Battle of Coleto

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Battle of Coleto
Part of the Texas Revolution, and the Goliad campaign

James Fannin, commander of Texian forces during the Battle of Coleto.
Date 19-20 March 1836
Location Goliad County, Texas
Result Mexican victory
Belligerents
Flag of Mexico Mexico Republic of Texas
Commanders
José de Urrea James W. Fannin, Jr+ #
Strength
19th: 80 cavalrymen,
260 infantrymen,
20th: 700-1,000 men		 300 men,
9 cannons
Casualties and losses
Unknown At least 10 dead,
60 wounded[1]
v • d • e
Texas Revolution

This is an article about the battle that led to the surrender of Texian troops who were later involved in the Goliad Massacre. For more information about the massacre, see Goliad Massacre.

The Battle of Coleto, also known as the Battle of Coleto Creek, the Battle of the Prairie, and the Batalla del encinal del Perdido, was a battle during the Goliad campaign of the Texas Revolution. The two combatants were Mexico, and the Republic of Texas. The battle took place in Goliad County, which is located in Texas. The battle was fought from 19 March, to 20 March 1836. Mexico won the battle.[1]

The majority of the Texian[2] soldiers that surrendered were later killed during the Goliad Massacre, which took place on 27 March 1836. The battle demonstrated that the Texian commander, James W. Fannin, Jr, had both underestimated the Mexican army against him and did not make quick decisions. The battle showed that the Mexican commander, José de Urrea, had good knowledge of Texian plans and that he had the skill to exploit opportunities. The untrained Texian soldiers had shown that they were disciplined against the Mexicans. The Mexican victory resulted in Urrea's standing increasing which resulted in other Mexican generals, including Antonio López de Santa Anna, becoming more jealous of him. The Mexican victory also resulted in Mexican leaders becoming overconfident, believing that a Mexican victory over Texas was near.[1]

Contents

[edit] Background

The Texians left the protection of Mission Goliad after receiving orders from General Sam Houston to fall back to Victoria. Against strong opposition from other Texian officers, and one mile short of Coleto Creek, Fannin ordered a halt of his forces. The Texians formed their forces into a hollow square in the open prairie and instantly were surrounded by Urrea's troops. On the second day of the battle, in consideration of the wounded and because of a shortage of water, Fannin surrendered. The Texians had suffered nine killed and fifty-one wounded, including Fannin who had been shot in the thigh. The Texians' surrender set up events for the Goliad Massacre.

[edit] Battle

The Texian soldiers formed a square against the Mexicans. The high grass of the prairie meant the Texian view of the Mexicans was impaired. The Texians had little water. Each Texian soldier received three to four muskets. The square was three ranks deep. The front line contained the San Antonio Greys and Red Rovers, whilst Duval's Mustangs and Frazer's Refugio militia formed part of the rear line. The left flank was covered by Westover's regulars, whilst the right was protected by the Mobile Greys. In the corners of the square, the artillery had been positioned. Fannin stood in the rear of the right flank. In addition, a number of sharpshooters were deployed around Abel Morgan's hospital wagon, which could no longer be moved after the ox that was moving it was killed by Mexican fire.[1]

The Mexican soldiers then attacked the square. The left of the Texian square was confronted by the rifle companies under Morales, and the right was assaulted by the grenadiers and part of the San Luis Battalion. The Mexican formations involved in this attack on the right of the square was under the personal supervision of Urrea. The Jiménez Battalion under Col. Mariano Salas fought the front, and Col. Gabriel Núñez's cavalry was ordered against the rear of the square. By sunset, when Urrea ordered the Mexicans to cease any more major attacks against the square due to a lack of Mexican ammunition, the majority of the action of 19 March was over. The Mexicans had assaulted the square three times. Making effective use of their bayonets, multiple muskets, and nine cannons, the Texians had prevented the Mexicans each time from breaking the square. Urrea said that he was impressed with the fact that the Texians had managed to maintain the square against the three charges, and he was also impressed with the Texian weapon fire. Dr. Joseph H. Barnard, a Texian, recorded that by sunset seven Texians had been killed. He also recorded that sixty Texians, including Fannin, had been wounded. Forty of the sixty had been wounded several times.[1]

