The Battle of Gonzales was the opening armed clash of the Texas Revolution, marking the colonists' definitive break from Mexican authority.
Key Facts
- Date
- October 2, 1835
- Mexican dragoons sent
- 100 soldiers
- Texian defenders gathered
- Up to 140 settlers
- Cannon in dispute
- Bronze six-pounder
- Known US nickname
- Lexington of Texas
By the Numbers
Location
Cause → Event → Consequence
In 1831, Mexican authorities lent the Gonzales colonists a cannon for defense against Comanche raids. By 1835, political instability in Mexico prompted Colonel Ugartechea to request its return; when colonists refused, he dispatched 100 dragoons to retrieve it by force, prompting the settlers to stall while calling for armed reinforcements from nearby communities.
On October 2, 1835, up to 140 Texian settlers confronted the Mexican dragoon detachment near Gonzales. Mexican soldiers opened fire as Texians advanced in the early morning hours. After several hours of intermittent skirmishing, the Mexican detachment withdrew, leaving the cannon in Texian hands. The engagement was brief and produced few if any casualties on either side.
Although the skirmish had little direct military impact, it represented a clear and public rupture between the Texas colonists and the Mexican government, and is regarded as the start of the Texas Revolution. News spread rapidly across the United States, where it was widely compared to the Battle of Lexington that opened the American Revolution.
Belligerents & Mobilization Analysis
Side A
1 belligerent
Side B
1 belligerent
Domingo de Ugartechea.