops outside of the presidio. Colonel Fannin had organised 400 soldiers to fight for Texas Independence, and was preparing to march east to join up with Sam Houston and his troops. however, the Texans fought an engagement with the mexicans and were subsequently surrounded and forced to surrender. the mexican dictatory santa anna's standing orders called for all texans to be executed. in early march, the defenders of the Alamo were all killed
during/following the storm of the mission. the men at Goliad were likewise executed. The men were marched out of the
presidio in several directions and executed. some of their bodies were burned and some were left lying on the prarie. in June 1836, General Rusk, commander of the Texas forces moving west to take control of territory following the victory of San Jacinto in April, stopped to bury the dead. the monument was built in 1939 atop the burial mound.
Goliad and the Alamo are the sites of two mexican massacres of Texan troops. at the battle of san jacinto, the Texans cried remember the Alamo! remember Goliad! today, Goliad seems almost a footnote in history, one small family, and one couple, along with myself were the only people touring the presidio. however, the alamo is frequently visited and the drama and heroism of those men is well known by all. it's important to remember the sacrifices of the men at Goliad.
if you want to know more about the presidio, here is the link to their site. http://www.presidiolabahia.org/ it's owned by the Catholic Church and its only a few minutes off of 59, soon to be Interstate 69 the new superhighway to mexico...
la bahia and a battle in the Texas revolution.
following the french exploration of the texas coast, and Lasalle's fort on matagorda bay, the spaniards moved into the area and occupied it to prevent the british or french from establishing themselves on the texas coast and threatening mexico. originally, presidio la bahia was built a few miles from the coast, however, it was moved to its site at goliad. presidio la bahia is one of the only surviving spanish presidios in the us. in its history, it was actually
captured in combat several times. during a major filibustering expedition in 1811-1812 the fort was siezed by the filibusterers, before they were subdued.
then James Long (husband of Jane Long, a texas heroine) and his filibustering expedition captured the presidio and held it for three days before they were captured and marched to mexico city. long was shot during the march. following the successful mexican revolution the town of presidio la bahia was renamed goliad in honour of the mexican patrio hidalgo. 
then during the texas revolution the texans around goliad took the fort and declared independence dec. 20th, 1835... before the provisional government at washington on the brazos declared independence on march 2, 1836. these men fought at goliad under the severed arm flag, 
which represented their refusal to rejoin mexico under any circumstances. the final major act in goliad's history was the massacre of Colonel Fannin and his troops outside of the presidio. Colonel Fannin had organised 400 soldiers to fight for Texas Independence, and was preparing to march east to join up with Sam Houston and his troops. however, the Texans fought an engagement with the mexicans and were subsequently surrounded and forced to surrender. the mexican dictatory santa anna's standing orders called for all texans to be executed. in early march, the defenders of the Alamo were all killed
during/following the storm of the mission. the men at Goliad were likewise executed. The men were marched out of the 
presidio in several directions and executed. some of their bodies were burned and some were left lying on the prarie. in June 1836, General Rusk, commander of the Texas forces moving west to take control of territory following the victory of San Jacinto in April, stopped to bury the dead. the monument was built in 1939 atop the burial mound.
Goliad and the Alamo are the sites of two mexican massacres of Texan troops. at the battle of san jacinto, the Texans cried remember the Alamo! remember Goliad! today, Goliad seems almost a footnote in history, one small family, and one couple, along with myself were the only people touring the presidio. however, the alamo is frequently visited and the drama and heroism of those men is well known by all. it's important to remember the sacrifices of the men at Goliad.
if you want to know more about the presidio, here is the link to their site. http://www.presidiolabahia.org/ it's owned by the Catholic Church and its only a few minutes off of 59, soon to be Interstate 69 the new superhighway to mexico...
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