THE TEXAS SCRIBBLER

Built in 1749. Where the Mexicans put Fannin’s troops before the massacre.

The hero of Cinco de Mayo, i.e. the unlikely defeat of the French at Puebla, a wonderful story (the frogs were taking a coffee break when the Mexicans attacked) never better told than here. The general was born near Goliad, where his statue is today. His father was a soldier at the nearby Precidio La [...]

The 1936 memorial to Texas militia Colonel James Fannin and his 400 men, massacred by the Mexican army in 1836, thanks in large part to their feckless commander. Nevertheless. The memorial is said to be on the site where their bodies were heaped and burned. Best version of massacre here. Worth reading.

It was the usual long haul back this afternoon. Coming back from Port A always seems harder than going down there. Anticipation is over, I suppose. We did stop for lunch in Cuero, for a change, at one of the town’s mainstay eateries, a 50-year-old burger joint called K&N Root Beer. And we took pictures [...]

Saw Bum Phillips this afternoon at a restaurant in  Goliad, on the way down to Port A. Except for the two in-ear hearing aids in his ears the former coach of the former Houston Oilers looked younger than his 80-something years. No, he was not wearing his trademark cowboy hat. But one was painted on [...]

Downtown (well, on the square) Goliad where dinner is just $6.99

It’s been eulogized, memorialized, fictionalized and historified (sic) but the Goliad massacre, 174 years ago today, still resonates for those in the know. For those who aren’t, the folks at Presidio La Bahia have done some restoration and gotten a little new publicity in hopes of drawing more visitors. Not that they’re ever likely to [...]

It’s happy now. Wasn’t on this day in 1836. The Alamo was under siege by the Mexican thousands and the Texians, despite today’s issuance of their proclamation of Texas independence, were about as disorganized and fractious as you might expect a fledgling government and its ad hoc military to be. Four days from now, with [...]

Here’s a book I want to read: "Slaughter at Goliad: The Mexican Massacre of 400 Texas Volunteers." JD at Brazosmouth says it breaks no new ground on the 1836 travesty but still is a good ‘un. We drive through Goliad, and past the 1936 1938 memorial (also their burying ground) to Fannin and his murdered [...]