Goliad Massacre

Date: March 27, 1836 • Location: Goliad, United States

This milestone marked the outbreak and beginning of this historic period, which spanned 1836. At least 425 Texian prisoners of war were executed in the Goliad massacre, under orders from Mexican president Antonio López de Santa Anna. The Republic of Texas, or simply Texas, was a short-lived sovereign country in North America from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas was bordered by Mexico to the west and southwest, the Gulf of Mexico to the southeast, the two U.S. states of Louisiana and Arkansas to the east and northeast, and U.S. unorganized territory encompassing parts of the current U.S. states of Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, and Wyoming to the north. The Texas Revolution began when hostilities broke out on October 2, 1835, shortly before the regime of Mexican President and General Antonio López de Santa Anna adopted a new Mexican constitution known as the Siete Leyes that abolished the authority of the states under the federal republic and established a centralized government. The revolution lasted for over six months. On March 2, 1836, delegates in convention proclaimed the Texas Declaration of Independence.