Battle of Agua Dulce facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Battle of Agua Dulce |
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| Part of the Texas Revolution | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Mexico |
Republic of Texas | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
| José de Urrea | James Grant † | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| 150 men | 53 men | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| 1 killed unknown wounded |
12–15 killed 6 captured |
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The Battle of Agua Dulce Creek was a small fight during the Texas Revolution. It happened between Mexican soldiers and Texians, who were colonists living in the Mexican province of Texas. This battle was part of the Goliad Campaign, where Mexican troops tried to take back the Texas Gulf Coast. On March 2, 1836, Mexican soldiers surprised a group of Texians. The fight started about 26 miles (42 km) south of San Patricio, in an area that was part of the Mexican state of Tamaulipas.
In 1835, Mexico changed its government to a "centralized government." This meant one main government had all the power, which made many people who believed in "federalism" (sharing power with states) upset. Colonists in Texas, known as Texians, revolted in October 1835. By the end of that year, they had pushed all Mexican troops out of Texas.
With fighting paused, Frank W. Johnson, who led the Texian volunteer army, and James Grant gathered more volunteers. They planned to invade the Mexican port city of Matamoros. In late February 1836, Johnson and some of the volunteers took a group of horses to San Patricio. Grant took the rest of the men to find more horses and to try to contact people near Matamoros who supported federalism.
The Texians did not know that on February 18, Mexican General José de Urrea had led a large group of troops from Matamoros into Texas. His goal was to stop the rebels along the coast. Urrea's troops easily defeated Johnson's small force on February 26. A few days later, some people told Urrea where Grant was. On the morning of March 2, Urrea sent 150 soldiers to ambush the Texians. After a short battle, most of Grant's Texian and Tejano (Mexican-born Texans) troops were defeated. Grant and two others escaped but were chased for 7 miles (11 km). Grant was killed, along with 11 of his men. Six Texians were captured. Even though Santa Anna had ordered that rebels be executed, General Urrea sent them to jail in Matamoros instead. Six other Texians escaped; five of them later died in the Goliad massacre.
Why the Battle Happened
Mexico's president, Antonio López de Santa Anna, wanted to change the government. He wanted a "centralized government," where one main government had all the power. This was different from a "federalist" system, where states had more power. Santa Anna's new rules, like canceling the Constitution of 1824 in early 1835, made federalists across Mexico angry. They started to revolt. The Mexican Army quickly stopped these revolts in other parts of the country.
But unrest continued in the Mexican state of Coahuila y Tejas. The part of this state next to the United States was called Texas. It was mostly settled by English-speaking people, known as Texians. In October, the Texians started fighting in what became the Texas Revolution. The next month, Texians said they were part of a Mexican state that was separate from Coahuila. They created a temporary government based on the 1824 Constitution. By the end of 1835, all Mexican troops had been forced out of Texas.
Leading federalists in Mexico suggested a plan to attack centralist troops in Matamoros. Matamoros was a very important Mexican port. The General Council, which was the temporary Texas government, liked the idea of a Matamoros Expedition. They hoped it would encourage other federalist states to revolt. They also thought it would keep the Texian soldiers busy and stop them from leaving the army. Most importantly, it would move the war outside of Texas. The Council officially approved the plan on December 25. On December 30, Frank W. Johnson, the volunteer army's commander, and his helper James Grant took most of the army and their supplies to Goliad. They went there to get ready for the expedition.
Santa Anna was determined to stop the rebellion. He started gathering a large army to bring order back. In late December, Santa Anna asked the Mexican Congress to pass the Tornel Decree. This law said that any foreigners fighting against Mexican troops "will be treated like pirates." In the early 1800s, captured pirates were usually put to death right away. This law meant the Mexican Army could kill Texian prisoners. Santa Anna personally led most of his troops to San Antonio de Béxar. He ordered General José de Urrea to lead 550 troops along the Atascocita Road towards Goliad. Urrea's efforts to stop the rebellion along the Texas Gulf Coast are known as the Goliad Campaign.
Leading Up to the Battle
The temporary Texas government had named Sam Houston as the commander of a new regular army. But he did not have power over the volunteers who reported to Johnson. The temporary governor, Henry Smith, was against the Matamoros Expedition. He ordered Houston to find a way to stop it. Houston gave a powerful speech to the volunteers. He convinced most of them not to continue their mission. Many soldiers left the army. Others joined the troops under Houston's second-in-command, James Fannin, at Presidio La Bahía in Goliad. By the end of January 1836, only about 70 men were left with Johnson and Grant. Most of these volunteers were Americans or Europeans who had come to Texas after the fighting began.
General Urrea reached Matamoros on January 31. He was a federalist himself. He soon convinced other federalists in the area that the Texians' real goal was to break away from Mexico. He said their attempt to start a federalist revolt in Matamoros was just a trick. Meanwhile, Mexican spies kept telling Johnson and Grant that they could easily take Matamoros. Urrea's army crossed into Texas on February 18.
Even though they heard rumors that the Mexican Army was coming, Grant and Johnson decided to take their men south of the Nueces River. They went into an area that belonged to the state of Tamaulipas. They were looking for horses to buy, steal, or gather. Around February 21, Johnson and a small group started herding about 100 horses back into Texas. The rest of the men stayed with Grant. They were supposedly looking for more horses. But Grant was actually trying to meet with his allies near Matamoros. He wanted to find out if federalists were still willing to fight against the Mexican Army.
