First Shot of the Texas Revolution
Gonzales, Gonzales County, Texas
Marker Inscription
One and one-half miles from here the first shot of the Texas Revolution was fired from a small cannon by Texans under the command of Col. John H. Moore, October 2, 1835.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A mile and a half from here, on October 2, 1835, Texan colonists under Col. John H. Moore fired a small cannon at Mexican troops — the opening shot of the Texas Revolution. The confrontation at Gonzales over that very cannon crystallized the colonists' defiance and launched the fight for Texas independence.
Why it matters
This modest marker points to the birthplace of the Texas Revolution, the spark that would ultimately pull a vast new territory into the American story.
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Related people
- · John H. Moore
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
- · Battle of Gonzales
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Site of the First Shot of the Texas Revolution
Gonzales County, TX
Near this spot on October 2, 1835, Texas colonists answered the Mexican government's demand to surrender their small cannon with a defiant "come and take it." The skirmish at Gonzales — the "first shot" of the Texas Revolution — sent Mexican troops retreating toward Bexar and set the colonies on the road to independence. This granite-and-bronze monument, designed by Waldine Tauch, was raised generations later to mark the ground.
James Hodges, Sr.
Gonzales, TX
James Hodges, Sr. arrived at Gonzales in April 1835 and quickly bought four leagues of land at the forks of the San Marcos and Guadalupe Rivers, paying three thousand dollars in silver. That autumn the townspeople elected him a delegate to the Consultation of 1835, the convention that created a provisional government and placed Sam Houston over a new Texas army. He supplied the army in 1836, fled with his family during the Runaway Scrape, and later returned to serve on the county's land commission and raise his family on the rivers.
Gonzales Cannon
Gonzales, TX
Here on September 29, 1835, Mexican troops arrived to reclaim a small cannon the government had lent the colonists of Gonzales for defense against raids. The Texians stalled for two days while reinforcements gathered, then flung back their famous answer — "Come and Take It." The standoff over that little gun helped ignite the Texas Revolution.
Campsite Marking Start of San Jacinto Campaign
Gonzales, TX
In March 1836, as the Texas Revolution reached its most desperate hour, Sam Houston reached Gonzales to muster a second volunteer army. Word arrived here of the fall of the Alamo and of Santa Anna's advance, and Houston ordered the town put to the torch before withdrawing eastward. That long, calculated retreat set the stage for the decisive Texian victory at San Jacinto on April 21.