Texians set out to kidnap a general and steal his $50,000 war chest — he'd already left, so they just seized his entire fort instead, with axes borrowed from townspeople.
On October 9-10, 1835, roughly 125 Texian volunteers attacked Presidio La Bahía near Goliad — the second skirmish of the Texas Revolution — originally hoping to capture Mexican General Martín Perfecto de Cos and his rumored $50,000 war chest.
When they learned Cos had already departed for San Antonio, the militia pressed on anyway. Local guides confirmed only about 50 Mexican soldiers remained to defend the vast presidio perimeter.
Unable to break through the fort's walls, Texians borrowed axes from townspeople and simply chopped through a wooden door to enter the courtyard. The fight lasted roughly 30 minutes before the Mexican garrison surrendered.
The only Texian casualty was Samuel McCulloch Jr., a free Black man who was wounded in the shoulder. He later successfully petitioned the Texas legislature for exemption from laws banning freed slaves from residing in the Republic of Texas.
Texians seized 300 muskets (mostly broken), several cannons, and provisions worth $10,000, including 175 barrels of flour, plus sugar, coffee, whiskey, and rum.
The loss of Goliad cut General Cos's supply line to Copano Bay, forcing him to obtain all future reinforcements overland — a strategic blow that helped doom the Mexican forces at the Siege of Béxar.