Mexican troops arrived in San Patricio early on February 26. After a fifteen-minute battle, Johnson's men were defeated. Six Texians, including Johnson, escaped. The rest were killed or captured. Urrea waited for more soldiers before marching towards Goliad. His advance group searched for Grant and the remaining Texians. Grant did not know what had happened to Johnson. On February 27, Grant and his group began marching north to San Patricio. They were driving a herd of several hundred horses he had bought. The men camped along San Fernando Creek on March 1. Local ranchers welcomed them. But that night, they sent a messenger to Urrea with Grant's location and plans.
The Battle
Mexican troops marched all night towards El Puerto de los Cuates de Agua Dulce. This was a well-known crossing point on Agua Dulce Creek. It was about 26 miles (42 km) south of San Patricio. It was also about 1 mile (1.6 km) from Banquete and just north of modern-day Kingsville. Mexican soldiers hid in two groups of trees. Urrea had about 150 troops, including 80 dragoons (soldiers on horseback).
Grant's group had about 53 men. This included a large number of Tejanos (Mexican-born residents of Texas) led by Plácido Benavides. The men were in good spirits and rode at an easy pace towards San Patricio. Grant, Benavides, and Ruben Brown rode about half a mile (0.8 km) ahead of the main Texian group. They saw no signs of Mexican soldiers.
Between 10 and 11 am, as most of the Texians reached the trees, the Mexican cavalry attacked. The Texians were completely surprised. Many were shot before they could even raise their guns. As they tried to run away, dragoons chased them and used lances to knock them off their horses. Five Texians got off their horses and ran towards a small village nearby. They hoped to find cover so they could use their rifles. Urrea sent his infantry (foot soldiers) after them. Two of those Texians were captured, and the rest escaped.
Grant, Benavides, and Brown turned back to join the other Texians. Once in the battle, Brown got off his horse. This was either to reload his rifle or because his horse was killed. Seeing that the battle was lost, Grant pulled Brown onto another horse. The three of them, Grant, Brown, and Benavides, turned to run away. Mexican cavalry tried to stop them. Grant shot one officer. He and Benavides then galloped past that officer's horse. At this point, the herd of horses stampeded, pushing the Mexican cavalry aside. The three Texians followed the horses. Mexican soldiers quickly chased after them. According to Brown's later memory, both his and Grant's horses were wounded as Mexican soldiers fired at them.
The three Texians ran for 6 to 7 miles (9.7 to 11.3 km). They occasionally fired their pistols to keep the Mexican dragoons back. Mexican soldiers yelled that the men would be spared if they gave up, but none of the Texians believed them. Benavides had the strongest horse. Grant ordered him to go ahead and warn Fannin that the Mexican Army was close to Goliad. Grant and Brown were surrounded and forced to stop. Grant killed a Mexican soldier who drove a lance through Brown's arm. Then, between ten and twelve Mexican soldiers surrounded Grant. He died after being stabbed many times. Historian Stuart Reid thinks that Mexican soldiers wanted to make sure Grant did not survive the battle. Grant knew who the federalist supporters were in Matamoros. This knowledge could have put Urrea and some of his federalist-sympathizing troops at risk.
Brown threw his empty pistol at one Mexican officer. Then he grabbed the lance from the man Grant had shot and used it to defend himself. After soldiers used a lasso to capture him, Brown surrendered and was taken prisoner. Brown was then brought back to where the ambush happened. He remembered that one badly hurt Texian, Joseph Carpenter, was lying in the dirt, begging for his life. Brown then saw a Mexican soldier shoot him.
After the Battle
General Urrea reported that 42 Texians were killed. However, historians from the early 1900s usually only listed 12 Texians as killed. The involvement of Tejanos in the revolution was not often mentioned in textbooks until the 1970s. So, it is likely that earlier historians did not include the Tejanos who were with Benavides. Six Texians were taken prisoner. Going against the Tornel Decree, Urrea spared those who surrendered. He sent them to a prison in Matamoros. Reports say that Urrea offered to spare them after Francita Alavez, who was the partner of one of Urrea's soldiers, asked him to.
Six Texians escaped. Five of these joined Fannin's group at Goliad. They were later killed in the Goliad massacre. There are no reports of how many Mexican soldiers were lost, but at least one Mexican soldier is believed to have died. After the battle, Mexican soldiers gathered the horses that the Texians had been herding and kept them. The battle marked the end of the Matamoros Expedition. This battle happened on the same day that Texas declared independence. But Grant and his men did not know they were fighting for the new Republic of Texas.
According to historian Stephen Hardin, this battle showed that Texians did not fight well on open prairies. News of the battle reached Fannin on March 4. Urrea's upcoming arrival worried Fannin. He feared that Santa Anna would lead his troops from San Antonio de Béxar towards Goliad. This would trap Fannin and his men between the two parts of the Mexican Army. Fannin wrote to the Acting Governor, James Robinson, saying, "I am a better judge of my military abilities than others, and if I am qualified to command an Army, I have not found it out."
The acting Texas government still left Fannin in charge of the fort at Goliad. They told him to decide if it was best to retreat or to stay and fight. Fannin waited to make a decision. He finally chose to leave Goliad on March 19. Urrea's troops trapped Fannin's men on an open prairie. The Texians surrendered after the Battle of Coleto. Most of them, including Colonel Fannin, were executed a week later in the Goliad massacre.
See also
In Spanish: Batalla de Agua Dulce para niños
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