"Remember the Alamo!"

Written by: Susan Rowe on Feb 13, 2008 10:54 PM EST

Johnny Cash, the man in black sings Remember The Alamo.

From... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remember_the_Alamo

"Remember the Alamo" was a battle cry for Texans during their battle for independence. Texans held out at the Alamo through a 13-day siege. However, Mexican soldiers commanded by Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón, who is simply known as Santa Anna, killed almost all Texans who were defending the Alamo. Texans wanting revenge during the Battle of San Jacinto shouted "Remember the Alamo" to raise their fighting spirit against the Mexican soldiers. "Remember Goliad" was also another battle cry used during the Battle of San Jacinto.

[...]

The Battle of San Jacinto, fought on April 21, 1836, in present-day Harris County, Texas, was the decisive battle of the Texas Revolution. Led by General Sam Houston, the Texas Army engaged and defeated General Antonio López de Santa Anna's Mexican forces in a fight that lasted just eighteen minutes. Hundreds of Mexican soldiers were killed or captured, while there were relatively few Texan casualties.

Santa Anna, the President of Mexico, was captured the following day and held as a prisoner of war. Not long afterwards, he signed the peace treaties that dictated that the Mexican army leave the region, paving the way for the Republic of Texas to become an independent country. These treaties did not specifically recognize Texas as a sovereign nation but stipulated that Santa Anna was to lobby for such recognition in Mexico City. Sam Houston became a national celebrity, and the Texans' rallying cry, "Remember Goliad!" and "Remember the Alamo!," became etched into the American history and legend.

From... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goliad_County,_Texas#History

The first declaration of independence for the Republic of Texas was signed in Goliad on December 20, 1835, although the formal declaration was made by the Convention of 1836 at Washington-on-the-Brazos. Goliad County was the site of two battles in the Texas Revolution. The Battle of Goliad was a minor skirmish early in the war, but on March 27, 1836, Col. James Fannin and his Texan soldiers were executed by the Mexican army, under orders from Gen. Antonio López de Santa Anna, in what became known as the Goliad Massacre. This event led to the Texas Revolutionary battle cry "Remember the Alamo! Remember Goliad!" Although many remember the Alamo today, fewer remember Goliad. The site of the massacre is located in Goliad State Park, just south of the town of Goliad.

Goliad County is also the birthplace of General Ignacio Zaragoza, who led the Mexican army against the invading forces of Napoleon III in the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862 ("Cinco de Mayo").

[...]

General José Urrea marched into Texas from Matamoros, making his way north following the coast of Texas, thus preventing any foreign aid by sea and opening up an opportunity for the Mexican Navy to land much needed provisions. Urrea's forces were engaged at the Battle of Agua Dulce on March 2, 1836, which would soon lead to the Goliad Campaign. General Urrea was never defeated in any engagement his forces conducted in Texas.

At Goliad, Urrea's flying column caught Colonel James Fannin's force of about 300 men on the open prairie at a slight depression near Coleto Creek and made three charges at a heavy cost in Mexican casualties. Overnight, Urrea's forces surrounded the Texans, brought up cannon and reinforcements, and induced Fannin's surrender under terms the next day, March 20. About 342 of the Texan troops captured during the Goliad Campaign were executed a week later on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836, under Santa Anna's direct orders, widely known as the Goliad Massacre.

"The impact of the Goliad Massacre was crucial. Until this episode Santa Anna's reputation had been that of a cunning and crafty man, rather than a cruel one...together with the fall of the Alamo, branded both Santa Anna and the Mexican people with a reputation for cruelty and aroused the fury of the people of Texas, the United States, and even Great Britain and France, thus considerably promoting the success of the Texas Revolution."

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Location: TX