An 1837 Stephen F. Austin map showing the location of the Battle of Medina.
An 1837 Stephen F. Austin map showing the location of the Battle of Medina. Credit: Courtesy / Library of Congress

In February of 1813, Spanish Royalist forces under Texas Gov. Manuel Salcedo stormed the Republicans besieged in Goliad – and were resoundingly repulsed. The Republicans broke out of Goliad and pursued the Royalists all the way back to San Antonio, where Salcedo and José Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara met in one final battle.

We finally lay our hands on maps from the early 1800s that might tell us where contemporaries believed that the Battle of Medina took place.

Pedro Walker's Diary from October 5, 1815 noting "huesos y calaveras".
Pedro Walker’s Diary from October 5, 1815, noting “huesos y calaveras”. Credit: Courtesy / Yale University Library

Additional Links:

Joseph Bexar’s Interpretation of Austin’s Maps

1822 Stephen F. Austin Map (“Toledo Defeated”)

1829 Stephen F. Austin Map (“Encinal,” “Derrota de los Republicans por Arredondo en 1813”)

1830 Stephen F. Austin Map (“Derrota de los Republicanos por Arredondo en 1813”)

1837 Stephen F. Austin Map (“Genl Toledo Defeated 1813”)

Brandon Seale is the president of Howard Energy Ventures. With degrees in philosophy, law, and business, he writes and records stories about the residents of the borderland and about the intersection of...