Product Description Texas lost many volunteers during its hard-won fight for independence from Mexico, but one harrowing episode stands out. Following a one-sided battle on the prairie near Coleto Creek, 250 mostly American prisoners were marched back to the presidio at Goliad where they were joined by more than 200 others. Subsequently, on orders from President Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, they were brutally slaughtered on Palm Sunday, March 27, 1836. The loss of so many fighting men in a single day was, at the time, one of the largest in U.S. history. The reaction in Texas was one of horror, fear, and, for some, a lust for revenge. The revulsion felt throughout the United States turned American sympathies against Mexico and its efforts to preserve its territorial integrity. Based on extensive research, this book offers a powerful description of what happened and an astute analysis of why it happened. For historical background, it also presents an overview of Texas and Mexican history and the factors that led to the massacre.
As a career military officer, author Jay Stout offers insights not grasped by other writers on the subject. He pays particular attention to the leadership on both sides during the revolution and discusses why the massacre has been largely ignored in the years since. Stout deglamorizes the fight against Santa Anna and his army, while at the same time acknowledging the Mexican perspective and the motivations of Mexico's leaders. The author's dynamic writing style, combined with the compelling subject matter, makes this book attractive to everyone interested in the military, Texas, and American history.
Great book for the "historian" in your familyMay 2, 2010 Alley Cat(Alice, TX) I purchased this book for my Dad and he loved it! He said he had trouble putting it down. This is a great book for a person who is interested in reading about Texas battles & history.
Remember Goliad!March 28, 2010 Dick Stanley(Austin, TX, United States) This is well worth the buy and the read. It's billed as the most comprehensive look at the massacre, and I'd go along with that, though I haven't read many others. Especially interesting is the section on weapons, which explains how so many of the American volunteers killed so many Mexican soldados in the Battle of Coleto and how the few survivors of the massacre got away: the Mexican Brown Bess flintlock muskets were rendered poorer by weak, field-made powder.
I've seen several descriptions of how Fannin, who was executed last, supposedly asked not to be shot in the face but was, anyhow. Stout quotes from the only eyewitness account, available at Texas A&M, that Fannin actually asked only that the Mexican muskets not be held so close to his face that it receive powder burns, but he was disregarded. A strange sort of vanity, by a strange fellow, either way. Stout's bibliography is worth having by itself. Despite recent efforts to get the Mexican government to return the flag of the New Orleans Grays, about half of whom were murdered at Goliad, I agree with Stout that it belongs in Mexico, but wish that it would be put on display or, at least, photographed for public view.
Good as Stout's book is, I must say that if you can only afford/read one book on the Texas Revolution, professional historian Stephen Hardin's "Texian Iliad" is still the best.
Slaughter at GoliadMarch 22, 2010 Discover(Glenville, New York) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is very well researched and is an easy read. It is a "must" for anyone interested in Texas history. It is not a Mexican bash It simply lays out what happened that April, 1836 morning.
Russ Wege Glenville, New York
Remember Goliad!January 1, 2010 Glenn Buchan(Redondo Beach, CA USA) 1 out of 1 found this review helpful
As every Texas school child who takes the obligatory Texas history course in junior high school knows, "Remember the Alamo; remember Goliad!" was the battle cry of the victorious Texas army at the decisive battle of San Jacinto in which Texas won its independence from Mexico. The massacres committed by the Mexican troops at the Alamo and Goliad became rallying points for the Texas rebels in their improbable victory over Santa Anna's army. Of course, everyone knows about the battle of the Alamo, at least the romanticized version. Goliad has always been more of an afterthought -- present, but less well known. For those who are not satisfied with regarding Goliad as a historical footnote and want to know more, Jay Stout has written what will almost certainly be regarded as the last word on the subject. The book is so dense with descriptions of events, biographical sketches, and historical details that there simply can't be much left to say. Not only does Lt. Col. Stout cover the battle itself, along with the run-up to it and its aftermath, but also he sets the stage with an indepth analysis of the historical forces at work in Texas, the rest of Mexico, and the United States to place the events at Goliad in context. Finally, with his keen miltary historian's analytical insight, Lt. Col. Stout focuses on the stunning incompetence of the military leadership on both sides. That is something that certainly gets short shrift in the conventional wisdom of the Texas revolution and is the book's major revelation.
This book is probably not for the casual reader, however. It is clearly the product of prodigious research, which is reflected in the unusually high density of factual content. Absorbing all of this information requires a commitment on the part of the reader that may exceed the level of interest of some potential audiences. Fortunately, Stout's lively writing style, which comes through in at least parts of the text, prevents the manuscript from becoming dreary. (Interestingly, there seem to be different voices in various parts of the text. One suspects that the author's natural style was at times stifled by the intrusion of an overly zealous editor. Such can be the lot of wordsmiths.)
