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The Battle of Lipantitlán, also known as the Battle of Nueces Crossing,〔Groneman (1998), p. 37.〕 was fought along the Nueces River on November 4, 1835 between the Mexican Army and Texian insurgents, as part of the Texas Revolution. After the Texian victory at the Battle of Goliad, only two Mexican garrisons remained in Texas, Fort Lipantitlán near San Patricio and the Alamo Mission at San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio in the U.S. state of Texas). Fearing that Lipantitlán could be used as a base for the Mexican army to retake Goliad and angry that two of his men were imprisoned there, Texian commander Philip Dimmitt ordered his adjutant, Captain Ira Westover, to capture the fort. The commander of Fort Lipantitlán, Nicolás Rodríguez, had been ordered to harass the Texian troops at Goliad. Rodríguez took the bulk of his men on an expedition; while they were gone, Westover's force arrived in San Patricio. On November 3, a local man persuaded the Mexican garrison to surrender, and the following day the Texians dismantled the fort. Rodríguez returned as the Texians were crossing the swollen Nueces River to return to Goliad. The Mexican soldiers attacked, but the longer range of the Texians rifles soon forced them to retreat. One Texian was injured, 3–5 Mexican soldiers were killed, and 14–17 were wounded. The injured Mexican troops were allowed to seek medical treatment in San Patricio, and the remaining Mexican soldiers retreated to Matamoros. The Texians now had full control of the Texas Gulf Coast, which meant that the troops stationed at San Antonio de Béxar could only receive reinforcements and supplies overland. Historian Bill Groneman believes that this contributed to the eventual Mexican defeat at the siege of Béxar, which expelled all Mexican troops from Texas. The former site of the fort is now a Texas historic site. ==Background== Fort Lipantitlán was built on the grounds of an old campsite along the west bank of the Nueces River on the Gulf coast of Texas. The site was first occupied by a nomadic Lipan Apache tribe during their periodic visits.〔 After the Apaches abandoned the area, the campground was often used by missionaries, military units, and traders making their way between Mexico and the Texas settlements.〔Huson (1974), p. 96.〕〔Huson (1974), p. 97.〕 In 1825 or 1826, Mexican officials constructed a makeshift fort, named Lipantitlán after the Lipan Apaches, at the campsite.〔Hardin (1994), p. 41.〕〔 According to Texian John J. Linn, the fort "was a single embankment of earth, lined within by fence rails to hold the dirt in place, and would have answered tolerably well, perhaps, for a second-rate hog pen".〔Hardin (1994), p. 44.〕 The embankment was surrounded by a large ditch; just outside the ditch lay adobe and wooden huts for the officers and their families.〔 Between 80 and 125 soldiers from the 2nd Active (Cavalry) Company of Tamaulipas were garrisoned at the fort.〔 They collected customs duties〔Roell (1994), p. 41.〕 and provided protection to San Patricio, a small settlement of Irish and Mexican colonists approximately south.〔Groneman (1998), p. 37.〕〔 Smaller garrisons were located at Copano Bay and Refugio, with a larger force stationed at Presidio La Bahía in Goliad. In 1835, federalists in several interior Mexican states revolted against the increasingly centralist reign of Mexican President Antonio López de Santa Anna.〔Todish ''et al.'' (1998), p. 6.〕 The Texians staged a minor revolt against customs duties in June,〔Roell (1994), p. 36.〕 and wary colonists soon began forming militias, ostensibly to protect themselves.〔Huson (1974), p. 4.〕 Fearing that strong measures were needed to quell the unrest, Santa Anna ordered General Martín Perfecto de Cos to lead a large force into Texas;〔 Cos arrived in Texas on September 20.〔Huson (1974), p. 5.〕 The Texas Revolution officially began on October 2 at the Battle of Gonzales. Within days, Texian insurgents seized Presidio La Bahía, located at Goliad.〔 Twenty Mexican soldiers escaped and briefly took refuge at Copano and Refugio; those garrisons soon abandoned their posts and joined the larger force at Fort Lipantitlán.〔 The Mexican soldiers at Lipantitlán began improving the defenses of their small fort.〔Hardin (1994), p. 42.〕 As the only remaining garrison on the Texas coast, Fort Lipantitlán was a vital link between the Mexican interior and Béxar, the political center of Texas which housed Cos and the only other force of Mexican troops in Texas.〔 Captain Philip Dimmitt assumed command of the Texians at Presidio La Bahía.〔 In a letter to General Stephen F. Austin dated October 15, Dimmitt proposed an attack on Fort Lipantitlán, whose capture would "secure the frontier, provide a vital station for defense, create instability among the centralists, and encourage Mexican federalists".〔 Most of the federalists in San Patricio were afraid of retaliation if they openly defied Santa Anna's centralist policies. They were also reluctant to hold elections for delegates to the Consultation, which would decide whether Texians were fighting for reinstatement of the Constitution of 1824 or for independence from Mexico.〔Roell (1994), p. 42.〕 Soldiers at Lipantitlán had also imprisoned two of Dimmitt's men, John Williams and John Toole, as they tried to deliver missives to the federalist leaders in San Patricio on October 10 and 11. Dimmitt hoped to free the men after capturing Fort Lipantitlán.〔Hardin (1994), p. 17.〕 On October 20, James Power, one of the Irish empresarios who had helped to found San Patricio, learned that the Lipantitlán soldiers had been ordered to retake Presidio La Bahia.〔Roell (1994), p. 42.〕 Two hundred cavalry were expected to reinforce the Lipantitlán garrison before the attack, with an additional 200–300 soldiers expected later. Although Dimmitt forwarded the intelligence to Austin, he was not given authorization to attack. The delay proved costly to Williams and Toole, who were marched to the Mexican interior, beyond the reach of the Texians.〔 According to Dimmitt's angry letter to Austin, Toole begged his captors to kill him outright rather than send him on the march, which he believed would still result in his death. Dimmitt concluded, "this news, after the leniency shown to the prisoners taken here, could not fail to create a lively, and a strong excitement. The men under my command are clamorous for retaliation".〔Huson (1974), p. 98.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Battle of Lipantitlán」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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