Goliad, TX (PRWEB) February 17, 2011
The Crossroads of Texas Living History Assn. and the Presidio La Bahia (Fort of the Bay) National Historic Landmark in Goliad, TX, will reenact the occupation of the 290-year-old citadel by Col. James Fannin and the “massacre” of him and 341 of his men in and around the walled bastion on Saturday, March 26, and Sunday March 27.
The 26th Annual Living History event, complete with encampments by the early “Texians” and the “Mexican Army,” attracts the general public as well as descendants on both sides of the revolutionary encounters, some of whom travel from distant states. (http://www.presidiolabahia.org/)
Schools send students. Boy and Girl Scout troops come on field trips. Parents bring their children to experience the colorful reenactment of a critical and violent chapter in the colony’s quest for independence from Mexico and its historic march toward becoming the Republic of Texas.
On Saturday, authentic period cannons will blast away and muskets will fire as the armies skirmish and battle on foot and on horseback. Noise, gritos (cries) and black powder smoke will fill the air. Re-enactors on both sides, dressed in period costumes, will answer questions in their respective encampments, as they spin yarns, sing authentic songs and work on their gear.
Visitors also will have the opportunity to attend lectures in the 232-year-old Our Lady of Loreto Chapel, where debates on “massacre” versus “execution” will likely rise again, and to see a cavalry presentation in the nearby amphitheatre.
From 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., candlelight tours will be conducted through the barracks, the Mexican officers’ quarters and the impromptu “hospital” in the Chapel, where the wounded Texians are suffering. The visitors actually become part of the historic tableau, finally departing, knowing the fate of the Texians is only hours away. (Reservations required Photos and story at http://www.presidiolabahia.org/candlelight.htm.)
On Sunday, the death march begins inside the Presidio, proceeding to one of the locations where the massacre actually took place. The program will conclude with a Memorial Service that begins in the Chapel followed by a procession to the Fannin Memorial and a 21-musket salute.
Daily admission is $ 4 for ages 12-59; $ 3.50 for age 60 and up and $ 1for ages 6-11. Children five years old and younger are admitted free. There is an additional $ 2 per person fee for admission to the Candlelight Tour. A detailed schedule of activities is at (http://www.presidiolabahia.org/). For more information call 361-645-3752.
“Passport To Texas History” Attracts Travelers
Historic sites across Texas have created a way for visitors to re-live the events of the Texas Revolution by offering a “Passport to Texas History.” Travelers can learn as they visit the sites where Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, James Fannin and Santa Anna made history.
Just like an official government passport, visitors can get their book stamped at each site they visit. Those who collect stamps from six designated sites by December 2011 receive a commemorative gift from the Texas Independence Trail Region and qualify for more extensive rewards including stays at historic lodging.
The sites include Gonzalez, San Felipe, San Antonio, San Jacinto, Washington-on-the-Brazos, La Porte and Goliad. For more information on these and other passport sites, as well as a state-wide Texas independence event calendar with its many historic re-enactments and memorials, visit http://www.txindependence175.org.
“The Presidio in Goliad is in a pastoral hilltop setting beside the San Antonio River. It’s a must-see destination on the Trail,” said Newton M. Warzecha, long-time Director of the Presidio.
“Our landmark, with its recently renovated museum, is one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial architecture in the country,” Warzecha emphasized. “Although fully restored in the 1960s with funds from the Kathryn Stoner O’Connor Foundation, more than $ 500,000 and 3
