Qualla: Battle of Refugio

Battle of Refugio: Introduction

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Nzeemin, CC BY-SA 3.0. When General Urrea sent a captured Texan prisoner to deliver surrender terms to the men barricaded inside the old Mission Nuestra Senora del Refugio on March 14, 1836, Lt. Colonel William Ward sent him back with a five-word answer: "The Georgians would not surrender." Ward and his roughly 120 volunteers from the Georgia Battalion were outnumbered at least ten to one, nearly out of ammunition, and cut off from any hope of reinforcement. What had begun as a simple rescue mission to evacuate Anglo families from the South Texas town of Refugio had devolved into one of the Texas Revolution's most harrowing episodes -- a three-day battle followed by a seven-day fighting retreat through swamps and bayous that would cost most of these men their lives but delay the Mexican advance long enough to reshape the war.

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Image: Nzeemin | CC BY-SA 3.0

Battle of Refugio: A Rescue Turns to Ruin

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andrew Jackson Houston (d 1941), Public domain. The trouble started with good intentions. On March 7, 1836, Lewis Ayers rode into Colonel James Fannin's garrison at Goliad with desperate news: the Victoriana Guardes, a pro-centralist Tejano militia under Captain Carlos de la Garza, had ransacked the town of Refugio, and severa...

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Image: Andrew Jackson Houston (d 1941) | Public domain

Battle of Refugio: Stone Walls and Rifle Fire

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andrew Jackson Houston (d 1941), Public domain. Fannin dispatched Ward and the Georgia Battalion on the morning of March 13 with strict orders: avoid offensive contact, gather the civilians, and return immediately. The Georgians carried only 36 rounds of ammunition per man. They arrived that afternoon after a forced march over...

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Image: Andrew Jackson Houston (d 1941) | Public domain

Battle of Refugio: Escape Through the Swamps

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andrew Jackson Houston (d 1941), Public domain. By evening on March 14, Urrea had concentrated an estimated 1,200 soldiers, 100 to 200 mounted militia, and several artillery pieces around the mission. Ward's ammunition was nearly gone. Under cover of a driving rainstorm on the night of March 14-15, the Georgia Battalion slippe...

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Image: Andrew Jackson Houston (d 1941) | Public domain

Battle of Refugio: Seven Days for Houston

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Andrew Jackson Houston (d 1941), Public domain. The sacrifice at Refugio accomplished what no one planned. King's insubordination and the resulting chain of disasters forced Fannin to delay his own evacuation of Goliad, leading to the Battle of Coleto and the Goliad Massacre. But the Georgia Battalion's fierce resistance and W...

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Image: Andrew Jackson Houston (d 1941) | Public domain