Old Eighteen
Gonzales, Gonzales County, Texas
Marker Inscription
On this site, September 29, 1835 began the strategy of the 18 Texans who by advising with alcalde Andrew Ponton, held for two days 150 Mexican Dragoons sent to demand the Gonzales cannon, allowing colonists time to mass recruits for the Battle of Gonzales. Captain Albert Martin, Almond Cottle, Jacob C. Darst, Ezekiel Williams, Winslow Turner, Simeon Bateman, Wm. W. Arrington, Joseph D. Clements, Gravis Fulcher, Almaron Dickerson, George W. Davis, Benjamin Fuqua, John Sowell, Valentine Bennet, James B. Hinds, Charles Mason, Thomas R. Miller, Thomas Jackson.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On this site in late September 1835, eighteen Texans conferred with the alcalde of Gonzales and stalled some 150 Mexican dragoons sent to seize the town's cannon. Their delay bought precious days for colonists to gather recruits, setting the stage for the Battle of Gonzales — the opening clash of the Texas Revolution.
Why it matters
The stand of the "Old Eighteen" was the spark of Texas's fight for independence, a small act of defiance that grew into a revolution.
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Related people
- · Albert Martin
- · Jacob C. Darst
- · Almaron Dickerson
- · Andrew Ponton
Related events
- · Battle of Gonzales
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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.
Santa Anna Mound
Gonzales, TX
Despite its name, this rise — once the DeWitt Mound and now a family cemetery — marks a moment in the Texas Revolution, not an ancient site. Here Mexican troops camped from September 29 to October 1, 1835, waiting for the Gonzales colonists to hand over their small cannon. When the Texans refused, the soldiers withdrew toward Béxar; the colonists overtook them, and on October 2 the Battle of Gonzales opened the revolution in Texan victory.
Sarah Seely Dewitt
Gonzales, TX
Sarah Seely DeWitt came to Texas in 1826 with her husband Green DeWitt, the empresario who colonized the Gonzales area, and their five children. When Mexican troops demanded the colonists' cannon in 1835, Sarah and her daughter Evaline sewed the defiant "Come and Take It" banner flown at the Battle of Gonzales — the first battle flag of the Texas Revolution. She is buried on the DeWitt land that bears her name.
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.