Fannin Memorial Monument
After “Remember the Alamo,” the Texas Revolution’s most potent battle cry was “Remember Goliad.” A charming community on the San Antonio River now sits where, in 1836, Mexican forces executed Col. James Fannin and his men. Some were killed along roads near Goliad’s historic Presidio La Bahía. Others, including Fannin, were executed inside the fort, which had been constructed in 1749 to protect the nearby Mission Espíritu Santo. Fannin and his troops are buried beneath the Fannin Memorial Monument, located next to the fort.
When General Thomas Rusk came through here after the Revolution in 1836, he was shocked to find the victims of the Goliad Massacre – unburied and exposed to the elements.
Gen. Rusk and the Texan Army gathered the remains of their fellow soldiers and gave them a proper military burial.
In 1936, exactly 100 years after the massacre, the Texas Centennial Commission created a series of monuments across the state to honor Texas heroes and to promote Texas as a destination to the world. The 35-foot tall pink granite Fannin Memorial Monument was dedicated in 1939 and marks the grave of those Texian soldiers who fell at Goliad.
Between the Presidio and the Fannin Monument is the statue of the "Angel of Goliad." During the Texas Revolution, a mysterious Mexican woman began appearing in prisons, offering aid – and even freedom – to suffering Texian soldiers. Her name was Francisca Alvarez (also recorded as Francita Alavez and others) – but she would be remembered best as the “Angel of Goliad”. In March 2004, the descendants of Mrs. Alvarez gathered to dedicate this statue in honor of her remarkable courage and compassion, and to memorialize her unique place in Texas history.