Question: What was the town of Goliad named before it was changed in 1829?
Answer: La Bahía, which means “the bay.” Rafael Antonio Manchola, a Mexican lawmaker for the state of Coahuila and Texas, proposed changing the name since neither the mission nor the presidio was located near a bay. His suggestion of “Goliad” was an anagram of Father Hidalgo, the priest who led the fight for Mexican independence.
In 1835, the first declaration of independence for Texas was drafted at Goliad. After the fall of the Alamo the following year, over 400 prisoners of war were executed by the Mexican Army at Goliad. The massacre became a rallying cry for Sam Houston’s army at the Battle of San Jacinto.
