A Troubled Time for Texans Chapter 7, section 4

After the Alamo -Houston arrived in Gonzales March 11th -Planned to take charge of volunteers and assist Travis at the Alamo -Rumor the Alamo had fallen and defenders dead

-Sent Erastus “Deaf” Smith to scout -Smith returned with Susana Dickinson. She warned Santa Anna’s troops were on their way to Gonzales and confirmed the falling at the Alamo.

-Houston had fewer than 400 volunteers *lacked training & discipline * some had no guns/ammunition -Ordered a tactical retreat: an organized pullback of troops from an enemy in order to gain an advantage

*He sent a message to Colonel James Fannin at Goliad to destroy Presidio La Bahia and join him. -Fannin had 500 men

Houston’s Retreat -Gonzales located on the northern edge of Texas’s Tejano region – wanted to fight Santa Anna in the Anglo part of TX – hoped for volunteers to join -Trained basic skills to his men for 9 days along the Colorado R. and 10 more in San Felipe. -Texans shocked by fall of the Alamo and wanted to join Houston’s army -New volunteers > his army by 1,400

*Houston received news: 1. Mexican forces were moving east into Anglo TX 2. Fannin and his troops would NOT come to help!!

The Goliad Massacre *Many Tejano settlers of South TX saw these volunteers as foreign invaders. -supplied General Urrea with info. about the volunteers’ every move!

*Urrea’s troops attacked Fannin and his men between Goliad and Victoria – Battle of Coleto Creek -Fannin offered surrender – asked that his men be expelled from TX instead of imprisoned

The Massacre -Fannin & his men jailed in Goliad for few days -March 27, 1836: Men marched Toward Victoria (thinking they would board a ship for the U.S.)

-Less than a mile from Goliad, Mexican escorts opened fire on unarmed volunteers (in Urrea’s absence under the orders of Santa Anna) *More than 340 men died and about 30 escaped in the chaos.

*The IMPACT of the MASSACRE: -Executions were seen as an atrocity: a cruel and brutal act. -People now saw Santa Anna as a cruel person -U.S. people furious with brutal treatment of prisoners. *The support of these Americans helped the TX Rev. succeed!

The Runaway Scrape -Alamo’s fall frightened Texans -People fled when the Mexican army approached -Fear spread….leaving whole towns empty!! -Nickname Texans gave this mass movement “Runaway Scrape” -News of Houston’s retreat & Goliad Massacre sent Texans into a panic!

-Most TX men joined Houston’s army -Women had to gather their families and escape Santa Anna’s army “Runaway Scrape” continued until late April Houston’s troops and the Mexican Army will soon meet at San Jacinto.