DUANE
Duane's take
The way I tell it, this one comes straight from the official marker at Fort Lipantitlan, out in Nueces County — so here's the story as the record gives it to me. Now, some places carry their history in layers, and Fort Lipantitlan is exactly that kind of place. It starts way back in 1728, when a Spanish fort went up right here, near a Lipan Apache village carrying an Aztec name — Lipantitlan.
That's a lot of history packed into a single word. But the Spanish didn't hold it long. The post was abandoned.
The village itself was deserted, after many of the Indians who had lived there died with the Gutierrez-Magee Expedition at the Battle of Medina — that was August 18, 1813. A community swallowed up by a war that wasn't finished with anybody. The site sat quiet for a spell.
Then, about 1831, Mexican troops moved back in, garrisoning the old fort as a deterrent to further Anglo-American colonization. And if you're picturing some impressive military installation — well, hold that thought. What they had was a simple earthen embankment surrounding unfinished barracks.
That's it. Dirt and ambition. Now here's where the story gets interesting, and it starts with a cannon.
In 1835, the soldiers at Fort Lipantitlan borrowed a cannon from the settlers over in nearby San Patricio. Borrowed. The marker points out that this foreshadowed a remarkably similar incident at Gonzales — the one that led to the skirmish of October 2, 1835, and sparked the Texas Revolution.
Funny how the same disagreement over a borrowed cannon echoes twice across the same season. Late in October of that same year, Captain Philip Dimitt, commanding Texas forces at Goliad, decided Fort Lipantitlan needed to change hands. He dispatched a company under Ira Westover to go take it.
And Westover did exactly that — captured the fortification on November 3rd. The very next day, a Mexican counterattack came, led by Captain Nicolas Rodriguez. Westover stopped it cold.
The battle wasn't decisive, the marker is honest about that, but it did something maybe just as important — it boosted the Texans' morale. Sometimes a fight doesn't have to end a war to matter. Then the place sat again, waiting for one more chapter.
On June 7, 1842, Fort Lipantitlan got its last stand. An army of volunteers under General James Davis defended it successfully against an attack by General Antonio Canales and his Republic of the Rio Grande forces. When that fight was over, so was the post.
It was abandoned after that battle, and it crumbled into ruin. From Spanish fort to Lipan village, from earthen embankment to borrowed cannon, from Westover's capture to Davis's defense — Fort Lipantitlan kept finding itself in the middle of Texas history, right up until the land finally took it back.
What the marker says
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)