Editing Goliad, Texas (section)

==History==

===Spain===
In 1747, the Spanish government sent [[José de Escandón]] to inspect the northern frontier of its North American colonies, including [[Spanish Texas]]. In his final report, Escandón recommended the [[Presidio La Bahía]] be moved from its [[Guadalupe River (Texas)|Guadalupe River]] location to the banks of the San Antonio River, so it could better assist settlements along the [[Rio Grande]].<ref name=roell13>Roell (1994), p. 13</ref> Both the ''presidio'' and the mission that it protected, [[Mission Nuestra Señora del Espíritu Santo de Zúñiga]], moved to their new location sometime around October 1749. Escandón proposed that 25 families from [[New Spain]] be relocated near the presidio to form a civilian settlement, but he could not find enough willing settlers.<ref name=roell14>Roell (1994), p. 14</ref>

With the conclusion of the [[Seven Years' War]] in 1763, France ceded [[Louisiana (New France)|Louisiana]] and its Texas claims to Spain.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 198</ref> With France no longer a threat to the Crown's North American interests, the Spanish monarchy commissioned the Marquis de Rubi to inspect all of the ''presidios'' on the northern frontier of [[New Spain]] and make recommendations for the future.<ref name=chipman173>Chipman (1992), p. 173</ref> Rubi recommended that several presidios be closed and that La Bahia be kept and rebuilt in stone. La Bahia was soon "the only Spanish fortress for the entire [[Gulf Coast]] from the mouth of the Rio Grande to the [[Mississippi River]]".<ref name=roell15>Roell (1994), p. 15</ref> The presidio was at the crossroads of several major trade and military routes. IIt quickly became one of Texas's three most important areas, alongside [[Presidio San Antonio de Béxar|Béxar]] and [[Nacogdoches, Texas|Nacogdoches]].<ref name=roell15/> A civil settlement, then known as ''La Bahia'', soon developed near the presidio. By 1804, the settlement had one of only two schools in Texas.<ref name=roell19>Roell (1994), p. 19</ref>

In early August 1812, during the [[Mexican War of Independence]], Mexican revolutionary [[Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara]] and his recruits, called the [[Republican Army of the North]], invaded Texas.<ref>Almaráz (1971), p. 159</ref> In November the invaders captured Presidio La Bahia.<ref>Almaráz (1971), p. 164</ref> [[List of Texas Governors and Presidents|Texas governor]] [[Manuel María de Salcedo]] laid siege to the fort for the next four months.<ref name=roell20>Roell (1994), p. 20</ref> Unable to win a decisive victory, Salcedo lifted the siege on February 19, 1813, and turned toward San Antonio de Bexar.<ref>Almaráz (1971), p. 168</ref> The rebels controlled the presidio until July or August 1813, when [[José Joaquín de Arredondo]] led royalist troops in retaking all of Texas.<ref name=roell21>Roell (1994), p. 21</ref> Henry Perry, a member of the Republican Army of the North, led forces back to Texas in 1817 and attempted to recapture La Bahia. The Spanish reinforced the ''presidio'' with soldiers from San Antonio, and defeated Perry's forces on June 18 near Coleto Creek.<ref name=roell21>Roell (1994), p. 21</ref>

The area was invaded again in 1821. The United States and Spain had signed the [[Adams–Onís Treaty]] in 1819, which ceded all US territorial claims on the Texas area to Spain. On October 4, the [[Long Expedition]] (with 52 members) captured La Bahia. Four days later, Colonel Ignacio Pérez arrived with troops from Bexar, and [[James Long (filibuster)|Long]] surrendered.<ref name=roell23>Roell (1994), p. 23</ref> By the end of 1821, Mexico had achieved its independence from Spain, and Texas became part of the newly created country.<ref>Weber (1992), p. 300</ref>

===Mexico===
In 1829, the name of the [[Mexican Texas]] village of La Bahía was changed to "Goliad", believed to be an [[anagram]] of ''Hidalgo'' (omitting the silent initial "H"), in honor of the patriot priest [[Miguel Hidalgo]], the father of the [[Mexican War of Independence]].<ref>Jeri Robison Turner, "GOLIAD, TX," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hjg05 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190207015931/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hjg05 |date=February 7, 2019 }}), ([[Texas State Historical Association]]), accessed April 16, 2011.</ref>

On October 9, 1835, in the early days of the [[Texas Revolution]], a group of Anglo-American immigrants attacked the ''presidio'' in the [[Battle of Goliad]]. The Mexican garrison quickly surrendered, leaving the Anglo-Americans in control of the fort. The first [[Goliad Declaration of Independence|declaration of independence]] of the [[Republic of Texas]] was signed here on December 20, 1835 and immediately thereafter [[Nicholas Fagan]] raised the "Bloody Arm Flag" also known as the "First Flag of Texas Independence" over Presidio LaBahia.  Anglo-Americans held the area until March 1836, when their garrison under [[Colonel (United States)|Colonel]] [[James Fannin]] was defeated at the nearby [[Battle of Coleto]]. [[Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna]], then President of Mexico, ordered that all survivors were to be executed. On [[Palm Sunday]], March 27, 1836, in what was later called the [[Goliad Massacre]], 303 were marched out of the fort to be executed, and 39 were executed inside the ''presidio ''(20 prisoners were spared because they were either physicians or medical attendants); 342 men were killed and 28 escaped.<ref name=hardin174>Hardin (1994), p. 174</ref>

The famous Mexican General [[Ignacio Zaragoza]] was born in Goliad in 1829. He commanded the forces resisting the [[French Army]] in the [[Battle of Puebla]], now celebrated as ''[[Cinco de Mayo]]'' on May 5, 1862.<ref>"ZARAGOZA, IGNACIO SEGUIN," Handbook of Texas Online (https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fza04 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181115234538/https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/fza04 |date=November 15, 2018 }}) (Texas State Historical Association), accessed April 15, 2011.</ref>

The Texas gunfighter [[King Fisher]] lived for a time in Goliad before moving to [[Eagle Pass, Texas|Eagle Pass]] in [[Maverick County, Texas]].

===1902 tornado===
{{Main article|1902 Goliad, Texas, tornado}}
The 1902 Goliad tornado devastated the town, killing 114 people, including Sheriff Robert Shaw, and injuring at least 225. It is tied for the deadliest tornado in Texas history, and remains among the deadliest in the United States.<ref>{{Citation| url=http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=Goliad+Tornado+of+1902&cnty=goliad| title=Goliad Tornado of 1902 Historical Marker| author=Texas State Historical Commission| access-date=March 22, 2009| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120817091739/http://www.stoppingpoints.com/texas/sights.cgi?marker=Goliad+Tornado+of+1902&cnty=goliad| archive-date=August 17, 2012| url-status=live}}</ref> Dr. Louis Warren Chilton, a young doctor whose wife was injured and whose daughter was lifted in the tornado funnel but survived, set up a temporary hospital and morgue in the courthouse. The [[Dr. L.W. and Martha E.S. Chilton House]] was built starting in June and included an underground shelter.<ref name="nrhpdoc-Chilton">{{cite web |author=Mary Burns and Mary Dillman |date=February 1998 |title=National Register of Historic Places Registration: Dr. L.W. and Martha E.S. Chilton House |url=https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972550 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250202034929/https://catalog.archives.gov/id/40972550 |archive-date=2 February 2025 |website=[[National Archives]] |publisher=}}</ref>