Battle of Coleto
1836 battle of the Texas Revolution
The Battle of Coleto, also known as the Battle of Coleto Creek, the Battle of the Prairie, and the Batalla del Encinal del Perdido, was fought on March 19–20, 1836, during the Goliad campaign of the Texas Revolution. In February, General José de Urrea led a branch of the Mexican army up the Gulf Coast of Mexican Texas toward Goliad, where a large contingent of soldiers from the Texian Army was garrisoned under Colonel James W. Fannin. Simultaneously, Mexican president Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna led a larger force into the Texian interior, where on March 6 his troops won the Battle of the Alamo. After learning of the Alamo's defeat, Texian general Sam Houston ordered Fannin to retreat from Goliad and join the rest of the army in Victoria.
On March 19, Fannin led his men on a leisurely retreat from Goliad. Mexican troops surrounded the Texians later in the day before Fannin could reach the shelter of a grove of timber at Coleto Creek, some 400 yards (370 m) away. Texians formed a square in the middle of the prairie and attempted to defend their position. Although Mexican troops launched three separate attacks against the square, they could not penetrate the Texian position. As night fell, Mexican sharpshooters were able to wound and kill more Texians. With little water to give to the wounded or to cool their artillery, the Texians felt they were unable to withstand further fighting.
The public source identifies “Battle of Coleto” as 1836 battle of the Texas Revolution. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Battle, Coleto and battle.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Battle of Coleto”, the useful work is to connect “1836 battle of the Texas Revolution” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
The record creator and administrative purpose are central evidence, because official documentation reflects both action and institutional priorities. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1361501. Authority coordinates are 28.686, -97.233. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1836.
Official terminology may obscure informal participation, dissent or communities documented only indirectly. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Compare institutional narratives with records created by participants and affected communities. Dates and formal titles are useful anchors, but not substitutes for context.
- Event chronology
- Institutional context
- Locating named record creators
Contemporary correspondence, government or organizational records, oral histories and cited historical scholarship.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Battle of Coleto”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Battle of Coleto primary sources, Battle of Coleto archive and Battle research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Battle of Coleto”?
- What chronology connects this entry to wider political or social change?
- Which voices are present, absent or mediated by the institution?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Battle of Coleto” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.