Among these was Herman Ehrenberg, who later wrote an account of the massacre; William Lockhart Hunter survived despite being bayoneted and clubbed with a musket.

Because of the intervention of Francita Alavez (known as the "Angel of Goliad"), 20 more men were spared to act as doctors, interpreters, or workers.

[1] Meanwhile, General Sam Houston had persuaded all but 70 to 100 men and their leaders, Frank W. Johnson and James Grant, to give up on the expedition and to defend locations in Texas, principally Goliad.

[2] On February 12, Fannin took most of the men to defend Presidio La Bahía at Goliad, which he renamed "Fort Defiance".

[5] Johnson's news persuaded Fannin to abandon any further attempt to send relief to the Alamo or to try to secure badly needed supplies waiting at Matagorda; he prepared the Presidio La Bahía at Goliad for defense against the advancing Mexican Army.

After capturing one of Fannin's messengers, who was carrying dispatches that told of the commander's plan to wait at Goliad and retreat after King and Ward returned, Urrea ordered the execution of 30 prisoners who he decided were mercenaries.

[11] On March 19, Urrea had quickly advanced and surrounded 300 men of the Texian Army on the open prairie, near La Bahia (Goliad).

Urrea departed Goliad, leaving Colonel José Nicolás de la Portilla in command.

[17] Under a decree that Santa Anna had pushed for, and which was passed by the Mexican Congress on December 30, 1835, armed foreigners taken in combat were to be treated as pirates and executed.

Santa Anna responded to this entreaty by repeatedly ordering Urrea to comply with the law and execute the prisoners.

Thirty-nine were killed inside the fort under the direction of Captain Carolino Huerta of the Tres Villas battalion, with Colonel Garay saving one, Jack Shackelford.

Among these was Herman Ehrenberg, who later wrote an account of the massacre;[22] William Lockhart Hunter, also of the New Orleans Greys, who survived despite being bayoneted and clubbed with a musket;[23] and four members of Shackelford's Red Rovers: Dillard Cooper,[24] Zachariah S. Brooks, Wilson Simpson, and Isaac D. Hamilton,[25] who escaped after days on the run.

Because of the intervention of Francita Alavez (known as the "Angel of Goliad"), 20 more men, including Shackelford,[20] were spared to act as doctors, interpreters, or workers.

[28] Nearly one month later, word reached La Bahia (Goliad) that Santa Anna had been defeated and had surrendered while trying to flee at the Battle of San Jacinto.

[29] General Thomas J. Rusk found the remains of the massacre victims in June 1836 and gave orders for a formal military funeral.

The location of the gravesite was forgotten until 1930, when human bone fragments were discovered by a group of Boy Scouts and their leader.