On this day in 1836 over 400 men of Colonel James Fannin's command were massacred at Goliad. Santa Anna's murderous order was carried out by reluctant and disgusted soldados serving under Colonel Nicolas de la Portilla, who was distraught at what he was required to do.

Captain Jack Shackelford was spared because his skills as a surgeon were needed by the Mexican army. He wrote down his experiences five years later. Here is how Captain Shackelford remembered that Palm Sunday:

"Never whilst the current of life rushes through this poor heart of mine, can I forget the horrors of this fatal morning.

At dawn of day we were awakened by a Mexican officer calling us up, and saying, he "wanted the men to form a line, that they might be counted." On hearing this, my impression was, that in all probability some poor fellows had made their escape during the night.

After leaving the Church, I was met by Colonel Garay, said to be the Adjutant General of the Mexican army. This officer spoke the English language as fluently as I did myself; and to his honour be it said, he seemed a gentlemen and a man of feeling.

[...]


God bless these murdered men. May their souls rest in peace, and may Texans always Remember Goliad.



Mark Pusateri
Copano Bay Press · 418 Peoples Street · Ste 500 · Corpus Christi · Texas · 78401

https://app.robly.com/archive?id=a66ab74...0d3f73f5&v=true

Amen.

342 men lay dead in the sun, killed by musket, lance and treachery.

Twenty-eight more were on the run.

They were already weakened by thirst and hunger and it would be many days before they would find safety in the arms of their countrymen.

Hiding out in the timber and moving at night, food was scarce. And even when they found game, they had nothing to bring it down with.

Here's how some of them survived.

From the account of Dillard Cooper:

"...after traveling all night, we discovered, very early in the morning of the ninth day, a house within a few hundred yards of the river. When we entered the house, we discovered ... a good many eggs lying about in different places.

Our stomachs were weak and revolted at the idea of eating them raw, so we looked about for some means of striking a fire, first searching for a rock, but failing to find one, we took an old chisel and ground it on a grindstone for about two hours, but could never succeed in getting the sparks to catch. We then concluded to return and try the eggs raw.

(Isaac Hamilton) said the best eating he ever had in his life, was when he first entered Texana, and ate the [rotting] meat from the rawhides the Mexicans had left."


From the account of John C. Duval:

"...before the sow and her pigs could make their escape up the steep sides of the pit we had “bagged” five of the latter. We made a desperate attack on the old sow also, but weak as we were from starvation, and with our inefficient weapons, she routed us completely, leaving us however in possession of the field and the “spoils of war.”-- excerpt, rest at link above --

https://app.robly.com/archive?id=cf669ad...a5110ccd&v=true