Battle of Coleto Creek at Goliad
The battle of Coleto, the culmination of the Goliad Campaign of 1836, occurred near Coleto Creek in Goliad County on March 19 and 20, 1836. Originally called “the battle of the prairie” and “la batalla del encinal [oak grove] del Perdido [Creek],” it was one of the most significant engagements of the Texas Revolution. The battle, however, cannot properly be considered as isolated from the series of errors and misfortunes that preceded it, errors for which the Texas commander, James W. Fannin, Jr., was ultimately responsible. The most exasperating decision confronting Fannin was whether to abandon Goliad after having fortified it, and if so, when. He had already been informed of Gen. José de Urrea’s advancing Mexican army by Plácido Benavides, after the defeat of Texas forces under Francis W. Johnson and James Grant at the battles of San Patricio and Creek Agua Dulce. The Mexican advance caused the Texans to abandon the port of Copano, thus making Goliad considerably less important strategically, as Fannin knew. He had received word that the Alamo had fallen as well. Still, he continued to fortify Fort Defiance, as he christened the La Bahía presidio, and awaited orders from superiors to abandon the site, knowing also that a retreat would not be well received among his men, who were eager to confront the Mexicans.
Alabama Red Rovers
The Red Rovers, a volunteer military company that participated in the Texas Revolution as a unit of the Lafayette Battalion of James W. Fannin’s regiment, was organized by its captain, Jack Shackelford, at Courtland, Alabama, in November 1835 and named for the fact that its members were uniformed in red jeans. The company, which mustered about seventy men, was equipped with rifles and military supplies from the Alabama state arsenal. The Red Rovers remained in camp at Courtland until December 12, 1835, when they started for Texas; they landed at New Orleans on January 1, 1836. After being inspected by Stephen F. Austin and Nicholas Adolphus Sterne, the company reached Texas on January 19, 1836. The men remained at Dimitt’s Landing until accepted for Texas service on February 3. They were publicly entertained when they arrived at Victoria on their way to Goliad. Dr. Joseph H. Barnard accompanied the unit from Matagorda to Goliad, where the Red Rovers arrived on February 12 and were assigned to the Lafayette Battalion. During the Goliad Campaign of 1836 they were sent on several local expeditions, including two to the Carlos Rancho. On March 18 they extricated Albert C. Horton’s men from Aranama Mission, where they were besieged by the Mexicans. At the battle of Coleto the Red Rovers occupied the extreme right of the front side of the square and acquitted themselves like veterans. The unit was surrendered with Fannin’s regiment, and most of the men sustained a common fate in the Goliad Massacre.
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