Battle of Gonzales

Template:Battlebox The Battle of Gonzales was a skirmish that took place on October 2, 1835 in the Texas town of Gonzales between the Texian settlers and a detachment of Mexican army. Although it was minor as a military engagement, it marked a clear break between the American colonists and the Mexican government, and is considered to have been the start of the Texas Revolution.

The battle was the result of the attempts of the Mexican government to retrieve a small cannon that had been given in 1831 to the settlers at Gonzales as a defense against attacks by Native Americans. After the initial refusal by the Texians to surrender the cannon, Colonel Domingo de Ugartechea, military commander in Texas, sent a force of 100 dragoons under Francisco de Castañeda to Gonzales to retrieve it. The detachment left San Antonio de Bexar on September 27, 1835 carrying a dispatch for Gonzales alcade Andrew Ponton instructing him to surrender the cannon. Ugartechea, realizing the growing tension between the centralista government of Antonio López de Santa Anna and the Texian settlers, instructed Castañeda to avoid using force if at all possible.

Two days later, on September 29, the Castañeda and his company reached the west bank of the Guadalupe River across from Gonzales, but were unable to cross the ford because of high water and a force of 18 Texian militia, known later as the "Old Eighteen". When Castañeda announced that he carried a dispatch for Ponton, he was informed that Ponton was out of town and that his force would have to wait on the west side of the Guadalupe until Ponton returned. Unable to proceed, Castañeda and the dragoons set up camp 300 yards from the ford.

Over the next few days, as Castañeda waited for Ponton to return, the Texians under Colonel John Henry Moore gathered reinforcements from nearby settlements. A Coushatta Indian entered the Mexican camp and told Castañeda that the Texian force was at least 140 men, with more expected. Castañeda abandoned his camp and set off along the river looking for alternate ford where he could "cross without any embarrassment."

On the evening of October 1, he marched his men several miles upriver to an undefended location on the land of Ezekiel Williams. After nightfall, the Texians crossed the Guadalupe and moved upriver to the Mexican camp. On the morning of October 2, The Texians attacked the Mexican camp, and Castañeda ordered his men to fall back behind a low rise behind the camp.

During a lull in the battle, Castañeda arranged a meeting with Moore in which he demanded to know why his men had been attacked. Moore told him that the Texians were fighting to defend the legal possession cannon against the government, which had violated the Constitution of 1824. Castañeda told Moore that he was personally a federalista opposed to the policies of Santa Anna. Moore then asked Castañeda to join the fight to re-establish the federalist Constitution of 1824. Castañeda replied that he was sympathetic, but that his personal views did not matter, and that as a soldier, he was duty bound to obey orders. After the meeting, the two men returned to their respective sides.

After the resumption of the fighting, Castañeda realized he was both outnumbered and outgunned. He ordered a withdrawal toward San Antonio de Bexar, perhaps motivated by his orders from Ugartechea to avoid actions that might enflame the conflict. Upon his return, Castañeda stated in his report to Ugartechea that "since the orders from your Lordship were for me to withdraw without compromising the honor of Mexican arms, I did so."

External links

• Battle of Gonzales (http://www.tsha.utexas.edu/handbook/online/articles/view/GG/qeg3.html) – Handbook of Texas Online
• Battle of Gonzalez (http://www.tamu.edu/ccbn/dewitt/batgon.htm) – The Sons of DeWitt Colony