Fort Lipantitlan
Banquete, Nueces County, Texas
Marker Inscription
In 1728 a Spanish fort was built at this site near a Lipan Apache village with the Aztec name "Lipantitlan." The post was later abandoned, and the village was deserted after many Indians died with the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition at the Battle of Medina, Aug. 18, 1813. Garrisoned again about 1831 by Mexican troops as a deterrent to further Anglo-American colonization, Fort Lipantitlan was then a simple earthen embankment surrounding unfinished barracks. In 1835 the soldiers borrowed a cannon from the settlers in nearby San Patricio, foreshadowing a similar incident at Gonzales which led to the skirmish of Oct. 2, 1835, and sparked the Texas Revolution. Late in Oct. 1835, Capt. Philip Dimitt, commander of Texas forces at Goliad, dispatched a company under Ira Westover to take Fort Lipantitlan. Westover captured the fortification on Nov. 3 and the next day stopped a Mexican counterattack led by Capt. Nicolas Rodriguez. Although not decisive, the battle boosted the Texans' morale. On June 7, 1842, Fort Lipantitlan was successfully defended by an army of volunteers under Gen. James Davis against an attack by Gen. Antonio Canales and his "Republic of the Rio Grande" forces. After that battle, the post was abandoned and soon crumbled into ruin. (1976)
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
A Spanish fort rose near a Lipan Apache village on this site in 1728, the settlement bearing an Aztec-derived name. Regarrisoned by Mexican troops around 1831 to discourage Anglo-American colonization, the earthen post became a flashpoint of the Texas Revolution: Texan forces captured it in November 1835 and turned back a counterattack the next day. It saw fighting again in 1842 before being abandoned to ruin.
Why it matters
Fort Lipantitlan marks the layered frontier where Spanish, Indigenous, Mexican, and Texan histories collided, and where a borrowed cannon foreshadowed the spark of the Texas Revolution.
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Related people
- · Philip Dimitt
- · Ira Westover
- · James Davis
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
Themes & tags
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