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The Goliad Campaign was the 1836 Mexican offensive to retake the Texas Gulf Coast during the Texas Revolution. Mexican troops under the command of General José de Urrea defeated rebellious immigrants to the Mexican province of Texas, known as Texians, in a series of clashes in February and March. When Mexico transitioned to a centralized government in 1835, supporters of federalism took up arms. Colonists in Texas, primarily immigrants from the United States, revolted in October 1835 and by the end of the year had expelled all Mexican troops from their province. With hostilities temporarily suspended, Frank W. Johnson and James Grant gathered volunteers for a planned invasion of the Mexican port town of Matamoros. James Fannin commanded troops stationed at Fort Defiance in Goliad. Unbeknownst to the Texians, on February 18 Urrea led a large contingent of troops from Matamoros into Texas to neutralize the rebels gathered along the coast. His troops easily defeated Johnson's small force at the Battle of San Patricio on February 26. Several days later, informants revealed Grant's location, and on the morning of March 2, 150 Mexican troops ambushed Grant's men at the Battle of Agua Dulce. The Mexican army then turned northward, headed towards Goliad. On March 12, they encountered a group of Texian soldiers, under the command of William Ward at Refugio. The Texians repulsed Mexican attacks for several days. On March 15, as their ammunition ran short, Texians retreated from Refugio. Many were killed or captured. Fannin ordered the bulk of his army to retreat from Goliad on March 19, in the hopes of joining the forces of General Sam Houston. That afternoon, Urrea's troops surrounded the Texians on an open prairie. The Battle of Coleto ended with a Texian surrender on March 20. Urrea marched the Texians back to Fort Defiance, where they were held under guard. One week later, under the orders of Mexican General Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Texians were marched outside the fort and shot. News of the Goliad Massacre spread outrage, resentment, and fear among the population of the fledgling Republic of Texas and abroad. == Background == Under President Antonio López de Santa Anna, the Mexican government began to shift away from a federalist model to a more centralized government. His increasingly dictatorial policies, including the revocation of the Constitution of 1824 in early 1835, incited federalists throughout the nation to revolt.〔Davis (2006), p. 121.〕 The Mexican army quickly put down revolts in the Mexican interior, including a brutal suppression of militias in Oaxaca and Zacatecas.〔Davis (2006), p. 121.〕〔Hardin (1994), p. 7.〕 Unrest continued in the Mexican state Coahuila y Tejas. The area that bordered the United States, known as Texas, was populated primarily by English-speaking settlers, known as Texians. In October, the Texians took up arms in what became known as the Texas Revolution.〔Davis (2006), p. 142.〕 The following month, Texians declared themselves part of a state independent from Coahuila and created a provisional state government based on the principles of the Constitution of 1824.〔Davis (2006), p. 168.〕 By the end of the year, all Mexican troops had been expelled from Texas.〔Davis (2006), p. 183.〕 Determined to quash the rebellion, Santa Anna began assembling a large force to restore order; by the end of 1835 his army numbered 6,019 soldiers.〔Hardin (1994), p. 102.〕 In late December, at his behest, the Mexican Congress passed the Tornel Decree, declaring that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be deemed pirates and dealt with as such, being citizens of no nation presently at war with the Republic and fighting under no recognized flag".〔 In the early nineteenth century, captured pirates were executed immediately. The resolution thus gave the Mexican Army permission to take no prisoners in the war against the Texians.〔Scott (2000), p. 71.〕 Santa Anna personally led the bulk of his troops inland to San Antonio de Béxar and ordered General José de Urrea to lead 550 troops along the Atascocita Road toward Goliad. In Goliad, Colonel James Fannin commanded the Texan force of nearly 500 trained soldiers and militia.〔Edmonson (2000), p. 333.〕 Fannin had chosen to keep his troops at Goliad mainly because it had a fort, from which he believed it would be easier to fight than out in the open. Fannin also believed that by occupying Goliad, he could prevent Mexican commander Antonio López de Santa Anna from drawing supplies from the Gulf of Mexico, but Fannin was called to assist Colonel William Travis at the Alamo.〔de la Teja (1991), p. 80.〕 On February 26, 1836, he attempted to march to San Antonio but turned back at the San Antonio River because of the inability to travel with the artillery and arms. Meanwhile, Mexican forces under General José de Urrea were quickly reaching Goliad, and they defeated three Texan forces at the Battle of San Patricio on February 27, the Battle of Agua Dulce on March 2, and the Battle of Refugio on March 12.〔Davis (2006), p. 236.〕 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「Goliad Campaign」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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