GOLIAD

A short history of Goliad

Spain

In 1747, the Spanish government sent José de Escandón to inspect the northern frontier of its North American colonies, including Spanish Texas. In his final report, Escandón recommended the Presidio La Bahía be moved from its Guadalupe River location to the banks of the San Antonio River, so it could better assist settlements along the Rio Grande. Both the presidio and the mission that it protected, Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga, moved to their new location sometime around October 1749. Escandón proposed that 25 families from New Spain be relocated near the presidio to form a civilian settlement, but he could not find enough willing settlers.

With the conclusion of the Seven Years' War in 1763, France ceded Louisiana and its Texas claims to Spain. With France no longer a threat to the crown's North American interests, the Spanish monarchy commissioned the Marquis de Rubi to inspect all of the presidios on the northern frontier of New Spain and make recommendations for the future. Rubi recommended that several presidios be closed and that La Bahia be kept and rebuilt in stone. La Bahia was soon "the only Spanish fortress for the entire Gulf Coast from the mouth of the Rio Grande to the Mississippi River". The presidio was at the crossroads of several major trade and military routes. It quickly became one of Texas's three most important areas, along with Béxar and Nacogdoches. A civil settlement, then known as La Bahia, soon developed near the presidio. By 1804, the settlement had one of only two schools in Texas.

In early August 1812 during the Mexican War of Independence, Mexican revolutionary Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara and his recruits, called the Republican Army of the North, invaded Texas. In November, the invaders captured Presidio La Bahia. Texas Governor Manuel María de Salcedo laid siege to the fort for the next four months. Unable to win a decisive victory, Salcedo lifted the siege on February 19, 1813, and turned toward San Antonio de Bexar. The rebels controlled the presidio until July or August 1813, when José Joaquín de Arredondo led royalist troops in retaking all of Texas. Henry Perry, a member of the Republican Army of the North, led forces back to Texas in 1817 and attempted to recapture La Bahia. The Spanish reinforced the presidio with soldiers from San Antonio, and defeated Perry's forces on June 18 near Coleto Creek.

The area was invaded again in 1821. The United States and Spain had signed the Adams–Onís Treaty in 1819, which ceded all US territorial claims on the Texas area to Spain. On October 4, the Long Expedition (with 52 members) captured La Bahia. Four days later, Colonel Ignacio Pérez arrived with troops from Bexar, and Long surrendered. By the end of 1821, Mexico had achieved its independence from Spain, and Texas became part of the newly created country.

Adapted (trimmed) from the Wikipedia article Goliad, Texas, revision 1378793123 by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.