A Greek savior at the Battle of Goliad

Although born about 1796 in Mexico, Francisco Garay’s parents were Greek, and like so many other Greeks, he started with almost nothing and rose to prominence. In the political arena he openly favored Mexican independence from Spain, an opinion that forced him into exile. Returning in 1829, Garay joined the Mexican army and soon became a commissioned officer. By 1836, he had risen to the rank of Colonel.

It was in 1836 that Colonel Garay became a savior and a hero to a handful of Texans. Mexico had won the Battle of the Alamo, and now they were attacking the Texans at Goliad. Santa Anna’s orders were to kill every person there. The attack came on the morning of Palm Sunday, 1836. Not willing to participate in such a slaughter, Garay herded a dozen Texan civilians, doctors and carpenters, into his own tent and protected them until the fighting subsided.

“Keep still, gentlemen,” he told them. “You are safe. These are not my orders, nor do I execute them.”

Garay went on to become a general in the army, and he fought against the Americans at the Calabazo River. In 1859 he was named Mexican Consul to New York City. He died at New Orleans in 1865. George U. Hubbard is an author and a former resident of Clarendon.