Battle of Coleto

Overview

The Battle of Coleto, also known as the Battle of Coleto Creek, the Battle of the Prairie, and the Batalla del Encinal del Perdido, was fought on March 19–20, 1836, during the Goliad campaign of the Texas Revolution. In February, General José de Urrea led a branch of the Mexican army up the Gulf Coast of Mexican Texas toward Goliad, where a large contingent of soldiers from the Texian Army was garrisoned under Colonel James W. Fannin. Simultaneously, Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a larger force into the Texian interior, where on March 6 his troops won the Battle of the Alamo. After learning of the Alamo's defeat, Texian general Sam Houston ordered Fannin to retreat from Goliad and join the rest of the army in Victoria.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Significance

The Battle of Coleto was fought on March 19–20, 1836, as part of the Goliad campaign of the Texas Revolution. Colonel James Fannin's force of approximately 500 attempted to withdraw from Goliad toward Victoria following orders from General Sam Houston, issued in the aftermath of the Mexican victory at the Alamo on March 6. General José de Urrea, commanding a Mexican force estimated between 700 and 1,000, intercepted Fannin's column during this retreat. Texian casualties reached between 425 and 550, representing the near-destruction of one of the largest organized Texian formations in the field. The loss compounded the blow dealt at the Alamo days earlier, stripping the Texian army of a substantial portion of its manpower at a critical stage of the revolution and leaving the Texas Gulf Coast corridor effectively in Mexican hands under Urrea's advancing force.

Forces & casualties

Commanders (2)