On this site stood Fort Lipantitlan
Banquete, Nueces County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Occupied in 1831 by soldiers of the Mexican army to prevent further Anglo-American colonization in Texas. Captured November 4, 1835 by volunteers under Captain Ira Westover. Unsuccessfully attacked June 7, 1842 by 700 men under Gen. Antonio Canales while defended by 192 men under General James Davis. Five acres of land surrounding the site of the fort were generously donated to the State of Texas by the heirs of J.C. Bluntzer in 1937. Erected by the State of Texas 1936
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Fort Lipantitlán was a Mexican garrison thrown up in 1831 along the Nueces to choke off further Anglo-American colonization. When the Texas Revolution erupted, Texan volunteers under Ira Westover seized the earthwork in November 1835, and in 1842 a small garrison held it against a far larger force led by General Antonio Canales. The state acquired the ground in 1937 through a donation from the Bluntzer heirs.
Why it matters
The fort marks the contested Nueces frontier where Mexican authority and Texan independence collided, a boundary whose dispute would later help ignite the Mexican-American War.
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Related people
- · Ira Westover
- · Antonio Canales
- · James Davis
Related events
- · Texas Revolution
- · Capture of Fort Lipantitlan
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
One Mile Northeast is the Site of Fort Lipantitlan
Banquete, TX
This roadside marker points to the site of Fort Lipantitlán, a mile to the northeast, where Mexican soldiers garrisoned the Nueces frontier beginning in 1831. Texan volunteers under Captain Ira Westover captured the post in November 1835 during the Texas Revolution, and in 1842 it withstood an attack led by General Antonio Canales. The state raised the marker in 1936, the centennial of Texas independence.
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