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Texas Day by Day

March 27, 1836


Infamy at Goliad

On this day in 1836, which happened to be Palm Sunday, at least 342 Texans were executed by firing squad at Goliad. The Texans considered these men prisoners of war, whereas General Santa Anna thought them "perfidious foreigners." The Mexican dictator had decreed that all Texans in arms against the Mexican government were to be treated as traitors, not soldiers. The men were led out of town and shot at point- blank range. Those not killed by the first volley were hunted down and killed by gunfire, bayonet, or lance. The bodies were left unburied. The incident, which became known among Anglo-Texans as the Goliad Massacre, joined the Alamo as a rallying cry for Texas independence.

Links to Related Handbook of Texas Online Articles
GOLIAD MASSACRE
TEXAS REVOLUTION
COLETO, BATTLE OF
GOLIAD CAMPAIGN OF 1836
Links to other Web sites (will be opened in new browser window)
Fannin Battleground State Historical Park, Texas Parks and Wildlife

Other Texas Day by Day Articles for This Date
Last Spanish governor of Texas appointed (1817)
Littlefield inaugurates Texas Relays at Memorial Stadium (1925)


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