Who is the angel of goliad

Some of the survivors of the massacre told of the kindness they were shown by the wife of a Mexican officer known as Captain Telesforo Alavez. She was credited with persuading one Mexican officer not to carry out his orders to execute Texas soldiers who had been part of Maj. William P. Miller's command. These men had been held as prisoners at Copano Bay and then taken to Goliad to be murdered with all the rest. Other stories indicate that Francita slipped into the fort at Goliad the evening before the massacre and brought out several of the men and hid them.

If she had been caught saving these men, the "Angel of Goliad" would have probably been executed. Francita Alavez, when at Copano Bay, noticed that the Texas prisoners there were being badly treated. She observed that the men were tightly bound with rope that was restricting the circulation of blood to their arms. Survivors reported that she convinced the Mexican soldiers to loosen the ropes and to feed the prisoners.

Following the defeat of Gen. Alavez took Francita and returned to Matamoros, Mexico. While in that city, she aided Texas soldiers who were held prisoner there. C apt. Alavez moved on to Mexico City and there he abandoned Francita and left her penniless.

This seemed to be a habit of Alavez - he also abandoned another woman, considered his legal wife, before he came to Texas with Francita. According to The New Handbook of Texas , later research indicates that Francita was probably his mistress. When the "Angel of Goliad " returned to Matamoros she was without food or shelter. Her dates of birth and death are both lost to the dustbin of history. The Texas State Historical Association appears unsure that Francita is even her actual name, and a historical investigation threw doubt on her marital status.

But one contribution is clear and cemented her historical legacy — Alavez saved a number of Texian soldiers from the eventual massacre. Urrea had promised Fannin, the Texian commander, safety for his men as part of the terms of surrender. Urrea, according to one witness, was suspended for being unwilling to carry out the execution order. It is unclear just how many prisoners Alavez saved, but some of the men she saved remembered her act of kindness years later.

Joseph H. Alavez pleaded with a Mexican officer, Colonel Garay, to spare the prisoners — and succeeded. She was indeed an Angel of Mercy — a second Pocahontas. All that she could do to administer to our comfort … was done. She had likewise been to Maj. Francita Alavez, the "Angel of Goliad," accompanied Capt.

Telesforo Alavez to Texas in March Her real surname and place of birth are not known. Some writers claim that she was with Gen. Because Francita was with Captain Alavez in Texas, it was long assumed that she was his wife. Francita was at Copano Bay when Maj. William P. Miller 's Natchez volunteers were held prisoner there by General Urrea's troops. She noticed that the men were tightly bound with cords that restricted the circulation of blood in their arms.

Taking pity on the men, she persuaded the Mexican soldiers to loosen their bonds and to give them food. She is credited with persuading the officer in charge of the fortress not to execute Miller's men, who had been brought from Copano to Goliad.