In summary, the book is a remarkable achievement, and readers who invest the necessary energy will be amply rewarded.
Remember Goliad!June 21, 2009 Mark Dworkin(Thornhill, Ontario) 4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Coming from a surprising source, the Naval Institute Press, a non-profit arm of the U. S. Naval Institute primarily dedicated to publishing books about modern naval and aircraft history, Jay Stout's study of the Goliad massacre of 1836 is a balanced and well-written work, one that advances our understanding of the historical roots of Texas. While the massacre of Texan revolutionaries and American volunteers at Goliad occurred just a short time after the Mexican defeat of the Texans at the Alamo, it is the latter that is well-remembered, and is an icon and the former that is little-known and far less remembered, even in Texas. Who hears "Remember Goliad," although some Texans shouted it at the Battle of San Jacinto, and while Bowie, Crockett and Travis are revered names, Fannin is forgotten.
The words in the book's title are carefully selected, from "slaughter" to "massacre" to the number of victims at 400, to "volunteers." At Goliad on March 26, 1836, nearly three weeks after the fall of the Alamo, 400 unarmed captives were slaughtered under the orders of the notorious Mexican commander and dictator Santa Anna. The rebels had been fighting for Texas independence from Mexico, and regarded by the Mexican leader as pirates, and as such deserved no quarter. Stout tells the story in a narrative manner, sparing no criticism for the mismanagement and terrible leadership on the Texas side. Much historical background, analysis and evaluation is interspersed along the way, something Stout must have learned to do during his time as a defense industry analyst and Marine Corps fighter pilot, experiences clearly in play in the narrative.
The steps leading to the Goliad massacre are a typical military tale of overwhelming force, better led, defeating a ragtag army much more poorly commanded. The professional Mexican Army under Gen. Jose de Urrea, after some initial losses, rather easily defeated the mixed bag of volunteers at Coleto Creek near the presidio at La Bahia. The volunteers who had come to Texas from the United States were fighting under the uninspired and sometimes inept leadership of West Point dropout Col. James Fannin, a man who bragged his way into Texas leadership, possibly after fleeing bad debts in the Georgia. On the part of Fannin and his captives, there was reason to believe from the terms of surrender that they would be paroled out of Texas. About 200 more captive soldiers eventually joined Fannin's forces. On direct orders from Antonio López de Santa Anna, they were virtually all massacred on March 27, 1836. Only a handful of protected doctors treating Mexican wounded, and a few lucky escapees, managed to survive.
Despite leadership on the Texas side found wanting, from the provisional government to Col. Fannin, it is clear from this study that the true stain of inhumanity belongs on the side of Mexico. The effect on Sam Houston and his forces, leading to the eventual defeat of the Mexican troops and the capture of Santa Anna is also examined. Stout addresses the rationales given for justifying such barbarism against fellow human beings, and finds them wanting. The author also minutely examines the doomed American leader, Fannin, whose errors in tactics and strategy, and lack of leadership, in short, his incompetence, caused him to be placed in the surrender or die position. Despite such incompetence, Fannin died bravely, and it is the author's conclusion that his memory deserves better.
There are terrific vignettes about the survivors of the massacre, their harrowing escapes, and their later lives. In fact, one gets a good picture of the soldiers and what brought them to then godforsaken Texas to fight in the first place. The cruelty of Santa Anna, who had nine lives if anyone ever did, is clearly drawn in his monumental corruption, egotistical behavior, and ultimate miscalculation, even though he is not present for the direct action that dominates the book. The author shows how his later attempts to deny responsibility for the massacre fails in the cold light of history. As well, the legendary "angel" of Goliad, the camp follower who contributed to the saving of several soldiers' lives is an important lesson in how condemnation should never apply to all members of a nation for the villainous actions of some. This reviewer found the Epilogue section challenging his assumptions in its examination of the notion that revenge for the Goliad massacre was the catalyst for the ultimate defeat of Santa Anna's forces, of what might have happened had Fannin's forces survived, and why, through shame, Texas chose to virtually ignore the sacrifice of the men at Goliad for virtually a century (it wasn't until 1938 that a monument was built on the site).
This book contains useful maps, photos of re-enactors at Goliad, extensive endnotes, a complete bibliography and a useful index. Those interested in an in-depth study and those interested in a good introduction to this book will find it valuable, and it should be the standard reference work on the subject for some time. Remember Goliad!
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