Battle of Coleto

Battle context

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.