Day Trips

Photo by Gerald E. Mcleod

The Angel of Goliad distinguished herself during the bloody months of the Texas Revolution with her compassion. The story of Francita Alavez's efforts to save Texan prisoners from execution by the Mexican army is one of the seldom-told stories of the war. A statue, bust, and painting at Presidio la Bahia outside of Goliad commemorate her brave deeds.

In 1835, illegal immigrants from the U.S. were pouring across the Sabine River into the Mexican province of Texas, many of them spoiling for a fight. Stephen F. Austin's system of legal colonies had collapsed, and the call for Texas independence brought the Mexican army to protect its northern province.

At the outset of the Texas Revolution in 1836, Mexico was being attacked by multiple armies from the United States. Mexican general and President Antonio López de Santa Anna obtained a decree from the Mexican Congress directing that all foreigners taken in combat should be treated as pirates and executed. Hoping to slow the flood of volunteers, Santa Anna ordered that no prisoners would be taken from the insurgent army.

Gen. José de Urrea, commander of a Mexican regiment marching up the coast from Matamoros, was disgusted by the execution decree and complied only when given a direct order by Santa Anna.

Francita was traveling with Urrea's army as the sweetheart of Capt. Telesforo Alavez, a cavalry officer and paymaster. She was described as a beauty, about 20 years old with long black hair. At the port of Copano Bay she had her first experience with the harsh treatment afforded prisoners of the Mexican army. She nursed a group of captured volunteers from Mississippi and eventually helped some escape.

It was at Goliad that Francita performed her greatest mission of mercy. On the night before 342 captured Texans were to be executed, she helped 28 prisoners escape, including two teenage boys. When Capt. Alavez was transferred to Victoria, she once again came to the aid of Texan prisoners by sneaking them provisions and carrying messages.

After the defeat of the Mexican army at San Jacinto, Francita followed Capt. Alavez to Mexico City where he abandoned her. A group of Texans who knew of her humanitarian acts found her living in Matamoros and helped her settle in Texas.

The site of the Texas army's bloodiest day, Presidio la Bahia was rebuilt in the 1960s and became a National Historic Landmark in 1967. The combination of the fort and Mission Espíritu Santo in Goliad State Park on the opposite bank of the San Antonio River is a rare surviving example of a Spanish Colonial compound.

Presidio la Bahia is one mile south of Goliad on Highway 183. The fort and museum are open daily from 9am to 4:45pm. For a unique lodging experience, visitors can spend the night in the former priests' quarters. For information on the presidio, call 361/645-3752 or go to www.presidiolabahia.org.

989th in a series. Day Trips, Vol. 2, a book of "Day Trips" 101-200, is available for $8.95, plus $3.05 for shipping, handling, and tax. Mail to: Day Trips, PO Box 33284, South Austin, TX 78704.