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It
was
a
warm
Saturday
when
Diana
and
I
loaded
up
the
Tahoe
and
headed
back
to
Goliad.
This
time,
we
took
her
mother
and
father.
The
plan
was
to
meet
with
members
of
the
Clara
Driscoll
Chapter
of
the
Daughters
of
the
Republic
of
Texas
(DRT)
at a
restaurant
in
the
town
of Refugio,
then
drive
to
presidio
La
Bahia
to
watch
the
reenactment
of
the
battle
of
Coleto
Creek
The
battle
resulted
in
Fannin's
men
being
captured
and
taken
to
presidio
La
Bahia
where
they
were
held
for
a
week,
then
they
were
massacred
by
order
of
General
Santa
Anna.
Click
HERE
for
a
detailed
account
of
the
battle
of
Coleto
Creek.
We
took
a
back
road
from
Corpus
Christi
to
Refugio
(FM-136),
and
on
the
way
we
stopped
at
the
small
town
of
Bayside
About
5
miles
to
the
north
lies
the
abandoned
seaport
of
Copano
Between
1828
and
1835
groups
of
colonists
passed
through
the
port
on
their
journeys
from
Europe
to
settlement
in
Texas.
Groups
of
Irish
arrived
during
1833
and
1834.
One
large
group
of
Irish
colonists
was
struck
by
cholera
during
the
voyage
from
New
York,
and
many
arrived
in
Texas
only
to
be
buried
on
the
Copano
beach.
The
port
of
Copano
became
strategically
important
to
both
the
Mexican
and
Texas
armies
during
the
Texas
Revolution.
On
September
20,
1835,
Mexican
general
Martín
Perfecto
de
Cos
and
his
army
landed
at
Copano
on
their
way
to
Goliad
and
Bexar.
After
eating
lunch
and
plenty
of
conversation
with
some
members
of
the
DRT
at Refugio,
everyone
drove
to presidio
La
Bahia
for
the
reenactment.
We
arrived
at
the
presidio
and
found
a
parking
place.
From
our
parking
space,
we
walked
to
the
west
side
of
the
presidio
to
view
the
reenactment.
We
set-up
some
lawn
chairs
under
the
shade
of
trees
next
to
the
house
where
Ignacio
Seguin
Zaragoza
was
born.
Zaragoza
later
became
a
general
for
the
Mexican
army.
On
May
5,
1862,
General
Zaragoza
and
his
command
of
4,000
men
defeated
8,000
men
of
Napolean's
III's
army
at
Puebla
Mexico.
This
defeat
was
a
great
morale
booster
for
the
liberal
Mexican
army
in
the
civil
war
that
engulfed
Mexico.
Cinco
de
Mayo
(the
5th
of
May)
is
celebrated
in
honor
of
the
victory
at
Puebla
May
5,
1862.
It
is a
national
holiday
in
Mexico,
and
is
celebrated
in
many
south
Texas
towns
and
cities,
including
Goliad,
his
birthplace.
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