10/2/1835: Texas Revolution begins at Gonzales

[Craig Tx]

On this day in 1835, fighting broke out at Gonzales between Mexican soldiers and Texas militiamen.

When Domingo de Ugartechea, military commander in Texas, received word that the American colonists of Gonzales refused to surrender a small cannon that had been given that settlement in 1831 as a defense against the Indians, he dispatched Francisco de Casta?eda and 100 dragoons to retrieve it on September 27. Though Casta?eda attempted to avoid conflict, on the morning of October 2 his force clashed with local Texan militia led by John Henry Moore in the first battle of the Texas Revolution. The struggle for the "Come and Take It" cannon was only a brief skirmish that ended with the retreat of Casta?eda and his force, but it also marked a clear break between the American colonists and the Mexican government.