Ken Bridges/Contributing Writer
James Walker Fannin, Jr., had arrived in Texas only in 1834. The 30-year-old planter brought his wife and two daughters with him. A fight with Mexico was brewing, and Fannin jumped in with both feet. In the first battle of the Texas Revolution in October 1835, Fannin led his Brazos Guards from Velasco against Mexican forces at the Battle of Gonzales. In spite of this initial success, the fortunes of Texas in battle would soon change dramatically. The tides of war and fortune would cost Fannin everything.
As Texas began moving toward independence, a provisional government was established in November. Former Tennessee governor Sam Houston, now a Texas resident and also an advocate for independence, was named commander in chief of the army. Houston offered the position of judge advocate to Fannin, but Fannin wanted a field command instead. Houston named him colonel.
By January 1836, Fannin was planning on taking a group of volunteers to seize Matamoros on the south side of the Rio Grande. By February, Mexican forces under Gen. Jose de Urrea had taken the city, forcing Fannin to prepare for the defense of Goliad instead, a position southeast of San Antonio. Mexican forces were flooding into Texas. Houston and Fannin initially considered sending forces to relieve the defenders at the Alamo in San Antonio, but Houston instead ordered the Alamo abandoned. The Alamo defenders stayed and were wiped out by March 6. Fannin had sent forces to Refugio, but he received orders from Houston on March 14 to assume a position near Victoria.
Fannin delayed, hoping to hear news of his force at Refugio. Five days later, he learned they had been captured. Only now did he begin his retreat. Fannin was quietly criticized by his troops. Though he had spent a brief time at West Point as a cadet and his short period in the Georgia militia, he had difficulty winning the confidence of his men. He delayed while his position worsened. And it soon rose beyond his worst fears.
While he delayed, Urrea’s forces had managed to catch up to Fannin. At Coleto, on March 19, Fannin and his 450 men were surrounded by more than a thousand troops under Urrea. Fannin ordered a defensive square, but tall grass impaired their vision and they came under cannon fire and the force of Urrea’s cavalry. The Texans put up a furious defense, repelling three bayonet charges. Fannin’s casualties were growing – ten men were killed and 67 wounded. By daybreak the next morning, Fannin offered terms of surrender to Urrea, which included help for the wounded and fair treatment for the men.
Urrea initially agreed, but his superior, Gen. Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, had other plans. The prisoners, now being taken to nearby Goliad, were to be shown no mercy. Though Urrea pleaded for clemency, Santa Anna ignored him. On March 27, Palm Sunday, Col. Jose de la Portilla began carrying out Santa Anna’s orders to execute all prisoners.
Men who could not walk were shot where they laid. Others were marched out a few at a time and shot in a nearby field. Fannin was made to witness each death. They tortured him with the sound of executions. A gunshot, a shriek, and then silence. Over and over again. Fannin was executed last. Nearly 420 men were slaughtered.
Fannin would never see the results of the war. In the weeks after his death, his loss became a rallying cry for Texas troops. “Remember Goliad!” was shouted in the same breath as “Remember the Alamo!” At the Battle of San Jacinto in April, the battle cry led Texas to a surprise victory over Mexican troops, securing the independence of Texas.
In the years after his death, Fannin was honored across the state. Fannin County was named for him in 1837. His home state of Georgia named and created its own Fannin County in 1854 on the Tennessee state line in his honor. Across Texas, numerous streets and schools have been named for him, including schools in Dallas, Grand Prairie, Amarillo, and Midland. The small community of Fannin, not far from Victoria, is named after him and has a memorial for him. The Goliad battlefield was made a state park and memorial in 1939.
Dr. Ken Bridges is a native Texan, and author of seven books. He can be contacted by e-mail at drkenbridges@gmail.com.