After sunset, Urrea ordered Mexican sharpshooters to be positioned in the tall grass around the square, and that they fire at the Texians. Before Texian sharpshooters were able to remove the threat posed by the Mexican sharpshooters, by firing at the flash caused by the Mexican guns, the Mexican sharpshooters were able to inflict more Texian casualties. As a result of all the fighting that occurred on 19 March, the Texians had suffered at least ten dead and sixty wounded, whilst the Mexicans suffered an unspecified high amount of casualties. The fighting of 19 March had not demoralised the Texian soldiers. They were encouraged by the thought that Horton would succeed in getting Texian reinforcements from Guadalupe Victoria to Fannin. However, Horton had not been able to break through the Mexican defences. During the day's fighting the Texian soldiers that were retreating to Guadalupe Victoria after the earlier battle of Refugio were close enough to Fannin to hear gunfire. However, they were exhausted and hungry, and did not move to the square. Urrea stationed three detachments of Mexican troops around the square, to prevent the Texians in the square from escaping, and during the night Mexican false bugle calls were sounded to keep the Texians alert.[1]

The Texians' lack of water, and the inability to light fires in the square, meant the wounded Texians could not be treated. The pain being experienced by the wounded resulted in the general decrease in morale amongst the Texian soldiers during the night. The poor weather during the night further lessened the morale of the soldiers. The lack of water also meant that the artillery could not be used effectively the next day, because water was needed to cool and clean the cannons. The fighting of 19 March had also left many Texian artillerists casualties, and ammunition for the cannons was low. All these factors contributed to the conclusion by Fannin and other officers during the night that they could not sustain another day of fighting. An idea for the Texians to escape to a more defendable position under cover of darkness, before Urrea received reinforcements, was rejected because it was decided that those who were too injured to escape, which included friends and relatives of unwounded Texians, should not be left behind. It was therefore decided that the Texians should attempt to make another stand from their current position the next day. As a result, during the night, the Texians dug trenches and erected barricades of carts and dead animals. Urrea, meanwhile, had been reinforced with munitions, fresh troops, and two or three artillery pieces from Goliad. He positioned the Mexican artillery on the slopes overlooking the Texian square.[1]

At 06:15 on March 20, the Mexicans were grouped for battle. After one or two rounds were fired by Mexican artillery Fannin and his officers re-iterated their conclusion that the Texians could not take another day's fighting, and decided to seek honourable terms for surrender. They drafted terms of surrender, which included statements that the Texian wounded would be treated, that they would be gain all the protection expected as prisoners of war, and that they would be paroled to the United States of America. However, Santa Anna had stated earlier that any Texian can only be allowed to surrender unconditionally. As a result, Urrea could not guarantee that all the terms would be followed by Santa Anna. He stated that he would talk to Santa Anna on behalf of the terms of surrender presented by the Texians. The document of surrender was signed by Benjamin C. Wallace, Joseph M. Chadwick, and Fannin. As a result of the signing, the battle of Coleto ended.[1]

[edit] Aftermath

Those Texians that could walk were sent to Goliad, under Mexican escort. It would take until about May 23 until those Texians that could not walk were transported to Goliad. During that time, Texian physicians were told that wounded Mexicans were a priority to treat, as opposed to the wounded Texians. Fannin arrived in Goliad on May 22. Urrea, meanwhile, had moved onto Guadalupe Victoria, from where he wrote to Santa Anna a letter recommending that the Texian prisoners should be treated with clemency. However, Santa Anna did not follow Urrea's recommendation, instead ordering the Mexican commander at Goliad to execute the Texian prisoners. On March 27 1836, Fannin and the other Texian prisoners were shot by Mexican soldiers. The execution became known as the Goliad Massacre.[1]

The battle is considered significant, because it also demonstrated that Fannin did not decide quickly enough to ensure success, and it also showed that Fannin underestimated the quality of the Mexican force against him. It also illustrated that Fannin was reluctant to co-ordinate his actions with other Texian forces, a trait that was common amongst many Texian commanders. The battle is significant because it also showed that the Texian troops involved in the battle, despite being relatively untrained, were able to stand up to the Mexican troops against them, and that they obeyed their commanders.[1]

[edit] Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Roell, Craig, Battle of Coleto, <http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/CC/qec1.html> 
  2. ^ Texians is the correct name for the Anglo-American inhabitants of Texas during the Texas Revolution, as opposed to the word Texans. See de la Teja (1997), p. 79.


[edit] References

  • Huffines, Alan C. (2005), The Texas War of Independence 1835-1836: From Outbreak to the Alamo to San Jacinto, Oxford: Osprey Publishing, ISBN 1-84176-522-8
  • de la Teja, Jesus F. (1997), “The Colonization and Independence of Texas: A Tejano Perspective”, in Rodriguez O., Jaime E. & Vincent, Kathryn, Myths, Misdeeds, and Misunderstandings: The Roots of Conflict in U.S.–Mexican Relations, Wilmington, DE: Scholarly Resources Inc., ISBN 0842026622 

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[edit] External links