The site of the first battle of the Texas Revolution took place in the small community of Gonzales, located near the bank of the Guadalupe River. Disputes had begun to break out between the Anglo settlers and the Mexican authorities. Some years previously, the people of the small town of Gonzales had requested a cannon for use in defense against Indian raids, and one had been provided for them. In September 1835, following orders from Cos, Colonel Domingo Ugartechea sent a handful of soldiers to Gonzales to retrieve the cannon. Tensions were high in the town, as a Mexican soldier had recently beaten up a citizen of Gonzales. The people of Gonzales angrily refused to return the cannon and even arrested the soldiers sent to retrieve it.
Ugartechea then sent a force of some 100 dragoons (light cavalry) under the command of Lieutenant Francisco de Castañeda to retrieve the cannon. A small Texian militia met them at the river near Gonzales, and told them that the mayor (with whom Castañeda wished to speak) was unavailable. The Mexicans were not allowed to pass into Gonzales. Castañeda decided to wait and set up camp.
A few days later, Coushatta Indian arrived in Castañeda's camp and informed him that the Texans had gathered 140 men and were expecting more to arrive. No longer willing to wait and knowing that he could not force a crossing at Gonzales, Castañeda marched his men upriver on October 1 in search of another ford. That evening they made camp seven miles up stream on the land of Ezekiel Williams. While the Mexicans were resting, the Texans were on the move. Led by Colonel John Henry Moore, the Texan militia crossed to the west bank of the river and approached the Mexican camp.
With the Texas forces was the cannon that Castañeda had been sent to collect. Early on the morning of October 2, Moore's men attacked the Mexican camp flying a white flag featuring a picture of the cannon and the words "Come and Take It." Taken by surprise, Castañeda ordered his men to fall back to a defensive position behind a low rise. During a lull in the fighting, the Mexican commander arranged a parley with Moore. When he asked why the Texans had attacked his men, Moore replied that they were defending their gun and were fighting to uphold the Constitution of 1824.
Castañeda told Moore that he sympathized with the Texan's beliefs but that he had orders that he was required to follow. Moore then asked him to defect, but was told by Castañeda that while he disliked the policies of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, he was bound by honor to do his duty as a soldier. Unable to come to an agreement, the meeting ended and the fighting resumed. Outnumbered and out-gunned, Castañeda ordered his men to fall back to San Antonio a short time later. This decision was also influenced by Castañeda's orders from Ugartechea not to provoke a major conflict in attempting to take the gun.
A relatively bloodless affair, the only casualty of the Battle of Gonzales was one Mexican soldier who was killed in the fighting. Though losses had been minimal, the Battle of Gonzales marked a clear break between the settlers in Texas and the Mexican government.
Ugartechea then sent a force of some 100 dragoons (light cavalry) under the command of Lieutenant Francisco de Castañeda to retrieve the cannon. A small Texian militia met them at the river near Gonzales, and told them that the mayor (with whom Castañeda wished to speak) was unavailable. The Mexicans were not allowed to pass into Gonzales. Castañeda decided to wait and set up camp.
A few days later, Coushatta Indian arrived in Castañeda's camp and informed him that the Texans had gathered 140 men and were expecting more to arrive. No longer willing to wait and knowing that he could not force a crossing at Gonzales, Castañeda marched his men upriver on October 1 in search of another ford. That evening they made camp seven miles up stream on the land of Ezekiel Williams. While the Mexicans were resting, the Texans were on the move. Led by Colonel John Henry Moore, the Texan militia crossed to the west bank of the river and approached the Mexican camp.
With the Texas forces was the cannon that Castañeda had been sent to collect. Early on the morning of October 2, Moore's men attacked the Mexican camp flying a white flag featuring a picture of the cannon and the words "Come and Take It." Taken by surprise, Castañeda ordered his men to fall back to a defensive position behind a low rise. During a lull in the fighting, the Mexican commander arranged a parley with Moore. When he asked why the Texans had attacked his men, Moore replied that they were defending their gun and were fighting to uphold the Constitution of 1824.
Castañeda told Moore that he sympathized with the Texan's beliefs but that he had orders that he was required to follow. Moore then asked him to defect, but was told by Castañeda that while he disliked the policies of President Antonio López de Santa Anna, he was bound by honor to do his duty as a soldier. Unable to come to an agreement, the meeting ended and the fighting resumed. Outnumbered and out-gunned, Castañeda ordered his men to fall back to San Antonio a short time later. This decision was also influenced by Castañeda's orders from Ugartechea not to provoke a major conflict in attempting to take the gun.
A relatively bloodless affair, the only casualty of the Battle of Gonzales was one Mexican soldier who was killed in the fighting. Though losses had been minimal, the Battle of Gonzales marked a clear break between the settlers in Texas and the Mexican government.
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